Our day began sharply at 12 AM with us preparing to depart from the Alinea hotel to the Lanarca airport. Walking to the bus stop with out suitcases was a surreal experience because it finally put into perspective that we were leaving for good. This was the same walk we took every morning for our site and cultural visits, and now we were taking it to go home.

On the bus ride, we had a mixture of karaoke, sleeping, and casual conversation. Everyone was in a good mood and excited to finally rest when home.

The most interesting aspect of the Larnaca airport was the automated security check where a machine scanned out ID and took a picture of us to ensure we were the same person. After the security check, we boarded our plane and flew to Frankfurt, Germany.

We said our goodbyes at the Frankfurt airport. Even though we all go to the same university and will undoubtably see each other on campus, it was still an incredibly saddening experience saying goodbye to everybody. With that being said, the reason this is the end of beginning is because even as we all separated our own ways, there was sense of anticipation for a new phase in our lives approaching. We all entered this program knowing little to no one and we all left with 23 more friends and connections than before. There are some people, like Gavin, Julia, and Andreas, that I had classes with during Freshman year but never approached or talked. Coming on this program allowed me to develop a relationship with them and grow my own support system at Pitt. As such, as I wrap up this program, I can positively affirm that the best part was the people I met (as cheesy as that may sound).

I cannot promise what the future holds, but I sincerely hope that I continue to stay in touch with this amazing group of people because I will never be able to bond with another group of people in the same way.