We touched down in Munich. I hadn't slept all night. I can't sleep on planes. Slept only 8 hours in the last 3 days. I was overcome by emotion. After so many years, I was the first in my family to come back. Back to the source of everything that has shaped my life. The reason why I live in the United States. The reason why I am so close to my family. The reason why I can never truly connect with my grandparents. Back to Germany.
I bent over, a tear streaming down my cheek. My Grandmother's face appeared. It was a source of strength.
Walking through the Munich airport, searching for our flight to Berlin, I was shocked with what I felt. I felt empowered. I was free. Free to walk where I wanted to. Talk how I wanted. Think anyway I wished.
The flight to Berlin was lonely. The symbolism of the flight attendant taking my backpack away and storing it in the overhead compartment, because I was sitting in an exit aisle, was not lost on me. The confusion and anticipation of the flight to Berlin replaced the jokes rooted in exhaustion from the flight to Munich.
I walked off the plane and into the terminal. A tear ran down my face. Then more after I retrieved my bag.
Walking through Berlin, I felt, I felt an emotion I never expected. I felt a warm feeling. These people were all colors, coming from different backgrounds. I was at, well, I felt not very far from home.
1 comment:
i wanted to say i did not know that you were the first of your family to return back to germany. that makes your step much more impressing and symbolic!
claudia
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