Day 1, and so it beins

Well, as I type this, on my bed, in my apartment, in Brussels, I am kind of in complete awe of my surroundings. The past two days have been a complete whirlwind, full of every emotion possible.

            I arrived at the St. Louis airport around 9:00 AM CST for my 10:55 flight. I think my parents knew that I was a bit nervous because of my lack of speech. I would smile or nod, but big sentences just didn’t seem to come out anymore. One sentence kept running through my mind….You are absolutely, 100% off your rocker to be doing this. I could not seem to grasp why someone who loved their family so much, and really loved America, would have all these desires to go away for such a long time. It’s funny how sometimes when you get close enough to a big event or big change in one’s life, the human reaction is to run screaming and kicking back to the easy and comfortable nature. In the back of my mind, I knew that I needed to do this…. I needed to see the world for my own, push myself to experience so many new things, and develop my own views about what is really going on in this crazy thing we call life. As I hugged my mom and dad goodbye, none of these legitimate reasons surfaced, and all I thought was…it is impossible to love two human beings more than I love these two right now. And I’m flying an ocean away from them, real smart Bailey, real smart.  Fortunately, As soon as we ended our tearful, heartfelt, prayerful goodbye, some of those legitimate reasons resurfaced, and I nervously walked down to my gate.

            The rest of the day was somewhat a blur. My flight got cancelled, I got scheduled for a new one, I got on and off planes, etc. As I look back, I realize that I waited for hours for these planes, but not once did I get out my laptop to watch a movie or get on the Internet. I remember sitting in the St. Louis airport and letting my mind literally RUN for a few hours about what was happening. I think that was entertainment enough for my brain.

            I got to Chicago a few hours before my plane for Brussels took off, and I sat down next to two girls who looked around my age. I then called some of my close family and friends to say goodbye, and afterwards got around to meeting these girls. They happened to be a part of my program, ISA and were extremely sweet. Little did  I know, God was about to give me such a sweet surprise. One of the girls, Ellen, asked me what I did this summer. I proceeded to explain that I worked at at a summer camp as a counselor for a good chunk of time. (For those of you who don’t know , I’ve worked at a Christian sports camp called Kanakuk for the past two years and absolutely adore it and the changes it has brought to my life). Ellen proceeded to ask, “Well what camp was it?” I was hesitant to answer knowing she was from Chicago and the chances were slim to none for us to both know about kamp. But nevertheless, I told her it was called Kanakuk. Her eyes immediately lit up and she grabbed my hand and said, I went to Kamp! I was a Kiowa and I went to K-west. Not only did she go to kamp, but she went to the kamp that I worked at! Only the Lord knows the special place kamp holds in my heart, and how comforted I would be by hearing of someone traveling with me who knew of that special place. How Great is our God? He is so faithful, even in my doubts, nerves, and fears.

            I soon boarded the plane with a new sense of calm. God was going to take care of me every second of the way. The second I left St. Louis he placed people in my path, so I would know He was there. I still knew that some parts of this trip would be hard, but that He was going to be standing next to me during every second.

            I sat next to an older Belgian man on my way to Brussels from Chicago. He was very kind, and spoke a lot of broken English. He helped me practice some of my French and I helped him practice some English. He also was kind enough to give me a list of different things he would do if he was in my shoes. He told me about different restaurants, and cities in Belgium that a lot of tourists overlook. Meeting him was a wonderful first taste of Europe.

            I slept for a good chunk of the plane ride (8:30PM-12:30AM). Thanks to my college sleeping habits, I can fall asleep almost anywhere and basically on command. I was roused at around 12:30 when the flight attendant brought us croissants and juice for breakfast. I looked at her stupidly when she tried to hand me my breakfast. I asked her what time it was, thinking she would realize her mistake. And she smiles as she says, “It’s 730 in Beligum!!” I wanted to vomit and tell her that to every regular person it was really just past midnight, and she needed to be nicer to us and let us sleep. Thankfully, the Lord stepped in before I opened my mouth, and I just took my croissant and sipped some tea before we landed.

            Getting through customs was not near the hassle I expected. They merely glanced at my passport and said “Ok”. I wanted to stop them and be like…Are you sure…you don’t even know me. Fortunately, the crowds pushed me towards baggage claim. There, me and two of my new found friends waited patiently for our luggage while silently praying that it wouldn’t get lost. Through it seemed like years before it got there, all of our luggage arrived safely. We next went through some more doors and found our Resident Director, Sabine, waiting there for us with a few other students from our program who had arrived that earlier morning. She seems really kind, funny and mom-like. I am really excited about getting to know her better.

            Sabine led the way to our bus, which is where we met our bus driver, who she introduced as “the short man with the imposing mustache”. Needless to say, it was imposing. I literally thought that I had traveled back in time when I saw his mustache. I have uploaded a picture of him to my Facebook page for your viewing pleasure. I don’t know his name yet, but he takes us on a lot of trips throughout this program, so I am pretty sure we will get to know him better.

            As we drove through the streets of Brussels for the first time, I only thought, “who knew such a short man with such an ‘imposing’ mustache could drive like a beast!” The streets here are hilariously narrow and every time we turned down a new one, our whole bus would gasp and almost hold our breath…making us feel like we were helping the bus squeeze through these impossible alleyways they call streets. They are adorable looking; I feel like they are out of a movie, but I just have no idea how people drive on them.

            Anyway, my apartment stop was the last one on the bus. I had met my roommate earlier at the baggage claim area. Her name is Maddie and seems super awesome. I think we were both excited just to be rooming with someone who for all intensive purposes seemed completely normal (sadly not the fact with me). We are living in a temporary apartment until September first when our real lease begins. The apartment is small, but clean and comfortable enough for two. Supposedly our next one is really really really nice according to Sabine.

    Well I think I have taken up enough of your time for now…thank you for reading, whoever you are. I am getting ready to shower for the first time in 24 hours and then me and Maddie are meeting some of the other girls for dinner. After that it is back to bed and orientation at ISA bright and early tomorrow! Remember as you go throughout your day today that the Lord is always with you, guiding your steps (I have to continue to say this to myself as I go throughout this journey). Even when your next step in life seems daunting, He always goes before you! It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” ...Deuteronomy 31:8