US or Bust! (Please not bust...)

I’m trying to split things up so my posts aren’t too long- so I didn’t describe my adventure in getting back here! 

I taught on Thursday until 3pm, and then Steve (my host dad) picked me up so that I could finish throwing some things in my suitcase and check in online for my flight.  The website to buy train tickets for the TGV had been down, and I was unable to buy a ticket online for a train on Thursday.  (I’d originally planned to take a 6am train on Friday, but with the strikes and protests leading to cancelled trains, I didn’t want to leave things to chance and chose to try to get to Paris on Thursday evening!)  While I’d been at school, Steve and Joelle had called the train office, who said that the train was full.  Gahhhhhh.  Not what I wanted to hear!  We decided to head to the station anyway to see if there was a chance that I could get on.  I said goodbye to Renaud, Mami, Papi, and Rex, and then saw Amaury and Cindy coming in as we were heading out.  When we got to the station, we talked to two different people- one at the information station and one at the ticket office, who gave conflicting information: first that I could just buy a ticket for that train but for a different day, and that I’d be able to get on the train that way and then that I couldn’t buy a ticket and would have to talk to the contrôleur to see if I could get a ticket on the train.  Steve and Joelle recommended I take out some money, since I’d have to buy the ticket in cash and no idea how much it would cost (eek!) and said goodbye before they headed back to Carpentras.

My train left at 6:47, so I had a couple of hours to wait… but then the 6:30 train was delayed 15 minutes and I freaked out that they were changing where my train was (since they couldn’t both be on the same track at 6:45!) so I double-checked at l’accueil.  The problem is that the trains aren’t marked in any way, so I’m never 100% which one is which.  The next train (which I assumed was mine!) came and I asked a woman working at the station where I could find the controleur.  She told me (en francais, of course) “On the train.  But just get on!” So I did… but then there was no indication where I was supposed to go or where I could find the mystery man.  I put my carryon in the storage area and briefly attempted a search, but ended up just sitting in an open seat.  When we stopped in Lyon, I debated… do I get off?  Do I stay on?  I crossed my fingers and hoped that the answer was stay on!  Luckily, at our next stop, they announced our itinerary and Paris Charles de Gaulle was on the list.  Whew!  I sat and waited patiently for anyone resembling a controleur to arrive, but no one ever did… so I arrived at the CDG stop and got off… no ticket and no problems.  I’m not sure if that was normal or not? 

Charles de Gaulle aéroport at night- not too busy :)

Les toilettes- gorgeous, right?!

Anyway, this was around 10:15pm, so I had 14 hours before my flight took off.  Charles de Gaulle is HUGE- it not only has terminals 1, 2, and 3, but also A-F of subsections of each terminal.  I had ZERO clue where American Airlines would be, so I picked a terminal at random and headed toward 2F.  At information, the woman told me that I needed to head to 2A.  I wandered around for a while trying to find out where that would be, and then had to ask someone who told me it was tout droit (straight) and that it was about a 15-minute walk.  I finally arrived at my terminal and found out where I’d eventually have to check in around 11:15pm.  I stopped in one of the beautiful bathrooms (literally- they’re so cool!) and found a pretty comfy seat to camp out for the night.  I mostly read (Roald Dahl’s Moi, Boy) and did some word games and caught maybe an hour of sleep, wrapping straps around my arms and legs and clutching onto the bag holding all of my important documents for dear life.  It was fun to watch the way things evolved through the night… around midnight, armed French national guards patrolled the halls, the people around me all conked out around 2 am (setting up newspaper “beds” and being inventive with using luggage carts to make sleeping more comfortable), 4 am brought three women running by with the ‘clack clack clack’ of stiletto heels trying to catch a bus (the first European women I’ve seen run anywhere!), and 5 am was when the airport woke up and came alive.  I headed to MacDo as soon as it opened, ordering jus d’orange, chocolat chaud, pancakes, et muffin chocolat for petit dejeuner.  The other benefit of MacDo was the free wireless and the opportunity to watch an argument between a patron and the manager, where the manager ended up shouting “Tu es folle a la tête ou quoi?!” (Are you crazy in the head or what?!)

Where I spent the night- comfy chairs :)

The line for check-in was a beast, even three hours in advance, but I breezed through because I didn’t have to drop off any bags.  Security wasn’t a problem either, and they didn’t even take a second look at any of the things I was carrying on.  Every time something went off without a hitch, my blood pressure went a little higher because I was constantly waiting for something that was going to keep me from getting home.  I found my gate and was there two hours before my flight was scheduled to take off when my moment came.  You know how you always hear how they’re paging that one customer and you want to know what their problem is?  I was that one customer.  “Passagère Awoool, passeger so-and so, etc, veuillez presenter au bureau centre” instructed me (and several others on my flight) to go to the center desk.  My heart dropped into my stomach and I gathered my things.  An intimidating-looking woman took my passport and boarding pass and told me that they had some questions de securite for me.  I braced myself for the worst, thinking “please please please let me get home!”  She looked closely at my paperwork, squinted at me, looked at the paperwork again, and… handed it back to me, assuring me that everything was in order.  I blinked and stammered, “merci!” and hustled away before she could change her mind. 

On the plane, I sat next to a girl who had been in Benin for two years with the Peace Corps and hadn’t been in the US during that time.  She’s interested in applying to the TAPIF (Teaching Assistants Program in France, what I’m doing now) next year, so we had a good chat.  The meals were pretty delish- cheese and mushroom lasagna, salad, baguettes, spreadable cheese, and cookies for lunch and then pizza, grapes, and shortbread for “a snack” several hours later- and they brought us drinks at least 5 times, so there weren’t any worries of dehydration!  We didn’t have the individual TV screens like Hannah and I had on our Icelandair flight, but they showed Where the Wild Things Are, Top Chef, and 30 Rock along with other things throughout the flight.  There was a group of 15 high school students flying from Paris to Chicago- probably for a school trip during the vacation.  We landed with a couple of bumps and were back on American soil.  

I breezed through customs and security and called my parents and lil’ bro to let them know I made it home safely.  My flight from Chi-town to the cities was short and uneventful, and I met my momma (who started crying when she saw me) at the baggage claim in Minneapolis.  I’m home, I’m home, I’m home!  :)  I’m here for part of the weekend, and will leave to drive to Iowa on Sunday.  I’m so thankful that everything worked out well and that I didn’t have any disasters on the way. 

Happy Saturday and Go Badgers!!