26h journey - A long way to go

After a long wait, our day had finally come. The eternal wait was finally over and in the morning we set off for Berlin Tegel Airport, from where our first flight to Amsterdam took off. Despite being extremely tired, we were all full of excitement and soon we went to drop off our luggage and quickly to the check-in. After we had passed everything unharmed, we then boarded the plane and not even 15 minutes later we were already flying above the clouds.

Tired and exhausted, we all slept for the 1.5 hours ahead of us and almost all of us survived the bumpy ride.

Arriving at the airport in Amsterdam, we tried to bridge the long wait time (5 hours) as quickly as possible. First, we (divided into groups) went in search of something to eat, which turned out to be quite difficult given the large selection :)

After we all found something and were happy, full, and satisfied, sleepiness overcame us again. But since we had plenty of opportunity to sleep on the next flight, we decided to pull ourselves together and walked around the airport.

But our motivation didn't last long because after only 15 minutes our euphoria broke down and we made our way to the nearest seating area.

Arriving there, we were surprised to meet the other groups who were already sleeping :D

After a while, we made our way to the gate, where we had arranged to meet Mrs. Hinz and Mrs. Teutloff. Despite a small complication, we managed to find each other again and then went over a few rules of behavior for our stay in the USA. Right after that, we went to check-in and everyone was let in except Angelina, who was selected by the officers to be checked again. Despite the small shock, the officers had to realize that we're not criminals :) Apparently, the officers didn't target a specific person, but simply chose one from our group for a more thorough examination. Together we then went into the plane and set off for Chicago.

Arriving on the plane to Chicago, we were initially delayed by some technical problems with the aircraft before we could finally start the 9-hour journey. But despite everything, we were quite busy because we not only slept but were also well taken care of. Starting with lunch (which some of us slept through :D) to ice cream and cake at the end, everything was included. The hours just didn't seem to pass, and even if they did, it wasn't motivating to see that we still had 5 hours ahead of us. But despite that, we managed to endure it all and arrived at Chicago Airport full of excitement.

But as soon as we all went to the bathroom and gathered, we realized that Mrs. Hinz was not there... After we were asked by the security personnel to line up, the fear began because Mrs. Hinz had all the important documents including the ESTA. So we all stood in line and hoped that she would come soon. When she still hadn't arrived after 20 minutes, we became increasingly anxious. No Mrs. Hinz, no Chicago, let alone the USA. When Hannes went to look for her and found her, we were all relieved. So our 11-hour flight wasn't in vain :)

After standing in line for what felt like 2 hours to finally reach the (one!!!) counter, we had overcome the greatest part, because despite the fear of not getting the shuttle afterwards, we still managed to do it. And our next tour through beautiful Chicago began.

When we finally arrived with the shuttle, we wandered around for a while in search of the train station until we finally found it at the last second and boarded our train.

Since we were all completely exhausted, we all fell asleep until we finally arrived at our destination - Springfield. Exhausted but still excited, we walked down the stairs and saw the host families already standing outside. And before we knew it, we were all hugging each other, taking photos, and being asked about our journey. Separated but satisfied, we all left Springfield Station with our respective host families.

Laura K