Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Finally
The flight from Chicago only takes thirty minutes and I think we are level to the ground for only five minutes. I meet my parents at the arrival gate and its a relief just to see them. I am so exhausted. We retrieve my bag and make our way home from Indy. On the way back we talk about my trip and what I have learned and getting ready for Italy. I am so glad to be home. Three weeks until I leave again but I will worry about that later.
Ask questions, Ask Questions, ASK QUESTIONS
I get my boarding passes and go through security and customs. I finally get my first stamp on my passport since they forgot when I entered the country...? I wait at my gate and have a salad and my last Orangina since it is a pain to get in the States.
The flight to Dublin only take an hours and its beautiful to land as the sun is rising. Getting though US customs is a pain in my ass but at least I get to experience the beautiful Irish accent! We board our next flight from Dublin to Chicago. I love this plane, isle seat and touche screen tv's on the back of each seat with new releases and tv choices (Aer Lingus if you are interested in the airline) I sleep for six hours then watch a movie. Nest up Chicago. O'Harre is huge! And I am confused! They said my luggage would be transferred but I look at the carousel and its not there. I have to take a tram from terminal 5 to 1 to get my boarding pass. I guess I'll just cross my fingers my luggage in on the next plane. Thank God I can finally call my parents so they can walk me through the luggage ordeal. A world of advise, write everything and I mean everything down and ask questions. airports are no place for pride-fulness. Also if you are traveling abroad have internet access and a credit card for emergencies...or super awesome parents and a lot of patients. When it come sot living abroad go with the flow but when it comes to traveling there is no amount of neurotic-ism and preparedness that is over the top. Seriously. I get my boarding pass and go through security yet again. When I get to my gate I ask about my check bag and it IS on the plane. Another word of advise - keep all paperwork! Receipts, tickets, etc until you have all your times and are at your final destination. I board and yay another isle seat although by now it doesn't matter to me anymore. If I have to hear another plane safety speech i might scream. I think by now I could ace a pop quiz on it. I'm almost home. I just want a shower! But then it will be back to getting ready for Italy. O well, all I am focued on right now is getting home and getting my bag.
The flight to Dublin only take an hours and its beautiful to land as the sun is rising. Getting though US customs is a pain in my ass but at least I get to experience the beautiful Irish accent! We board our next flight from Dublin to Chicago. I love this plane, isle seat and touche screen tv's on the back of each seat with new releases and tv choices (Aer Lingus if you are interested in the airline) I sleep for six hours then watch a movie. Nest up Chicago. O'Harre is huge! And I am confused! They said my luggage would be transferred but I look at the carousel and its not there. I have to take a tram from terminal 5 to 1 to get my boarding pass. I guess I'll just cross my fingers my luggage in on the next plane. Thank God I can finally call my parents so they can walk me through the luggage ordeal. A world of advise, write everything and I mean everything down and ask questions. airports are no place for pride-fulness. Also if you are traveling abroad have internet access and a credit card for emergencies...or super awesome parents and a lot of patients. When it come sot living abroad go with the flow but when it comes to traveling there is no amount of neurotic-ism and preparedness that is over the top. Seriously. I get my boarding pass and go through security yet again. When I get to my gate I ask about my check bag and it IS on the plane. Another word of advise - keep all paperwork! Receipts, tickets, etc until you have all your times and are at your final destination. I board and yay another isle seat although by now it doesn't matter to me anymore. If I have to hear another plane safety speech i might scream. I think by now I could ace a pop quiz on it. I'm almost home. I just want a shower! But then it will be back to getting ready for Italy. O well, all I am focued on right now is getting home and getting my bag.
Dirty Hat on the Platform Floor
January 5th
Just when you are settled and thinking, at least it can't get any worse, it does. Because the Gare du Nord closes at 1 and don't open again until 4:30, we are forced to wait outside....in the rain. I wish I was making this up but sadly I'm not. I now know what it feels like to be homeless, curled up in a dirty corner, attempting to temporarily escape the elements. I never knew how much I could want a cardboard box. I just want to cry and maybe throw up. I don't want to say, it can't get any worse because it just might. I'll just hold my breath for the next three hours and pray we don't get robbed or arrested somehow. WE watch half a movie on Shena's laptop before it dies. Only an hour and a half left. I become terrified, thought i try to hide it, when two men (I'm assuming they were intoxicated) start throwing glass bottles in front of the Gare du Nord. Shena and I move to the doors to wait. Here another traveling lesson - learn how to turn down incessant French men. I told him, IN FRENCH, several time I didn't not speak french or understand yet he kept at it. Finally I've had enough of being sexually harassed and tell him to top and go away (again in broken french). He then preceded to, as I'm told, say very insulting things about my mother and swear in English...which just makes me giggle - gangster wannabe. Finally the train station opens and we go to wait for the metro to CDG. I have to catch the metro because of time constraints so I say goodbye to Shena on the platform. I have take a train to Terminal 1 and finally I am where I need to be... four and a half hours early. I have to wait for the airline desk to open at seven thirty to get my boarding passes. I wish i could nap t but i can't use my phone as an alarm clock so I have to stay awake. I am still praying things go smoothly. Yesterday seems like a dream. Everything is fuzzy because I still haven't slept but I don't yet feel fatigues. Still running on anxiety I think.
Just when you are settled and thinking, at least it can't get any worse, it does. Because the Gare du Nord closes at 1 and don't open again until 4:30, we are forced to wait outside....in the rain. I wish I was making this up but sadly I'm not. I now know what it feels like to be homeless, curled up in a dirty corner, attempting to temporarily escape the elements. I never knew how much I could want a cardboard box. I just want to cry and maybe throw up. I don't want to say, it can't get any worse because it just might. I'll just hold my breath for the next three hours and pray we don't get robbed or arrested somehow. WE watch half a movie on Shena's laptop before it dies. Only an hour and a half left. I become terrified, thought i try to hide it, when two men (I'm assuming they were intoxicated) start throwing glass bottles in front of the Gare du Nord. Shena and I move to the doors to wait. Here another traveling lesson - learn how to turn down incessant French men. I told him, IN FRENCH, several time I didn't not speak french or understand yet he kept at it. Finally I've had enough of being sexually harassed and tell him to top and go away (again in broken french). He then preceded to, as I'm told, say very insulting things about my mother and swear in English...which just makes me giggle - gangster wannabe. Finally the train station opens and we go to wait for the metro to CDG. I have to catch the metro because of time constraints so I say goodbye to Shena on the platform. I have take a train to Terminal 1 and finally I am where I need to be... four and a half hours early. I have to wait for the airline desk to open at seven thirty to get my boarding passes. I wish i could nap t but i can't use my phone as an alarm clock so I have to stay awake. I am still praying things go smoothly. Yesterday seems like a dream. Everything is fuzzy because I still haven't slept but I don't yet feel fatigues. Still running on anxiety I think.
Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig...
January 4th
I had a bad feeling all night. I thought it was just lack of sleep and flight jitters. always trust the guyt is today's lesson.
Shena and I catch the first bus that comes to the train station. I am crossing my fingers that we can make the 6:15 but thanks to a late bus we don't make it and have to take the 6:50. This is gonna cut it close. Its odd to be on this train. I am one of the only few awake. We arrive at the Gare du Nord at eight. I am hoping the metro only takes 15 minutes but as I frantically scour the map I see there are elven stops before CDG. I start to panic. Each stop is irritating and seems to take forever. Shena tries to reassure me but I already know we have made a grave miscalculation. Forty five minutes later we spring though CDG to the American Airlines desk to find that is it too late. I start balling my eyes out. I just want to go home and now I am too late for the plane! Shen says she will fix it because all I can do is cry and shake. We email my dad form her phone hoping he can help fix this then get a train bakc to Amien to wait for his response. Half way Shena realizes we are on the wrong train so we get off and wait to buy tickets for a new train and as we are waiting the 12:30 to Amien leaves. Ow we must wait another hour!
I just want to get home. We get back to Amien and text my mom and ad to get things work doubt. I email my dad as soon as I missed my flight at three am State time. I didn't think he would get it until 8 or 9 when he was at work but apparently he got it then because when we get back Shena's aim and my mail box are flooded with worried messages. Eventually we figure out that I cannot get a refund or switch tickets so my dad has to buy a new one - $1400! Great...not to mention he is furious with me. All I can do is cry and promise to pay him back when I can. This, my laptop ad the expenses and stresses of getting ready for Italy are going to make the next three weeks just peachy. Eventually I can't take it. NO sleep, no food and the stress of it all has taken its toll. I sleep for two hours before we have to catch the last bust to the train station ans wait almost two hours for our train to Pairs. And the bathrooms are closed! We sit in the cold and play solitaire waiting. I'm starting to understand why people hate France! But I am bound and determined to make the best of everything. Even if the only good thing I can see isn't this particular instance is chalking the matter up to experience. Not particularly thrilled about being in minor debt but I'll deal with that when I need to . We board the train and arrive in Paris at 11:30. I keep my fingers crossed that the metro can take us to CDG but there seems to be a reoccurring theme of dashing my last hopes and once again this prevails. So now we must wait on the platform until the first train in the morning...five hours from now.
I really miss my car right now. Reliable and always available. On the bright side, I will be four and 1/2 hours early for my flight. I'm not quite sure what I can do for the next five hours to keep from falling asleep or freeing. This will defiantly make one hell of a funny story one day, not today thought. I have only slept two hours in the past day and a half and I'm running on 1/2 a chocolate bar and anxiety. My head feels heavy and while not a throbbing headache, I defiantly have a faint headache, maybe masked by my verve on delirium. I cannot wait to just get home. I d hope I can sleep on the flight from Dublin to Chicago. I ave a sneaking suspicion I won't though.
I had a bad feeling all night. I thought it was just lack of sleep and flight jitters. always trust the guyt is today's lesson.
Shena and I catch the first bus that comes to the train station. I am crossing my fingers that we can make the 6:15 but thanks to a late bus we don't make it and have to take the 6:50. This is gonna cut it close. Its odd to be on this train. I am one of the only few awake. We arrive at the Gare du Nord at eight. I am hoping the metro only takes 15 minutes but as I frantically scour the map I see there are elven stops before CDG. I start to panic. Each stop is irritating and seems to take forever. Shena tries to reassure me but I already know we have made a grave miscalculation. Forty five minutes later we spring though CDG to the American Airlines desk to find that is it too late. I start balling my eyes out. I just want to go home and now I am too late for the plane! Shen says she will fix it because all I can do is cry and shake. We email my dad form her phone hoping he can help fix this then get a train bakc to Amien to wait for his response. Half way Shena realizes we are on the wrong train so we get off and wait to buy tickets for a new train and as we are waiting the 12:30 to Amien leaves. Ow we must wait another hour!
I just want to get home. We get back to Amien and text my mom and ad to get things work doubt. I email my dad as soon as I missed my flight at three am State time. I didn't think he would get it until 8 or 9 when he was at work but apparently he got it then because when we get back Shena's aim and my mail box are flooded with worried messages. Eventually we figure out that I cannot get a refund or switch tickets so my dad has to buy a new one - $1400! Great...not to mention he is furious with me. All I can do is cry and promise to pay him back when I can. This, my laptop ad the expenses and stresses of getting ready for Italy are going to make the next three weeks just peachy. Eventually I can't take it. NO sleep, no food and the stress of it all has taken its toll. I sleep for two hours before we have to catch the last bust to the train station ans wait almost two hours for our train to Pairs. And the bathrooms are closed! We sit in the cold and play solitaire waiting. I'm starting to understand why people hate France! But I am bound and determined to make the best of everything. Even if the only good thing I can see isn't this particular instance is chalking the matter up to experience. Not particularly thrilled about being in minor debt but I'll deal with that when I need to . We board the train and arrive in Paris at 11:30. I keep my fingers crossed that the metro can take us to CDG but there seems to be a reoccurring theme of dashing my last hopes and once again this prevails. So now we must wait on the platform until the first train in the morning...five hours from now.
I really miss my car right now. Reliable and always available. On the bright side, I will be four and 1/2 hours early for my flight. I'm not quite sure what I can do for the next five hours to keep from falling asleep or freeing. This will defiantly make one hell of a funny story one day, not today thought. I have only slept two hours in the past day and a half and I'm running on 1/2 a chocolate bar and anxiety. My head feels heavy and while not a throbbing headache, I defiantly have a faint headache, maybe masked by my verve on delirium. I cannot wait to just get home. I d hope I can sleep on the flight from Dublin to Chicago. I ave a sneaking suspicion I won't though.
Last Day
January 3rd
I wake up at one and Shena has left for her final. Unfortunatley it lasts longer than expected and we canot make it to Paris but htis does not touble me, only gives me an excuse to come back to see the catacombs and the Louvre and hopefully get to other things we missed. When she returns we go to the Gare du Nord to buy my ticekt fo r tomorrow and grab some dinner. The rest of the night we relax and watch movies and even Skype Sarah. We don't sleep. Whats the point when I fall asleep anywhere between three and six and I have to get up at five. I appreciate this experience. It not only has given my the chance to see my best friend after almost four months apart but now I have seen Europe (well a very small part of it). I must remember that things are very different than home.
The concept of 24 hours doesn't exist here! But I have experience with ordering things in a foreign language, asking questions, cancelled flights, nerves, panicking, jet lag, a screwed up sleep schedule, buses and trains, being stared at, culture shock, travelers indigestion, going with the flow and a taste of loneliness. I know going away will be hard but I'm going to try to make the most of it....maybe I can Skype my therapist.
I wake up at one and Shena has left for her final. Unfortunatley it lasts longer than expected and we canot make it to Paris but htis does not touble me, only gives me an excuse to come back to see the catacombs and the Louvre and hopefully get to other things we missed. When she returns we go to the Gare du Nord to buy my ticekt fo r tomorrow and grab some dinner. The rest of the night we relax and watch movies and even Skype Sarah. We don't sleep. Whats the point when I fall asleep anywhere between three and six and I have to get up at five. I appreciate this experience. It not only has given my the chance to see my best friend after almost four months apart but now I have seen Europe (well a very small part of it). I must remember that things are very different than home.
The concept of 24 hours doesn't exist here! But I have experience with ordering things in a foreign language, asking questions, cancelled flights, nerves, panicking, jet lag, a screwed up sleep schedule, buses and trains, being stared at, culture shock, travelers indigestion, going with the flow and a taste of loneliness. I know going away will be hard but I'm going to try to make the most of it....maybe I can Skype my therapist.
Paris for the Day
January 2
I had a little trouble sleeping last night but made it to bed by three. We woke up at ten to get ready and take the bus to the train station. We bought tickets for the 11:50 to Pairs making our arrival time 1pm. The train smells like wet and soup.
Thus far the stereotypes of the French being smelly and rude are proving...true. The buses are still on break so we only have five hours to get to everything on today's list - The Opera House, the Moulin Rouge, Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tour. Our map only shows a few major roads but we are confident. We make our way from the Gare du Nord to our first stop - The Opera House. It takes us an hour to walk there but your first pancake is always burnt right? The city is full of sights and smells...some pleasant and some not. When people say Paris is a dirty city they are not lying - spray pant, dog shit, weed, cigarette smoke, trash but it also has other charming smells like flowers, fresh breads, and sweets.
I wish I could stop in every patisseries but we barley have enough time to see everything as it. Good thing I can walk and take pictures at the same time. I don't know who invented the stereotype of French men being attractive but they are very stylish! We pass an H&M and McDonald's. Its funny to see things you know...even though many sore signs are in English anyway. We also pass street venders selling roasted chestnuts and the upscale stores - Coco Chanel, Prada, Gucci, etc. For some reason, the store windows are filled with puppets...martinets - each with different themes: space, airplanes, Hollywood. I think they are slightly disturbing but apparently the children love them.
Finally we reach the Opera House. A mammoth structure, it includes statues in bronze and the inside houses the Grand Staircase. I wish we could have seen it but the line is miles long. The outside is just as decadent and beautiful thought and it is nice to recognize the structure form my classes. We walk to the Moulin Rouge and again I can appreciate having the knowledge of the demi monde or the "small world" of Parisian life in the 19th century. This area is where artist like Gauguin and Van Gogh spent their nights among friends and artists alike, attempting to capture the humanity of the social outcasts.
On our way to the Arc de Triomphe it starts to pour and a man asks if Shena and I are Russian or Polish while we pass attempting to cover ourselves with our hoods and umbrellas. I'm not surprised that is is raining yet again. C'est la France. What can we do but keep walking so on we trudge though the wind and rain. Finally we arrive at our last monument - the Eiffel Tour. Its peaks over buildings as we make our way toward it. I tell Shena the things I know from class: how it was built in the 19th century, it was originally meant to be a temporary structure, it was inspired by Asian influences such as the architecture of the pagoda, how it was originally painted and was the highlight of the world fair Paris hosted. She laughs at my nerdiness. The symbol of France! Finally we are at it's base. Even in the rain this moment cannot be ruined.
It is 4:40 now and our train leaves at six. It will take too long to walk back so we navigate the metro. I pay special attention to this as I will need it in the next few weeks. I think I have it. We switch lines once and emerge from the metro very close to the Gare du Nord. Now, which way to go? Shena pulls out the map but I wonder up to two girls and trying hard to get the French correct, just ask. They answer in English (Shena explains my accent was the give away) but they are polite and we only have to walk five blocks before arriving at the Gare du Nord with thirty minutes to spare. We grab dinner at Asian Express and hop on the train home. I pay attention on the bus back to the dorm as well to make sure I can put that in the experiences column for Italy. Wet and cold, we arrive at Shena's dorm at eight. Tonight I will sleep well. The Catacombs at the Louvre tomorrow!
I had a little trouble sleeping last night but made it to bed by three. We woke up at ten to get ready and take the bus to the train station. We bought tickets for the 11:50 to Pairs making our arrival time 1pm. The train smells like wet and soup.
Thus far the stereotypes of the French being smelly and rude are proving...true. The buses are still on break so we only have five hours to get to everything on today's list - The Opera House, the Moulin Rouge, Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tour. Our map only shows a few major roads but we are confident. We make our way from the Gare du Nord to our first stop - The Opera House. It takes us an hour to walk there but your first pancake is always burnt right? The city is full of sights and smells...some pleasant and some not. When people say Paris is a dirty city they are not lying - spray pant, dog shit, weed, cigarette smoke, trash but it also has other charming smells like flowers, fresh breads, and sweets.
I wish I could stop in every patisseries but we barley have enough time to see everything as it. Good thing I can walk and take pictures at the same time. I don't know who invented the stereotype of French men being attractive but they are very stylish! We pass an H&M and McDonald's. Its funny to see things you know...even though many sore signs are in English anyway. We also pass street venders selling roasted chestnuts and the upscale stores - Coco Chanel, Prada, Gucci, etc. For some reason, the store windows are filled with puppets...martinets - each with different themes: space, airplanes, Hollywood. I think they are slightly disturbing but apparently the children love them.
Finally we reach the Opera House. A mammoth structure, it includes statues in bronze and the inside houses the Grand Staircase. I wish we could have seen it but the line is miles long. The outside is just as decadent and beautiful thought and it is nice to recognize the structure form my classes. We walk to the Moulin Rouge and again I can appreciate having the knowledge of the demi monde or the "small world" of Parisian life in the 19th century. This area is where artist like Gauguin and Van Gogh spent their nights among friends and artists alike, attempting to capture the humanity of the social outcasts.
On our way to the Arc de Triomphe it starts to pour and a man asks if Shena and I are Russian or Polish while we pass attempting to cover ourselves with our hoods and umbrellas. I'm not surprised that is is raining yet again. C'est la France. What can we do but keep walking so on we trudge though the wind and rain. Finally we arrive at our last monument - the Eiffel Tour. Its peaks over buildings as we make our way toward it. I tell Shena the things I know from class: how it was built in the 19th century, it was originally meant to be a temporary structure, it was inspired by Asian influences such as the architecture of the pagoda, how it was originally painted and was the highlight of the world fair Paris hosted. She laughs at my nerdiness. The symbol of France! Finally we are at it's base. Even in the rain this moment cannot be ruined.
It is 4:40 now and our train leaves at six. It will take too long to walk back so we navigate the metro. I pay special attention to this as I will need it in the next few weeks. I think I have it. We switch lines once and emerge from the metro very close to the Gare du Nord. Now, which way to go? Shena pulls out the map but I wonder up to two girls and trying hard to get the French correct, just ask. They answer in English (Shena explains my accent was the give away) but they are polite and we only have to walk five blocks before arriving at the Gare du Nord with thirty minutes to spare. We grab dinner at Asian Express and hop on the train home. I pay attention on the bus back to the dorm as well to make sure I can put that in the experiences column for Italy. Wet and cold, we arrive at Shena's dorm at eight. Tonight I will sleep well. The Catacombs at the Louvre tomorrow!
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