On Friday night/Saturday morning we departed for the airport. We sang songs on the bus for one last time. I was in denial. We were all so happy. I had the best time of my life, and now it was coming to and end. We checked our bags after waiting in the long baggage line. The weight limit now 23kg, whereas 50 pounds before. There was lots of laughter in the security line. We had to take a picture of ourselves that would be seen on a customs pass. My picture turned out pretty well but Ben’s was really funny. We all laughed about it and we were filled with excitement. Running on no sleep, that didn’t matter because our emotions kept us awake. Soon there would be no kilograms, driving on the left side of the road, greek, and euros. It was all coming to an end. We went to the gate all together one last time. Ben bought me a water while I did some schoolwork. He needed his boarding pass to check out which I had never heard of before. We finally boarded the plane and took off after being delayed at the gate. I slept and relaxed on the ride.
Before I knew it we landed in Germany and we were all rushing to the gate. The Pittsburgh group was the first to leave as they boarded almost immediately after we landed in Germany. We said goodbye as they headed to Chicago, where their layover was before heading to Pittsburgh. This picture is a selfie with Jodie who left in the Pittsburgh group. She was our program coordinator, and she also plans other groups too. Back in Limassol, I was with her when she bought the necklaces she is wearing in the picture. She was awesome and I am so glad I got to know her. The Pittsburgh and Philly group left and then the Newark, Dulles, and JFK group was left. We got some food and sat together before splitting up. The Newark group, which I was in, boarded the plane and we landed eventually. Longest plane ride ever ugh. We stayed together as a group through customs, still laughing all the time. Made it through customs and then on baggage claim. All of us got our bags and then we walked towards the exit. This was the end, we had to leave. I hugged everyone goodbye. Nothing felt real. The time I spent in Cyprus was the best I have had in my life. I made so many friends and I will never forget it. This is not a farewell, it’s a see you later Cyprus.
