We eventually arrived in DC an hour before schedule after an 8-hour long bumpy flight. My first impressions were – to say the least – quite intriguing. In my first few hours of traveling and being on American soil, I already had quite an unpleasant experience with a United flight attendant and the US Border Inspection. That aside – everything went pretty well.

The Washington Center gave us a warm welcome, and after checking-in, we left the building for some grocery shopping. It is safe to say that American stores are nothing like Belgian stores. At first glance, fruit and vegetables have interesting discolorations and seem less fresh, and fresh bread appears to be a rare thing here as well.

Everything is well, we’re settled in our apartment, and the adventure (or ‘transformation’ as TWC calls it) is about to start.