Sarly goes to New York

Well, we're in Europe!

On the seven-hour flight over, I typed up a summation of our last two days in New York. Six hours in, I realized it had turned into the first draft of a book and promptly scolded my overly ambitious side before cutting it down to bloggable size.

So, in a nutshell, this is what's up:

Carly and I just arrived in Europe, and we'll be here for the next month. We booked our flights out of New York City to save money and were kindly given buddy passes to fly standby from Cincinnati to  JFK. Those of you who use buddy passes know the dangers: full flights, delayed flights, overbooked flights, and busy ticket agents can all leave you stranded on the wrong side of the shaky little wind tunnel that acts as a red carpet for the more privileged passengers boarding the plane. Okay, so they aren't exactly more privileged, but they aren't the cheap kids hitchhiking their way to the edge of the big pond. At one point I joked about climbing into the wheel wells as we sat waiting to win the seat lottery, and Carly laughed. Flying standby makes you wish crazy things.

Everything went smoothly, and we ended up arriving in the Big Apple on Sunday night, two days ahead of time. With all that time to kill, we took a walking tour of Manhattan on Monday through a torrential downpour with raincoats that funneled all liquid onto our pants and only partially kept it off our shirts. The locals all used umbrellas, and had dry pants and dry shirts. Huh - note to self. Buy an umbrella.

But even in the rain, New York is big, bright, and delicious. Superman and Ironman watch over the city from massive billboards amongst the various advertisements and random video screens. Cafe Habana near SoHo served us roasted corn on the cob slathered in mayonnaise and topped with cotija cheese and a streak of chili powder  - an explosion of taste set off by lime and definitely the best corn I've ever had! We saw a few very eccentric persons (one man in six-inch platforms and diamond-slashed tights), but for the most part the city is filled with everyday people from every ethnicity wearing everything from suits to sweats. In Times Square, the Late Show with David Letterman offered us free seats in the audience, and despite the fact Carly's curls were going adorably wild, we decided the sodden look was not quite what we had imagined for our national television debut and politely declined. We found a shop with thirty-dollar mechanical pencils and two-thousand dollar rings: we found another shop with reasonable prices and simple journals that found new homes with us.

Sonya and Franz graciously hosted us during our two-night stay - the first of many such saints on this trip. She is from the mountains of Kentucky and he is a native to New York City: the story of how God brought them together kept us fascinated for hours. Their apartment is adorable and their hospitality humbling! They let us sleep in their living room and kept us well-fed and watered; both physically and spiritually. Eventually, they will be planting a church in the Bronx: their steadfast commitment to the Light is encouraging to see in such a difficult place.

I don't fully know what to expect from this foray through Europe. As of now, I'd say I'm anticipating a fantastic cultural experience filled with history and adventure, marked by realizations of how spiritually dark Europe has become juxtaposed with flashes of light from our multiple missionary hosts. Seeing as we just met last fall, I know I will be learning a lot more about Carly and the blessing she is as a friend (she's already saved my sandwiches from being left behind and started the process of teaching me to really understand the delicate discipline of taste).

We landed in Dusseldorf early this morning: we took the train to Cologne (Köln) and are staying the night here before embarking on the nine-hour trip to Prague (Praha). Hopefully I can stay disciplined enough to post every few days...but don't hold your breath. ;-)