Well, my trip to Berlin went flawlessly! AirBerlin (if you ever fly to Germany) was wonderful so here's a plug for them. We got dinner after we got on the plane - I didn't even need to remind them I needed a gluten free meal, woo! - and wine came with dinner (to help us sleep?). The flight attendants would speak German to you until you gave them a blank stare and then they'd switch to English, but luckily since I know my food/ordering I was able to speak German them the whole time. A little nerve-wracking but a good way to adjust quickly!
After dinner we got a little package with a toothbrush, toothpaste, warm socks and an eye mask so I made good use of that and tried to sleep. That didn't work out too well, so my seat partner and I spent a few hours talking instead. Turns out, she is a native Berliner who was interning in NYC for the semester, so she took great delight in telling me about everything I must see and do in Europe and Germany, things to look out for, and was generally a delightful conversation partner to prepare me for my arrival! She was so helpful she even went through customs with me, waited for me at baggage claim so we could struggle our way out of the airport together, and then gave me her information so that she and her boyfriend can meet up with me if I want. This was the perfect greeting to Germany, and one that I never would've expected after learning about German culture in class.
When I walked outside of the airport it was 7:30am and pitch black outside - that's one thing that'll take time adjusting to; the sun rises at around 8am and sets at 4pm. I took a taxi to school because of the amount of luggage I had (uncharacteristically unadventurous of me), and it was a swift Mercedes ride to school! The cab driver - of course - only spoke German and thought I did too, so that was fun.
I got to IES (my school) at 8am - 2 hours early. There was a random (I use that word appropriately here, as he is not from IES and I still don't know where he came from) man standing outside of the building, who then asked me something in German, to which I replied auf Deutsch ".....IES? I don't speak much German, I'm sorry". He registered this and then proceded to tell me, in German of course, "Well you are speaking really well. Come with me." Confused, I followed his hand motions and German phrases into an elevator and I ended up (thankfully, I suppose) on the IES floor. I was (of course) the first student there, but they started trickling in after a short time (I use that phrase loosely because I still don't know what time it is. It's 3:20am here now, actually, but jet lag is the best).
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