Arriving in Germany

Arriving in Germany was one of the most enjoyable experiences i’ve encountered. Although the flight to get here was long, as soon as we stepped off the plane into the Frankfurt Airport I felt an unexpected peace melt over me. The airport in Frankfurt was silent. There were no people running. No one was stressed. No one was angry. It was incredibly peaceful. After we passed through customs and received our luggage, we took a bus to the opposite side of the airport to catch our train. My friends and I were extremely confused on how the train system worked even though we could read German and we had to ask for help. We ended up missing our train, but we were able to get on the next train with the same ticket! The train to Freiburg was gorgeous. The interior was so pretty and decadent. Most of the train ride I spent looking out the window at the beautiful German country side. All the houses here look like cottages from a fairy tail. I was surprised at how much graffiti enraptured Germany, but I soon came to love it. The graffiti reveals a certain freedom of existence and intention that you can’t find in America. On the train I was able to place my first order (a water) in German and I felt so accomplished. After the train station we had to walk for about 20 minutes to the IES center. This was so exhausting because we all had two giant suitcases and we had to pull them over the cobblestone (best workout you can get). We finally made it to the IES center and there we met so many new people and played guitar and piano. After, IES provided a taxi to our dorms. The dorms here are basically just apartments. Mine has a balcony, a stove, an oven, a toaster, pots, pans… EVERYTHING. I’m excited to make Germany my new home!