Miracle on Nadelberg Street

Good evening to me. And good evening to you in 6 hours or so.

The last two days have been unreal. Let me begin with some humor.

Apparently it's common to swim in the fountains here, but I am not sure if that includes snorkels.

So yesterday was my first day, and I wasn't really nervous until midnight or so the night before. I guess I had so many other things to accomplish before this, but then it finally sunk in that I would be working here. It gets light at 5:30am, literally, so I kept waking up, startled, thinking I was late. Gave myself an hour or so to walk to work, so I could enjoy Basel waking up, and to make sure I was there on time. It is so easy to get lost here, amongst the tiny unmarked streets. I buzzed the intercom, and opened the door of a building from the 1300s or so (I wondered how many people had walked through this same door, on their first day of work). I got to the door of edge, my company, and was greeted by my boss, Martin. It is a beautiful space; old furnaces in each room, big open windows, and the contrast of sleek furniture and computers: a designer's paradise. I then met Benno, who I had been corresponding with by email. And then that was it. It's the three of us! On the website, it says there are 28 designers, but that is all over the world. Well, I already know everyone's name. :) There was a flower arrangement on my desk to welcome me, and a Ralph Lauren box. Wow! Well, the flowers were for me, but the box was just full of markers. But hey, I am still ecstatic with that! I sat and got myself acquainted with my desk and surroundings, and began to learn the Adobe programs in German. Some of it is easy to recognize, and the shortcuts are still the same, but cheat sheets were definitely prepared. Also, my keyboard is European. I can't find an image online, so someday I will have to take a picture of it. But the "y" and the "z" keys are switched places, and there are additional keys for the accented vowels. I am so thankful that Benno and Martin have spent time in the States and know English. And I always know when I am being talked to, because it is in English! We took a lunch break, and headed for a stroll down to the Marktplatz, and then to Münster, and then to a lovely restaurant down the hill. I had seen this place from my walk this morning, and was gawking at how beautiful it was; a garden in the center, nice tablecloths and goblets, dressy waiters, the works! And we were eating there! I am so blessed to have kind and friendly supervisors, and I can't wait to see what all I will get to learn from them. Conversation is so easy. And I am not intimidated, just excited to experience. We came back and had a team meeting, aka, us together again talking but at a different table. It was wonderful.

Came home and went out for a drink with Katie and her friend from work. Basel at night is great; there are people out and about, and enjoying the heat. I was so happy, I didn't want the day to end, and stayed up until 3am. But then it ended. And I got up, reluctantly, today.

Work today was good too. Walked to work in 25 minutes, just like Google Maps predicted in the beginning. During lunch today, I explored because I wasn't feeling that hungry... and what an amazing experience that was. I stumbled across an ethnic jewelry shop, and two bead stores, so up my alley. I am resisting buying anything yet, until I have some sort of income, and so that I don't go crazy (it was taking all my might not to just starting threading). I also saw a bookstore and went in. It was cute and quaint, and then I saw a Max Lucado book. Christian bookstore? Is that what that word was? I asked the guy at the counter if he knew of a church that speaks English, and he did! He found one that is in the town over. It sounded far away, but it probably wasn't. And English... sounds tantalizing. I walked out, and found another bead store...well, beads and more store. There was a giant Freitag bag outside, so of course that led me in. I found a shirt that had the Swiss cross and a Jesus cross on it. Is this another one? I asked the woman here if she knew of an English speaking church, just by chance, to see if there was one closer than a town away. She knew of one. And she looked it up online and found it to be just a short walk from my apartment. And it is Youth-oriented! And it has small groups! I just stood there. Broken english never sounded so good. I started crying, and asked her if I could give her a hug. We did, and then she prayed for me, in Swiss-German. Wow, can't explain what an amazing experience that was. And we are getting together next week. I am so excited. Seriously, there are no words. What. A. Blessing.

Came home tonight after a nice walk and ate dinner with my roommates. We are bonding and laughing, and I enjoy coming home to them. They are great; they ask me about my day and about my life. I will miss this when it is over.

Well, it is 10:17pm now, and it just got dark about 5 minutes ago. I am telling you, the sun loves to hang out in Basel.

I love and miss you all.

I remembered this part of a Watermark song today. I don't know if it has any meaning to you right now, but it does to me.

Know that you'll never stray too far

Let His power within you heal your heart

Lift your eyes to spacious skies

Let Him chart your way to flight

Spread your wings and fly

For the Lord, He is good.