Adventures of NaDave: Dave Germany: -12 to half-way thru Day 1 (a long one)

So the adventure(s) in 2015 continues! When we last all came together...NaDave was on the verge of leaving Melbourne, Australia.

Well the good news is that each of us arrived safely & successfully into Michigan & Mississippi. The sad news is that we said 'goodbye' at LAX airport for the next 4-5 months. Without a doubt it was tough, but since when are the things that are 'worth it' in life ever easy.

Dave was welcomed with huge hugs & tears in Grand Rapids (GR) by his parents. After a couple days of errands, the three of us headed up to 'the cottage' to escape it all for a few days. The weather was great, the fishing was good, and the time spent together was soothing on my soul. It was an amazing time and, of course, went by too fast (except getting stuck out on the lake with a dead boat!). We headed back to GR to prepare for my departure, but also had time for a family bike ride & a 'glory days' day trip into downtown GR. After a final day of packing & learning about all the Nike things I own (but couldn't bring!), it was time to take on life's next adventure. The drive to Chicago airport on Sunday was pleasant, but full of nerves and emotions. It was a tear-filled goodbye to my parents, and in the words of Forrest Gump "and just like that, Dave was gone".

The next 24 hours were surreal. In many ways. I had just said to goodbye to my girl, then goodbye to my parents, packed my life into 2 suitcases (again), was hopping on a plane, to go live in Germany, to go work at adidas (little me from Grandville...work at world renowned adidas?), and do it alone. Was I...Scared? yup. Nervous? oh yeah. Excited? of course. Confident? for brief moments. Prepared? if not now, then never. Before getting onto my Swiss Air flight, I said one last 'goodbye from America' to Nadine, then started my next journey.

When I walked back out of the plane 8 hours later, I was in Zurich Switzerland. I had 2 hours until my connection to Nuremberg, so I walked around & explored the airport. But after an hour, I just decided to sit. I needed to collect myself. Everything seemed to be happening faster than I was comfortable. Also, I was about to meet my boss for the first time (he picked me up from the airport), and I realized the real 'adidas experience' was about to begin. As my thoughts swirled, the hour quickly passed, and I boarded the plane for Nuremberg.

While the flight was only 45 minutes, I think I slept 42 of those. I wanted to take in all the new experiences, but my body was exhausted. I had the whole row to myself, and as I was looked around, I kept being in disbelief that I was gonna be an employee at adidas HQ in 24 hrs! (For some reason, this experience was having a different feeling than Australia. AUS felt like a post-PhD celebration, whereas this was feeling serious, like the start of my 6 month job interview.)

After landing in Nuremberg, I grabbed my bags, took a deep breath to collect myself from the jet lag, then walked out to meet Paul. Surprisingly, Paul was taller than me, but greeted me with a smile, and off we went. We drove out of Nuremberg and into Herzogenaurach. Monday May 25 was a Holiday for Herzo, so the streets were empty. We drove up to a local apartment, my temporary housing for the next two weeks. (adidas Engineering rents a flat b/c it is cheaper than getting hotels every time a PhD student comes to do a research or an intern comes into town).

Paul walked me up to the 2nd floor of HirtenbuckstraBe 7, and showed me around. The accommodations were cozy, but great. Paul checked if I need anything, then said 'see you tomorrow around 9am at the reception desk' and was on his way. The door shut, the silence began to echo, and a sense of relief came over me. It was 3pm and I had completed the first leg of my journey. I had all my luggage. All my flights were on time. There was nothing awkward with my boss. I felt tired, but healthy.

I decided to take a seat, but then remembered that I needed to get food before the few open restaurants closed at 6pm. I wanted to just punch out, but rather, it was time to begin living in Germany.