Arrival in Germany...

Well, as promised, I am going to keep you all updated on my progress through my blog :)

Though whilst I am writing this, I don't even have connection to the internet but I figured I would end up forgetting what I did or not be able to give a very detailed account of what I did.

So today (as i'm writing this, probably not as you are reading this..) is day number 2 technically. But I'll start at the very beginning!

Monday 31st July - I went to the airport with my parents and that was, somewhat surprisingly, problem free. Straight in, queued up for a bit, checked my bag in and then I had several hours to spare!

So what does any sane person do whilst waiting around with their parents and sister... go get a burger king of course! Big mistake. It tasted delicious at the time.. but afterwards, my stomach was certainly feeling it! I never did trust Burger King mayonaise!

Eventually it was time for me to say my goodbyes and go through to the departure bit.. but not before trying not to laugh at some people all in tears cause one of them was going away. Am I too harsh? Or perhaps just emotionless? Either way, it was hilarious!

Gave my parents and sister hugs.. pretended to cry (not for their benefit, more as a piss take..) then off I went.

Now the scary part began. I was all alone, in a strange place.. and I didn't know what I was doing. Luckily this was still on the english side, so anything I wanted to know was generally signposted.. in english! :)

Time to go through the security thingys! I had to take off my bracelet, empty my pockets and even take off my belt! Cheeky man! :P But luckily I didn't make the machine beep! :D Then through to the waiting area bit.. which was boiling! Had they not heard of air conditioning in that place!! Jeez!

Had to wait 15 mins for the gate for my flight to open.. and finally it did! Waheyy.. or perhaps not. Once I got down to my gate.. I was surrounded by mostly english and germans, which was fine. And then a rather loud family from I assume czech republic or Russia or that general area. If there was a prize for not shutting up, they would have won it within the first 5 mins!

Finally the woman started to say we could go through... I got all excited.. until she said 'if you have a speedy boarding ticket' which i'm not going to waste my money on! So I had to wait some more.. then she announced again.. and again I got excited.. but nooo... now It was those in wheelchairs or with young children! Yet another announcement.. those with pre-booked assistance..

One final announcement and hooray! It meant I could go through the gate! At last! Through I went.. only to find more queuing! Oh how we Brits love our queues right? I didn't think it was possible, but it was even hotter queuing in this tunnel.. waiting to be let on the plane! I would choose the one sunny day we have had all summer to fly wouldn't I! grr.

At last we started moving down the corridor, down some steps and out next to the plane! I thought my hair was going to blow off because of all the wind the plane was causing! Made my way onto the plane and headed to the nearest free seat! A window seat! Waheyy! Though it was a bit of a squeeze to get in there!

I was hoping the plane wouldnt be fully booked so I could have all three seats to myself, but no chance! Two men came and sat by me. And to make matters worse.. once we had got going, they both ordered cheesy bacon sandwiches! The smell was heaven... why had I ruined my stomach with Burger King!! Grr. I bought a water... for a wonderfully cheap £2.50! It was only a 330ml bottle too! Bloody airlines!

Finally I landed, and didn't have much queuing. Got my passport checked and through I went to wait for my luggage. I stood there, hoping with everything that I have, that my luggage would come out first. Not quite... but it was certainly in the first 20! Waheyy! In and out like a flash! Then I went outside and saw the english teacher (Doreen) from the school i'm going to be working at waiting for me!

Now the real adventure begins! She was lovely, as I had assumed from her e-mails! We had to make a bit of a mad dash to get the train but we made it with seconds to spare! I went back to her flat with her, as I couldn't actually get into my flat til today cause the previous tenant had only just moved out! Met her husband, who was lovely and her daughter who was also lovely!

We had, in my opinion, a traditional german supper, with the wurst and salami and that really nice bread they have. You know the sort I mean! It was delicious! Then we took her dog for a walk so that I could see where my flat was (because I live about 5 mins away from her) and also to show me where the train station and bus stops were.

Finally went to sleep after what seemed like a very very long day! I slept like a log.. until I was woken up at 4.40am! But it was a text that made me smile lots, so I can't complain too much! :D

Woke up this morning, quickly sorted out my stuff, then off I went to the flat with Doreen's husband, because she was at work. The flat is just as beautiful inside as outside and it's a perfectly cosy little place to live in for a year!

Today I did probably the bravest thing I have ever done in my whole life... I went down to the train station, got my ticket and got on a train to what I hoped was Potsdam, a city I have never visited before and went to have a look around there today.. all on my own! I was terrified at first, but once I got there it didn't seem as bad, Still pretty scary though!

Tomorrow I am going to be even braver I think.. and make it all the way to Berlin. We shall see in the morning though!

Now I am sat at my brand new home!! hehe on my bed, just trying to hide from the weather. It is glorious.. but it is at least 30 degrees! Which is far too hot for my liking. Also because of that, I still feel like I am on holiday, rather than I am living here!

I think this evening I may go for a walk as there are plenty places to explore nearby!

Until next time people who care about what I am doing...!

Bye!!

xxxxxxxxxxx