Panic is an emotion I didn’t feel in a while. The past few weeks had been stressful and exciting, but now fear started to take over my body. Thinking about the possibility of not making it sent shivers down my spine. Adrenaline and cortisol rushed through my bloodstreams as I kept running, but I couldn’t stop myself from bumping into seats and other people on the train. Catching another glimpse of the gray stone walls flying by outside, I continued my journey. The muscles in my arms began burning and not knowing if I had minutes or seconds to get to the right door only aggravated the situation. 

When the conductor came from the other side of the train, I heard my own trembling voice asking “Can you please help me?'' and felt pure relief when he agreeingly nodded while grabbing my big orange-pink suitcase. One less burden to carry, I followed him trying to balance out the missing weight by spreading out the rest of my luggage. 

The coolness of the small square NYC keychain in my right hand calms me and I smile thinking about the past two days. For a moment, I zone out and find myself again on a sidewalk in downtown Manhattan standing in the burning sunlight and not having a care in the world. Girls that I met just about 48 hours ago are with me and it feels like we’ve known each other for years. Wanting to buy one of those typical I-love-nyc shirts, we spent our spare time strolling through the hot city and peeking into shops, whose loud pop music was audible from further away. Finally, we found what we were looking for and even got a three for $5 deal for some keychains. I love to remember those moments, but I reminded myself that now is not the time to reminisce about them. 

It’s time to focus on what’s ahead. Another train compartment to cross. Even the compassionate conductor has a hard time trying to catch a breath, and I wonder how exceptionally long this train is. When the train came to a halt, I got accustomed to the fact that I would probably miss my station. I expected the conductor to turn around and mumble a quick “sorry”, but that didn’t happen. 

Completely out of breath and overstimulated, I stepped out of the train into the midday heat, trying not to fall down the metal steps that connect the train to the ground. My head shifted from the dusty ground, up to a brunette woman with glasses, wearing a white-blue striped jumpsuit, as well as a big smile. Just seconds later, she held me in her arms and stroked my aching back. The warmth of her hand on my back made me feel welcome from the first second, when a tall man with a voluminous beard grabbed the handle of my suitcase and started to roll it across the gravelly ground in the direction of a white car. The strange yet so familiar woman and I started to walk there too and got accompanied by two young boys, whose interested gaze I could feel on me. Their joyful squeals filled the air as I sat down in the soft left seat in the back row of the car and noticed that I wasn’t able to stop smiling. I made it.  “Welcome to your new home”, said my host dad when we left the parking lot and headed towards the house that would be my new home for the upcoming five months.