Stefan, do you want to meet my parents? Yes, Dana. Of course I want to meet your parents.
You have to fly over to America for that. Oh.
Hey everyone! Dana here. - And Stefan.
And today - we're talking about my first few hours and days in America. - Yes.
So, why did we go to America? Or why did you come with me to America?
To meet your parents.
And to lessen the cultural differences that we had at home.
Yeah. Exactly. Like, living here with Stefan in Germany, he had never been to America.
So there were just some things that he didn't know about.
When I mentioned foods that I really missed, you didn't know why I was missing them so much.
Then you got to come to America and you got to try those foods
and then you understood. - And now I miss them. - Then you understood. - I miss the foods in America.
Yeah. So that was important. - It was important. - Yeah, for our relationship. Meeting my parents.
Seeing where I was from. - Yes. - But what did we have to do to get there?
We went on a flight from Munich to Atlanta. And then from Atlanta to West Palm Beach.
And that was your first big plane trip. - That was my first big plane trip ever.
That was my first plane ride crossing the Atlantic Ocean or crossing any ocean in different
time zones. - Oh yeah, that's true. So it was a big trip for you.
I didn't even think about it at the time, but I can imagine now it was probably a little
overwhelming. - It was super overwhelming. - Yeah, like,
not only going to a country where everyone was speaking English, also you had
to travel so far to get there. - It was quite amazing. - Yeah.
Already just landing in the airport in Atlanta Stefan already some surprises or some new
things to see. - So, we switched in Atlanta from an international flight to a domestic flight.
And we had to go through customs in Atlanta. - Yeah, pick up our baggage. - Pick up our luggage. - Uh-huh.
Not baggage. - Baggage. - Baggage is what you carry around with you; you have baggage.
No, it's also the stuff... - It's luggage. - It's baggage. - It's luggage. - It's also baggage.
There's a vote up there. - It's baggage and luggage. - Baggage or luggage?
Which do you prefer? - Okay, but it's both. It's baggage. - Baggage or luggage? - It's also the suitcases. - Yeah.
So we arrived in Atlanta and just, yeah, we picked up our bags. - Our bags.
And it was already overwhelming. First of all Atlanta is a huge airport. Huge.
Yeah, we arrive at the customs area and there was a person in his retired age, I would say,
cheering us on. - He worked there. - He worked there.
He was singing that we would please empty our bags from the items that were prohibited.
And the point was that he was singing about it.
He was singing it. He was singing it.
It's like they hired him and they were like: just make sure to get this information across.
He's like: can I sing it? They're like: sure. He's like: I'm going to sing it. - And
he was so happy about it. - And he was so happy.
And you were shocked. - I was shocked. - You were like... - Everyone was so friendly.
Like, honestly friendly.
It was, I don't know, it was a weird strange,
like happy feeling. - You're like why is he so happy? - Yeah.
Just a few minutes later we were waiting to have our next flight.
And I really wanted some of my favorite french fries that I had missed and so we went and
we bought, um, you got a burger and I got some french fries. - We got a menu, yeah.
And then we were talking about it.
We were sitting and I was eating the french fries. Like: ah, they're so good. They're so good.
I really missed them. - And that was your first time back home since you moved to Europe. - Yeah.
Exactly. So I was so excited to have these things that I had missed.
And what happened?
Next to us was a businessman and he was on his phone, eating his burger.
And then he turned around after his phone call, he turned around. - He must have overheard me.
I overheard you guys.
You really like the french fries.
I was going to throw these french fries away because the menu was just cheaper with the burger.
But he didn't want the fries. - And you seem to love them. Do you want the french fries.
He didn't do it in a weird way or anything like that. - No.
It was just genuinely, I'm going to throw these out. Do you want them?
Thank you nice person. If you ever watch this video, thank you. - And you ever remember us from like
9 years ago. That you gave someone french fries in the Atlanta Airport.
And you were again very shocked. - Very shocked.
And the Atlanta Airport is so big and there are so many people there that in the terminal
where we were waiting for our next flight, the cops, the airport police, rode around bikes.
Yeah. - With helmets. - Yes.
So basically, we can put all my experience from this point and going forward in America
to this emotion in my face.
I had never seen his face so, like just...his eyes...your eyes were big as walnuts.
Like you were just... - Like, culture shock.
So we went to bed. Really exhausted because long flight and everything.
But as I said it was my flight crossing different time zones, and going west you go back in time.
In the morning at like 5:30 local time I woke up.
Because it was - Yeah, that was the middle of the day. - six hours later here in Germany.
And in your head. - And in my head.
Yeah. - And I was like: okay, I'm awake. I couldn't stay in bed anymore.
And I didn't want to wake Dana, who was sleeping next to me.
And I didn't want to wake anyone else in the house.
So I silently walked to the balcony that was overlooking the Intracoastal in West Palm
and in the distance you could see the Atlantic Ocean and the sun was coming up, so I was
sitting there really quietly.
A minute later I heard my now mother-in-law saying, "Everything okay? Everything okay?"
So she came out. She started talking with me. And, yeah it was nice.
Because of course they didn't want you alone out there.
You know, you were the guest. - Yes.
And they wanted to make sure that you were doing okay. - Thank you very much.
And then my now father-in-law woke up.
And he also came out and he said, "Okay, I'm making coffee now." - Yeah, but the thing is,
you didn't know at this point that my dad wakes up at 5:45.
So it was only, like, 10 minutes early. - Yes. He went and made coffee.
And then 15 minutes later you were like - I came out like what's everybody doing? - okay
fine everyone is awake, I'm awake now too.
But I want to say one thing that no matter where you had gone in the U.S. I think you
would have had culture shock.
But now he was in South Florida.
It was the end of November but we were wearing shorts and T-shirts and there were palm trees
and Christmas music playing.
So I think that was also a pretty shocking place to visit as your first stop in the U.S.,
you know? - And I must say that since then, we have traveled a lot, we have been to a few places in the
world, but I never experienced that much culture shock as I experienced - As your first trip.
the first trip to America with you.
Interesting. That's really interesting. It was your first big trip. - Yes. - Yeah.
And also we didn't go there as tourists. - No, yeah. I lived, I had lived there. I had a home there.
So I was really showing you around the home.
And, I don't know, maybe this makes a difference that with the U.S., you had grown up seeing
movies that took place in the U.S.
You had grown up seeing TV shows. And now you were actually
in that place. - Yeah, maybe. - That might have been kind of surreal of, like,
to me this was always a fantasy place that was in movies and TV shows and now I'm...
it's a real place. You know? - Yeah. Maybe. - Maybe that played into it. - I don't know.
So yeah, that was overwhelming.
And it basically describes my whole trip.
One experience after another that was just overwhelming.
But amazing. Like... - And amazing. - Good, right? - Yes. - But overwhelming.
Overwhelming.
So our question for you is: Have you ever been on a trip somewhere where most of the
time at least you felt, yeah like that, that facial expression?
Like, overwhelmed but also in a good way.
Like wow!
Please let us know in the comments below.
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I think that's it. - Yeah. - I think that's it. Until next time, auf Wiedersehen!
I was General Tso's chicken and moo shu pork!
The whole trip was just... - Yeah. This was him the whole trip. - Yeah. - Wait...