Friday evening I met up with my friend's sister, Denise, who has lived in Brussels for the last 7 years. She works with the EU Commission (as does her husband). She treated me that evening to a lovely and huge meal at a nearby Moroccan restaurant. She was very fluent in French, having studied in Belgium and lived in French-speaking environments for almost 10 years. I was so thankful for her translating abilities, since I don't know one word of French. We discussed my all-time favorite topic: changing the world, and she filled me in on the details of her career. She aids in the social and economic development of other countries, making sure that the money that is alloted for purposes intended to improve the lives of the poor ends up fulfilling its purpose. A safeguard, so to say, to make sure that money allocated i.e. for building a new bridge is used not only to build the bridge, but to improve the populations well-being because of that bridge.
It's good to know that people are still ready to change the world.
The guy I met in my hostel that afternoon happened to be from St Louis, a pre-law student at Wash U! He spoke of his interest in working in environmental or human rights law - "anything" he added "but tax law!" It's one thing to be weirded out upon hearing American English, but something different when the person lives in your neck o' the woods.
The next morning, after a decent night's rest, I got up and began preparing for the long trip to Prague. I met some nice folks, from Japan, Thailand, California, Germany, and a few other countries. I pitied the guy from California; he said that he had just graduated and was worried about finding a job. I told him that with a degree in economics, he would normally already have have something. "Yeah, I just picked the wrong time to graduate" he replied. I keep praying that this crisis will loosen its grip soon; our dreams and hard-work are drained of hope in the face of what's happening worldwide. I was sad to leave that little group, to say the least, whom I'd know for all of 15 minutes. Meeting them and sharing their enthusiasm for travelling and changing their worldviews gave me a much needed dose of hope.
Now let me tell you why my love for Germany rarely wavers.
There were numerous delays with the Deutsche Bahn, and I ended up missing the connection that would have taken me from Dresden to the Czech Republic. The woman who worked the night shift at the train station in Dresden was extrememly helpful. She gave me several options as to what I could do since the next train to Prague would not leave until 8am the next morning. It would be best to spend the night in Dresden. In an almost maternal manner, she declined this-and-that place because it was not safe for a young woman to be out at night. She suggested a nearby-hostel instead, called to inform the receptionist of my arrival, and gave me a detailed map and instructions. All I can say is, thank the Lord I know German and that she was there. Otherwise, it would have been a cold night in the train station ...
Dragging my broken suitcase through Dresden at 11 o' clock at night was not a fun time by any means. My exhaustion and ceaseless self-criticism - "Why on earth did you decide to do this?!" came at me full force. I got out of the S-Bahn and had no idea which way to go to find the hostel. After a few minutes of hopeless wandering, a bus driver stopped, asked where I needed to go, and pointed me in the right direction. There were passengers in his bus, and I was NOT at the bus stop.
So I followed his directions, and lo and behold! the hostel was in sight. A student who happened to be passing by in the opposite direction stopped and carried my broken suitcase up the stairs to the reception for me. He was a God-send, and I think I said "Danke!" thirty times before he left.
Even the guy at the receptionist was warm and very helpful, not a trace of edginess, even at the late hour.
Now you see.
Once I got settled in, the first thing I did was thank the Lord for all those people who randomly went out of their way. Then, for the first time, I realized how alone I was. Like my friend had said, "It's crazy; you wake up and realize that no one in the entire world knows exactly where you are at this moment." I lay awake, waiting for the thrilling moment to hit. It never did. I just cried. I cried for my great-aunt, sick in the hospital, whose voice I hadn't heard over 3 weeks. I wanted so much to tell her how I owed every ounce of my success and determination to what she did for me almost 2o years ago. (She brought me home from the hospital at three days old and raised me) At the time I was also reading Obama's book, The Audacity of Hope, and many things he wrote about reminded me of how long the weight of the world had been pressing down on me. I understood, during this night in Dresden, that a large part of my frustration in adjusting to life in a new city is due to being separated from the motivations that drive my enthusiasm, my future-oriented mindset, my willigness.
I was separated by 5000 miles of land, wind, and water.
[Photos: 1. The Atonium by night, Brussels, Belgium; 2. the medley of folks I met at the hostel in Brussels; 3. a small piece of Dresden from my window]
No comments:
Post a Comment