After the first day my biggest take away from Germany has been the mass cultural differences between us and the natives. My first realization of a cultural difference came from my arrival of the airport where I seemingly missed the memo of nobody in Europe wears shorts, immediately creating a flag on myself labeled tourist. Being able to walk around the city and experience a completely different part of the world has been a strange experience, where even though we seem to be connected by most world wide things such as electronics and mass clothing brands the differences between us and the local people seem just as endless. You understand the concept that you will be different from those who call where your traveling home, however I think you never truly grasp how different you feel when you struggle to find people who you can communicate with. Its an extremely humbling and vulnerable state to be in, where you feel almost helpless in the hands of others and must put your faith in their ability and desire to help you, as they could just as easily write you off and make your trip that much harder. For that fact I would like to acknowledge for even those I was unable to communicate with I am yet to interact with someone who has not tried to accommodate me and change their normal approach to assist me.
-Drew Watts