Arriving in Potsdam ~ Sophia

Getting to Potsdam was quite an adventure. I woke up at 5 in the morning to catch my first flight, which landed me in JFK airport several hours later. The second plane was much smaller; to board, I actually got to walk out on the tarmac and climb up a flight of stairs (and duck my head! It really was very tiny.) There was also no first-class section in the front, just two single seats next to the stewardesses' station. As a perk of traveling alone, I ended up seated in one of these, right up front and with the whole seat to myself, window to aisle.

And a neat view of the cockpit.

The bus from Syracuse to Potsdam only runs twice a day, and my plane arrived too late for the 5 PM bus, so it was an overnight stay in Syracuse followed by a 7 AM bus for me.

Hotel room all to myself for the first time!

Getting up for the bus wasn't fun -- and the time change wasn't in my favor -- but the ride through the countryside was lovely. I arrived in the late morning, just in time to catch the end of the first math session of the day. Afterwards, I proceeded to get completely soaked in the rain, get lost on the tiny campus, and finally fall asleep sitting up in the middle of the second math session. That last got me sent back to my dorm room for some much-needed sleep.

I swear this stuff doesn't normally put me to sleep.

I'm feeling much better rested now, and the rain has stopped, so I've been enjoying the gorgeous Potsdam campus. It's lush and green, and all the buildings are made of the same pretty red brick. I'm definitely going to enjoy spending time here.

Cool and cloudy weather.

Much better-rested.