“Ladies and Gentlemen, we will be arriving at our destination, Hartsfield International Airport, in approximately fifteen minutes. If everyone would take their seats and fasten their seatbelts, we will begin our descent.”
As the Captain’s voice crackled over the intercom I knew this was it. This was the moment I’d been dreading the entire flight. I was about to enter a whole new world. A country that I’d only read or heard about but never visited. At twelve years old, I was about to take my first steps onto the United States of America.
“The local time is 12 o’clock noon,” the Captain continued, “and the local temperature is 55 degrees. Upon our arrival please remain seated until we come to a complete stop.”
Wanting to get my first glimpse of American civilization, I moved towards the window on my right and pressed my nose against the cold plastic. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make out anything but the terrain below the clouds. The land was green and the temperature was almost the same, but I still had a feeling that the United States wasn’t going to be anything like Germany.
I was still thinking about all of this when my mother nudged and attempted to pry me away from the window. “Come on, its time to fasten your seatbelt.” She waited a moment and then nudged me again, but I was still lost in my own thoughts. What would this country be like? Would I fit in? “Dianna, come on. Put on your seatbelt.” Reluctantly, I pulled away from the window and fastened my seatbelt. The time had come.
* * * * *
I pulled the straps of the book bag comfortably to rest on my shoulders and stood poised at the airplane exit. Taking in a deep breath of relaxation, I waited a moment compose myself before stepping through the door and onto the stairs. I was met with the glare of the December sun. Despite the actual dimness of the light coming down, I squinted against this new brightness. Readjusting my eyes, I looked out across the horizon and took in a breath of relief. “So far, not a noticeable difference,” I mumbled to myself.
“What was that?” My dad asked.
I shrugged. “Nothing.” I took the last couple of steps down the stairs and paused before the last step. I waited a moment and finally took the plunge. My sneakers touched the hard cement and I realized that was it, the moment.
* * * * *
Upon entering the airport, I was amazed at what I saw. From outside, the airport seemed as if it could have been situated in almost any country in the world. But once I reached the inside of the airport, that all changed. What I saw were dozens of stores, lined with all kinds of merchandise I hadn’t seen before. And the best part was that everything was in English.
As I stared in wonder, my father came up behind me. “Come on, your grandmother is waiting.” And so we continued on our way.
* * * * *
After spending some time picking up luggage, we exited the baggage claim and looked around for any sign of my grandmother. There were many families waiting for their loved ones as I scanned the crowd. My gaze stopped on an old woman who was staring at me expectantly.
I was just about to take a step in her direction, when my father spoke. “There she is.” I looked to see where he was pointing and was surprised to see a different old lady standing there. It was at that moment I realized I didn’t even recognize my own grandmother. This was just one of many things I realized that day.
From there we made our way outside to the parking lot with grandmother in tow. Now, when I said that from the outside you couldn’t tell you were in a different country, well that was partly true. From the arrival side of the airport you couldn’t tell the difference, yet from the departure side this was a completely different matter.
And so I stood at the exit of the airport, or what I like to call the gate between the world I had known and this strange new world. I stood overlooking the parking lot and analyzing the many strange vehicles I had never seen before. They came in all kinds of shapes and colors, very different from Germany.
“This way.” My grandmother headed off to the right and unlocked the car. After placing all of our luggage in the trunk, we got in the car and continued on our way. We drove for a couple minutes and I finally got my first real taste of the United States.
This is the point where I truly realized my life had changed. Along the side of the road stood an oversized billboard with large black letters on a dingy white background. The billboard actually said, “Buy Marlboro Cigarettes,” but to me it said, “Welcome to the United States.”