Last night, it really hit me. No, not the fact that I was in a different country and culture than the US. Rather, it was the fact that I hadn't slept in almost 40 hours, and it hit me hard. To begin, let me rewind to yesterday morning when I arrived in Munich. At the airport, I went through a seamless process of getting my checked bag and making my way to the transportation area. From here, I spent a good portion of time in front of the train ticket booth, trying to decipher the strange glyphs that were meant to be a language. After several attempts at communicating with passerbys, I was able to find someone who showed me how to change the booths into English and buy the required ticket.

On the train, I met a school teacher from Munich who just came back from a 3 month trip to New Zealand to study English. She knew none before she left, and now we were able to carry out a conversation the entire ride to the city. I wonder if I can learn a language in 3 months? She explained the tickets to me and how to navigate the trains in Munich, and recommended a few sights to see while in town. At the hauptbahnhof (central station) in Munich, I went to the visitors information booth and got more maps and materials to get around Germany. From here, I went up into the main station, which was quite impressive. Trains were lined up with posted destinations such as Brussels, Amsterdam, Salzburg, and Frankfurt. The trains come and go like clockwork, and the Germans seem to feel very strongly about the significance of the minute hand of the clock. If the train is to leave at 16:43, it leaves at 16:43 exactly. I leave the station and head straight to my little traveler's oasis, the Wombat Hostel. Here, I am greeted with a very friendly staff, clean sheets, a free drink, and my very own spot in a room with 7 other people. I get settled in and decide to hit the streets before the adrenaline wears off. On my way to the marienplatz, I meet a professor from the University of Tenessee who is touring Europe for a month before going to China to teach English for the rest of the summer. After wandering the Munich streets for a bit, we head back to the Wombat and meet a bunch of guys from Texas. We all head out for the world-famous Hofbrauhaus to sample a bit of German fare and we end up getting back to the hostel at around 3 in the morning. At this point, the jetlag and lack of sleep hit me like a rock, and I end up spending most of today at the Wombat, trying to convince my body that yes, that really is the sun outside.