Touchdown Indiana

Indiana, Here we come

Hoping it will be better than our Dallas experience

After our 7 hour layover in Dallas, frankly, we were happy to hit our next flight to Indianapolis. We did not feel happy with the way things were in Dallas, at least at the airport. You can read about this in my previous article, A Shocker in Dallas. This trip was full of shockers, remember, I also had a shocker in Cebu.

We caught our flight in mid-afternoon. It was an uneventful flight, just some rather obnoxious passengers seated near us, but hey, no need to complain (it won’t help).

We had generally high expectations for Indiana, and one not so high… low, in fact.

Low Temperatures

Yes, our “low expectation” was that the temperature would be low. Especially low after coming from the Philippines some 24 hours earlier. We were accustomed to temperatures in the high 80s or low 90s daily.

When we checked the weather forecast, it said the temperature should be in the mid-30s F. We had not experienced that kind of weather in 2 decades!

Touchdown in Indianapolis

When the wheels hit the ground in Indianapolis, I have to say, we were pretty excited! We had never set foot in the State of Indiana before but chose it for our new home based on discussions with a friend who lives here. We took a leap of faith, would it pay off? Would we enjoy the new life we had chosen? Would we decide to make Indiana a permanent new home, or was it just a stop along the way of finding the new home we were seeking?

Those were all questions passing through all of our minds. When I say “all” I mean myself, my wife Feyma, and our oldest son Chris.

Looking out of the window on the tarmac, it was exciting to see Indiana for the first time, and know that this was at least a “for now” home, and hopefully a permanent home for us.

Met at the airport

Our friend, LeRoy, met us at the airport. He traveled more than an hour to Indianapolis to pick us up and assist us with this final leg of the move. LeRoy has been a really blessing to us ever since. He is always there to help in any way he can.

LeRoy had parked his car just outside the luggage claim area and told us where to meet him (text message). We had a lot of luggage, so Chris and I started bringing out a couple bags at a time.

The first time I stepped out the door, it was really cold! As I recall, the temperature was 37, which was frigid to me. I did not realize that just a week later it would be 45 below Zero (including wind chill).

We got all of our luggage loaded up into the Van that LeRoy brought, and started our journey to Logansport. Along the way, we stopped and had dinner with LeRoy. It was nice to share a meal, and talk about some of the excitement ahead.

Impressions of the People of Indiana

Our biggest impression of our short stay in Dallas was that the people there were just soooo rude!

This could be a skewed impression for a couple of reasons:

1. It was entirely inside the airport, which is not a slice of “real life” of the way things are there.
2. Much of the sour taste in our mouths was due to very rude treatment by TSA, and this was during the government shutdown and these people were working with no pay, so they were probably in particularly sour moods.

Our hope was that Indiana would prove friendlier.

I am happy to report that our impression of the people here in Indiana is very positive. Friendly people! I can only think of a couple of people that were a bit less than friendly, and even those people were not all that bad. The vast majority of people we have encountered in our one-month here have gone out of their way to welcome us, assist us in any way they could, and just present themselves as genuine friends and resources that we could call on for assistance.

Impressions of Logansport

When we came into Logansport for the first time it was dark, so it was hard to get a good impression of the town. We did make a couple stops along the way, and the people were nice and friendly, but it was too early to form much of an opinion.

After seeing Logansport in the light of day, and now having a month in town, we are very favorable about Logansport, Indiana.

Old time feel

Logansport, in many ways, feels like it is still back in the 70s or so when I was growing up. Small town feel. People are respectful and friendly to each other.

I have lived in so many places around the USA and in 3 different countries, so it has always been hard for me to call a place “home”. I lived in Davao City for longer than any other place in my life, but during my childhood there was one small town where we lived for 5 years. That town was Clatskanie, Oregon. Other than Davao, I would say that Clatskanie kind of feels like home to me.

Logansport reminds me a lot of Clatskanie when we lived there. I was from 1st Grade up until mid-6th grade when we lived in Clatskanie. Logansport just reminds me a lot of kind of an “updated Clatskanie”. I like it.

Is this home?

So, I asked earlier if Logansport would be our new home, or if would turn out to be just a stop in the road leading to our permanent new home.

About a week ago, Feyma, Chris, and I were sitting around in our living room. I asked each of them “Is this home, or just a step toward finding our new home?” Both Chris and Feyma told me “this feels like it will be home”.

I was happy to hear that, because I felt the same.

Will it turn out to be permanent? Too early to say. But, it feels like it will. We like it. We feel comfortable here. We like the people. We like the size of the town.

There is a lot of opportunity here

Everywhere you go in town, nearly every business has a sign in the window, or inside the store “Apply for a job” or “Help Wanted”. It is amazing. And there are good paying jobs available.

LeRoy, the friend who has helped us so much, works for Tyson here in Logansport. Before the move, he told me that he felt nearly certain that Feyma could easily get a job at Tyson. He also felt that Tyson would be open to hiring Chris. For those who are unaware, Chris is 27, but has never had a job before. Chris has a developmental disability, and we thought he would never be able to work.

Applying for Work

Just a few days after we arrived in Logansport, Feyma, Chris, and I went to Tyson so they could apply for work there. The application process was easy, and they each had interviews within just a couple of days. Both Feyma and Chris got hired immediately.

They have been working for a little over 2 weeks now, and they both love their jobs. Chris is so proud that he is working and earning money. In fact, I think he didn’t even realize that he was earning money, he was just happy and fulfilled to have work. When he got paid he was so excited.

For those who are not aware, I am self-employed, and I work at home, no matter where in the world I am, so I did not need to go out and seek employment.

I will be writing more on the subject of Feyma and Chris working, particularly more about Chris.

First Impressions have been spot on

So far, our very positive first impressions of Indiana in general, and particularly Logansport have been spot on. Will it hold up? Well, I hope so, and we will find out as time goes by. But, so far, we are feeling 100% that we made the correct decision in moving back to the United States, and particularly to the area that we chose.

Is life perfect? No, no life is ever perfect. But, this is looking and feeling pretty darn good! Let’s see if it stays that way!