After nearly a day in airports and airplanes, I’m finally home and writing my final blog entry.  We last left off before my free day and after the Ulm trip.  My free day was spent in and around Augsburg.  We went to the zoo, walked around the city and university, and hung around the hotel packing for the voyage we would have the next day.  We left for the Munich airport early Saturday and after a short bus ride arrived.  Once at the airport we got on the plane to Toronto and fell asleep.  Once in Toronto, we all hung around for a while before splitting up to all go our separate ways.  I had a six hour layover to kill so I did some schoolwork and watched youtube videos for most of the time.  When it came time to board my flight, we were told that there would be a one-hour delay due to an organizational issue on the part of Air Canada.  Surprisingly, one hour later we boarded our plane and made our way to Philadelphia where I am now.

That’s how I got home.

As we were told before we left, I experienced a little reverse culture shock, and the things that I found different about Germany were magnified again once back home.  I really enjoyed this trip.  I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I signed up to go because I wasn’t going to know anyone that was going, I had never been to Germany, and I didn’t really know anything about the curriculum of the program.  I can now say that I would do it again in a second.  This is the type of experience that lasts a lifetime.  Something that is filled with fun, friends, and learning.  Never in my life have I been so busy while enjoying every second what I was doing.  I loved everything from trying new foods, to visiting companies and landmarks, to meeting new people and learning their culture.  It is so rare at home to meet people that are very different from you and I’m glad I got to have such a positive experience stepping outside of my comfort zone.  I’d like to thank everyone who made this experience possible, the other students, and my parents for allowing me to have such a great time.  Without all of these people none of this would have been possible or so great.  Thanks for reading my blog – Sam.