Although I’ve been on a Charter flight before (where the logistics of the trip were planned for me), I have never commercially flown or travelled before. When booking my flights for this trip and realizing I was getting to and from Germany by myself, I grew anxious and worried about the trip. In addition to my lack of travel, my parents and siblings have also not flown internationally before, so there was a lot of unfamiliarity with the logistics and not a lot of close resources to assist my packing, planning, or experience on my days of travel.
Considering my situation and lack of experience, it was crucial for me to research things such as my luggage regulations and requirements, the airports I was travelling through (Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Munich), etc. Beforehand, I utilized resources provided by the program as well as resources online to understand what I needed to pack and how to do so, and the information I gathered was immensely helpful to me before I left for Munich.
On the day of the trip to Munich, I initially found it difficult to get through TSA and navigate the airport by myself, although I found the signage to be much more concise and organized than I anticipated, so this made it rather simple to find my gate. When landing in Chicago for my layover, I had very limited time and had similar concerns about navigating the airport; however, thanks to my flight landing a bit early and similarly organized signage, I found my next gate without much confusion at all. Finally, in the Munich airport, the directions each had English translations on them and were very helpful, so I made my way through passport control and baggage claim very easily before meeting with my group and beginning the program.
Considering my flights home and the experience around them was very similar, I found how easy it is to navigate unusual and uncomfortable situations when I simply apply the appropriate amount of care and research. I took all necessary steps for my travel before, left no uncertainty for the things in my control, and was not embarrassed to ask airport associates questions when I had them; because of this getting myself to Munich and back was a surprisingly easy and navigable situation, and I’m glad that the fears I had for flying beforehand did not spoil my excitement for the program or make me hesitate to travel.
Swanson School of Engineering 