The Adventure Begins

My adventure to Berlin began at 5:00 am in the longest security line I have ever seen at the Wichita airport. I had to run to my gate (boarding was supposed to close in a minute), only to find that the pilots were waiting for an extra half-an-hour because security was so slow. (Only in Kansas would the plane wait for everyone).

My flights to Berlin took me from Wichita to Denver to Newark to Berlin. Because going West first is clearly the only right way to get to Germany.

Most of the flying was pretty uneventful (the Denver airport is boring). It wasn't until we were almost in Newark that things got a little more interesting. I was straining my neck, trying to catch a glimpse of New York City. I've never been. Finally, the massive skyline came into view. I began rapidly searching for a familiar landmark.

Then I saw the Statue of Liberty for the very first time. I think I audibly gasped. Whoops.

I mean, like, she's real!! No, I know she was real, it just wasn't real for me, you know? Ugh, so cool. It looked just like it does in the movies, with the bridge and the bay and her.

Above: An approximation of what I saw because I was too busy almost crying to take a picture.

Below: A gorgeous picture of the Empire State Building I took while we were landing and proceeded to send to everyone I know in excitement.

I have to go to NYC now.

The Newark airport was super cool. There's a huge food court where you order on iPads and then pick up your food from various stations. It's all self-pay too. Just scan your receipt before leaving and swipe your card.

I met up with one of the other interns (Caroline) at the airport since we had the same flight. We sat around for quite some time before our plane finally started boarding. I was supposed to sit on an aisle seat, but a German college student asked me if I would switch with his girlfriend, who was in the middle of the back row. I was nice an agreed, but I had to sit for 8 hours in between two strangers. (One of them, an older German lady, gave me the contact information of all these German friends of hers that would take care of me). The most exciting thing about that flight besides finally landing was the flight attendant with the most beautiful handlebar mustache I've ever seen.

I left at 6:30 am on May 21 and landed at 7:50 am on May 22. In transit for only 15 hours, I had managed to jump forward in time. And thus begins my adventure.