I came into this trip fairly prepared for the long flights and layovers that were in store for me. I have been on many 8-hour flights and have had layovers so long that I had to spend the night in the terminal, but none of those were as draining as this trip. Never again will I voluntarily spend 9 hours sitting in an airport, even if I got on the global leaderboard for a game on the airport iPad. I was tired, bored and borderline narcoleptic; I fell asleep sitting on a stool while talking with friends. However, the moment we reached Germany I knew it was all worth it.

As we drove from Munich to Augsburg, I was in shock; the landscape looked more like central Pennsylvania then how I imagined Germany, but it was still beautiful. It wasn’t until we got to downtown Augsburg till I saw the landscape that I imagined. The cobble stone streets and old buildings were all so beautiful and filled with history. Everything around me just seemed so perfect, from the amazing public transportation to the allowance of dogs everywhere.  Even though I was seeing Germany for the first time through sleep deprived eyes, I was in awe by it.

I was worried going in to this trip about my lack of knowledge about the German language, but it turns out that was not going to be that hardest part. After the first dinner, I realized that food was going to be my biggest struggle. My table was arguing over whether we were eating chicken or pork when it was actually turkey; we even managed to mess up ordering plain water. For now, I will blame these mistakes on sleep deprivation.

My first day in Augsburg was amazing, but now I am just excited to be getting some rest. I want to be wide awake while taking on this new country.