A Weekend to Adapt

After all of that packing it was time to head out. Upon arrival to the airport I was pretty sure my bag would be over weight, although my mom wouldn’t believe me. The time came to put my packing skills to the test on the scale…. 53.2 pounds yikes! Immediately I took out my shampoo, laundry line, & a skirt and put it back on the scale…. 50.0 pounds on the dot! Heck yes! Thrilled, laughing, and cheering with my parents we said goodbye to my bag & they hugged me goodbye. After passing through security I found Haley waiting on our flight. The airport was full of people from all over & I started to feel a bit more excited for my new adventure. The time came to load the plane & I was settled in my seat preparing for takeoff when the pilot came over the loud speaker to tell us that the door had been shut and we were ready for takeoff… EXCEPT that we had been grounded for 2 hours and were all going to have to get off the plane during that time. I realized my layover was only for 2 hours in Chicago & began to worry a bit. I spoke to the flight attendants and they said there was a later flight I could take with Haley to London and from London to Paris and just get in later than I had planned. I was fine with that as long as I had someone else with me. About 30 minutes later they put us on the plane and told us we may make our connection. As soon as we all settled in, the pilot announced we had to wait for something else for another 30 minutes. Finally, we were on our way & I was almost positive we would make our flight & was thanking God! Upon landing, the pilot then told us that there were no gates open and we would be waiting another 30 minutes…. Great so I had 30 minutes before my plane was supposed to take off after that wait. At last, a spot opened and we started to pull up to the gate, only to be stopped for another 5-10 minutes because there was no one there to open the door for us…. Talk about anxiety going crazy!! With 20 minutes left before my plane took off, I realized I had to still wait on my carry on luggage that was too big to fit on our tiny plane to come up….. Oh boy! By the way, Haley didn’t have to wait for anything so I told her to go ahead so she didn’t miss the plane as well. 10 minutes later I grabbed it and began to sprint to my plane…. I had to make it to gate K13 in the same terminal when I was at G5. Another lady was in the same situation as me except she had to make it to H. I saw K and began praising God when I realized I had a long ways to make it to K13 & then I heard my name being announced on the loud speaker that it was last call for me and they were about to close the gate… ugh this was probably worse than my run in the Amsterdam airport 2 summers ago. I had a backpack weighing over 30 pounds plus a carry on roller that was heavy to even roll & I was wearing my dress boots which are hard to even walk in. I began running even faster & once K13 was finally in my distance I began screaming “K13!! THAT’S ME!!! DON’T CLOSE THE GATE!!!” Completely out of breath the lady told me to calm down and that I had just made it! I walked to the plane and they closed the door right behind me. The plane seemed completely empty but I found out many people had connection flights cancelled or delayed like mine and couldn’t make it. Luckily, I found Daniel right away and since the old man in front of me was a bit angry and didn’t want me to sit in my seat, I sat down next to Daniel and we talked just about the whole way. I think we each slept for like 3 hours and then woke up to find out our plane was arriving 2 hours early! Hooray!!!! Ali, Daniel, Haley, and I made our way to the “RER” that Ali told us we needed to take. We bought the wrong ticket at first but finally found the right one for about 10 euros and got on the train to “Chatelet les Haules” where we switched trains and took another one to “Bercy.” From Charles de Gaule to Bercy it was about 40 minutes in the train. We exited the Bercy Metro station and walked to the Bercy train station to buy our tickets to Vichy for about 55 euros. We had 3 hours to kill before our train arrived so we went to a small café a block away and enjoyed some coffee and croissants while we all got to know each other a bit better. When our train finally arrived we found our seats, placed our big luggage at the end and they began to talk more to get to know each other while I took a 2 hour nap. The train ride was 3 hours long. We finally arrived in Vichy and found Nick with a sign reading “America.” Crazy guy but he took us to our residence and helped us get settled in. Our rooms were much bigger than expected! I had my own bed, desk, mini kitchen (one stove burner, sink, and mini fridge), and a bathroom with a shower. I was pretty thrilled! We took a trip to the store “Mono Prix” to stock up on groceries and cleaning supplies then ventured through the town a bit.

This was my weekend to adapt to everything including the time change and food. I bought all of the French foods I remember my host family having including saucisson, cheese, butter, and ham (yes weird I know) and headed back. I attempted to stay up late with everyone to adapt but at about 8pm, I fell asleep & slept for 16 hours. Woops! The next day I was ready to go! I woke up earlier than just about everyone in the residence and headed back to the grocery store with Arandi and then we got the entire group and ventured through the town. We saw our school, the river in the town, a world war 2 soldier statue (vichy is known for the Nazi takeover in world war 2), and just explored a bit. It was fun getting to know everyone and to see the town a bit. That night Arandi & I cooked Steak Quesadillas (delish!) and then most people hung out in my room playing games and we left for the club around 2 am. We had a fabulous time dancing and hanging out together. It was 10 euros to get in and 2 euros for your coat check but it was totally worth it. Finally, about 6 am we left the club and walked back. I got to speak to a guy from Libya in French the whole way back because he didn’t speak English and it was so exciting to finally speak French again! Everyone I’ve met is awesome! I’m in love with everything here! Throughout the day we all hung out, I bought a crepe with Nutella, then Arandi and I cooked Curry, couscous, and broccoli for dinner. The curry wasn’t the best ever but it’s all a learning process. Everyone plans to stay up to watch the Super Bowl tonight since it will start at 2am our time, but I plan to head to bed with school being so early in the morning. I can’t wait to see what this adventure holds in store for me! So far it has been nothing but perfect!