For the departure day to Germany, I felt a mix of excitement and nervousness that made the experience different from any trip I have taken before. Most of my past travel has been either family vacations or shorter trips where everything felt planned out and familiar. This trip feels so much bigger because it combines travel, academics, and professional experiences all at once. Knowing that I am traveling internationally for a study abroad program instead of just for leisure makes the experience feel more meaningful and independent.
The day started early when our group met outside Litchfield Towers on campus in Oakland before taking a bus to the Pittsburgh International Airport. There was a lot of excitement loading our bags onto the bus as an official start to the trip together. When the bus was pulling out, the trip was really starting to feel real to me.
Our first flight was a short one-hour flight from Pittsburgh to Newark. After arriving, we had a three hour layover before boarding our second flight to Munich. The layover gave everyone time to relax, get food, and prepare for the overnight flight ahead. We split up and grabbed a little lunch and snacks for the plane. A couple of the girls and I ended up getting Wendy’s.
The flight to Munich was much longer than the flights I am used to taking, which gave me a lot of time to think about everything ahead. We got two meals on the flight including dinner and breakfast. I got pasta for dinner and cheese danish for breakfast. The dinner came with the main course pasta, a small salad, bread roll, and a blondie. I did not enjoy the food that much, but I did really like the desert blondie. After arriving in Munich, we went through customs and picked up our luggage before officially entering Germany. Although the process felt a little stressful at first because it was unfamiliar, it was exciting to navigate. Once everyone collected their luggage, we met our bus driver Karl, who drove us to the Ibis Augsburg Hauptbahnhof. The bus ride gave us our first look at Germany outside the airport, and it was exciting to finally see the city and scenery we had talked about before the trip.
The part of the trip I am most looking forward to is visiting companies and learning about Germany’s approach to business, manufacturing, and sustainability within the industry. I am also excited to experience the culture outside of the classroom through local food, the city itself, and interactions with students and professionals. Overall, departure day pushed me outside of my comfort zone in a positive way, and I am excited to see what I will learn the rest of the trip.
