Well, the flight was smooth! I had a four hour layover in Chicago; I didn't have enough time to leave the airport and explore, even though I've ALWAYS wanted to visit Chicago! Oh well, I'll just have to plan another trip out there someday...anyway, we flew past O'Hare and circled around near Lake Michigan, so I decided to snap a photo of the Chicago skyline against the lake.
And then we got to O'Hare and I spend four hours walking around the terminals trying to remember the details from Allegiant! I didn't really remember most of it, but it was still pretty cool!!
So I arrived in Berlin just before 0700 local time, which is 2300 MST. We descending through thick clouds and I got my first look at Berlin!
I had a bit of a hiccup because NRCSA never forwarded my flight information to my host family, apparently because I didn't file some form I had to file, but oh well, I caught a cab and made it here on my own! Anyway I got to my host family's apartment around 0900. The couple are very nice, but only Mr. Ecker speaks English; however there are other students here from other parts of the world. They speak English well enough so I think it'll be a nice stay.
It took awhile for me to set up my room even though I don't really have much. It seemed like I had a lot of luggage while I was on the place and had to lug it around, but it turns out that one suitcase, one duffle bag, and one backpack don't hold enough to fill a wardrobe, a bureau, a bookshelf, and a desk. That's all I've got in my room, plus a bed; it's basically a single dorm setup but I like it. At least I have some privacy. I only wish I hadn't decided against bringing my own blanket cause I already miss my binary blanket and down pillow! I will make it work, though!
Mr. Ecker showed me around a bit after I finished unpacking. We took a walk to the subway station and bus station so I'd know where to go tomorrow when I begin classes. I wanted to spend some time today getting to know the immediate area, but I'm pretty jet-lagged. An eight-hour flight it was and I didn't sleep a wink; instead I watching "The Black Swan," "The Last Samurai," and "Man of Steel." By the way, airberlin has the best in-flight entertainment! Anyway, I may still go out this evening as it's only after 1500 here in Berlin, although my body thinks it's 0800 on an insomniac's morning. If I do decide to go out, I'll take some pictures and upload them in my next post. Mr. Ecker showed me the shopping mall just a few blocks away that is one of the largest shopping malls in Europe, so I may spend an afternoon in there and see what I can see. Since I'm so used to small towns (Villanueva to Las Vegas to Las Cruces) seeing a city where all the buildings are like seven stories high is going to take some getting used to. It doesn't really seem like a big city in a way though; even on the drive from the airport, the number of trees and the amount of greenery totally masked the fact that I am, in fact, in one of the largest cities in the country.
I think I'm really going to like this city. I'll keep you posted though!
Auf Wiedersehen!
No comments:
Post a Comment