When I finally did get on the shuttle, it was a complete relief. My brain was still fried, my bag was still lost, but for the first time in more than a day, I was with other people. Philip, our organizer, came to pick me and some other UCSD kids from a different program. Being with someone who knew what they were doing and were just as tired as I was made me feel much more comfortable.

As we traveled by taxi to the hostel, I was struck by the amount of graffiti in Berlin. Most of it was artistic, but much of it seemed dirty or worn down, and a sign of the conditions here. It was more intriguing to me than discouraging or encouraging.

At the hotel, I saw many other familiar faces, which made things better, but they all seemed a bit depressed as well. There hadn’t been much of reception for us, and most people were unable to check in when they arrived, so they had been stuck as I had at the airport, tired and anxious.

The point was brought up that this is the first Global Seminar program going to Berlin. This fact resonated in my mind as we were left to get our key, find our room, and walk around all on our own. I felt the independence, but also the disorganization of the program. It definitely didn’t help that I was in a sub-par mood from the events before.

That night, we had a group dinner, but many people were unaware and we had to wait as our organizer rounded them up. The dinner itself was a complete meatfest. My plate had chicken, steak, and sausage on it. I love meat, but after my to mach had been sloshed by the airplane food, it was overwhelming to eat that quantity of meat.

The table conversation was sluggish from jet lag, as we attempted to ask Philip interesting questions which turned out to just be questions.

The train ride to and from the restaurant was packed with Germans who had gone to see the female world cup game. This caused even more sweatiness, in the clothes I had been wearing for the past ~2 days and would have to wear until I got my bag back.

Overall, the first night was bad. I wanted my first arrival with the group to completely make up for my terrible flights, or at least to take my mind off of them and to make me look ahead, but it didn’t. I had the same doubts going to bed as I did before. Countless little annoyances which I have left out from my description added up as well, which made things worse. After a shampooless shower, I slept like a hibernating bear.