The end of the trip came faster than I ever could have imagined, and I am beyond sad to leave this place and these people. We started our travel day having one last speaker session in the back of the bus, where we of course had to play the song of the trip, Starships, to commemorate our time. After a short right to Larnaca, we had arrived at the airport. 

After a short delay, and some time waiting at the gate, we were finally on our first flight to Frankfurt. The general consensus of this flight was that everyone slept the whole time, as did I. One weird thing about this flight was not one but two medical emergencies. While I was not awake while they were occurring, I woke up to the aftermath, and it was super unnerving to see what had happened. Luckily it seemed like everyone seemed to be okay, and we made our way off of the flight, into the Frankfurt Airport. 

After Logan and I indulged in a lovely breakfast of hotdogs at 7 am, it was unfortunately time to say our goodbyes. It was incredibly hard to say goodbye to these people who I have made such amazing memories. Even though we have met only two weeks ago, it feels like so much longer, and the bond of the amazing experience we had will last a lifetime. 

After hugs goodbye, and a hefty layover, we made our way on the flight, where we headed for JFK. The flight was filled with listening to music, sleeping, and talking about memories of the trip. While long, we eventually made it to JFK, where I caught my last flight to Rochester.

Now navigating JFK on its own is a feat, but for doing it without a phone, debit card, or ID, I would say I did a pretty good job! Although the on the web era of my life was fun post pickpocketing, I am excited to return to having a phone. 

However, on the bright side of the phone being stolen, I was able to live in the moment a million times more, and really appreciate the company around me and the incredible things we have been doing the past few weeks.

After a long travel day, I am finally home in Rochester, and could not be happier I chose to apply to have this experience. This was one of the most amazing things I have done in my life, and I cannot wait to tell all my friends and family about my experience. I have been looking at pictures all day and don’t think I will be stopping anytime soon. 

And with that, my blogging travel experience is over, and I had the most amazing time 

Signing off with the most love in the world for Cyprus, 

Elaina Burghardt