Our First Adventure as E3 | Gabby Welty

I never really fly... ever. As I walked up to the check in desk for our delayed flight to Frankfurt, the woman picked up her radio and said, "The last few people are arriving now." There were two older women behind me who were also on our flight bickering to one another about which one of them made them late. As I was pacing nervously in the waiting area, one of the women reached out to me and we began chatting. I learned that they were sisters and were flying to Croatia to visit the hometown of their recently deceased mother. As they finished their touching story, I began to share my excitement and thoughts on what the E3 trip had in store for me.

The two sisters were so kind and excited for me as I embarked on my first trip to Europe. We actually ended up having seats in the same row as each other! After this comforting encounter, I knew that I was going to miss the American culture of becoming friends with random strangers and sharing your life experienced with them.

As we began to board our already delayed flight, we were nervous and excited at the same time. I knew the flight would be long, so I introduced myself to my Greek neighbor, Dimitri. He began to tell me about his life and how he had lived in the States for three years, but he was now returning home for the first time. We began to share stories and he told me that stepping out of your bubble can be immensely scary, but there is no growth in the comfort zone and no comfort in the growth zone. Dimitri explained that even though he missed his family and friends, he got to submerge himself in another culture, and he will take these memories with him for the rest of his life.

When we landed in Frankfurt, we were informed that our non-delayed connecting flight to Hamburg was leaving. We all began panicking and quickly boarded the nearest tram trying to find the terminal. The woman at customs looked at us and said "Oh, that plane left, but there should be another one leaving soon... You need to get new boarding passes." Looking like a frantic herd of sheep, we rolled our suitcases around the airport until we found someone who could help us. We made it in just the nick of time! Although my first international flying experience was an interesting one, it was a great way to get to know my friends in E3 in the midst of the craziness of the airport. I can't wait to see what Germany has in store for us!