Farewell to Barcelona- An Eventful Start

Left Barcelona Thursday afternoon post-signing and sending my one-year contract with the "Gyeonggi English Village", a UNICEF/Korean government sponsored collaboration located outside of Seoul, South Korea. I just sent out my most recent email update and have had very encouraging responses.

The first several hours of my European Rail Tour were quite eventful.

1.) WITNESSED MY FIRST BLATANT ANTI-AMERICAN DISCRIMINATION.
Met a scruffy Irishman and a Canadian guy on EURail passes heading to Prague via Paris. Before long they were kicked off the train, victims of an overreaction to mismarked EURail passes and misdirected anti-Americanism. They couldn't speak Spanish. I tried but couldn't defend them. Supposedly they mismarked their ticket, a common technique to get more travel days on a FlexiPass, but a minor offense nonetheless. Whether intentional or accidental, it was only one of the guys who'd made the mistake and the unwarranted and brute security response was a major overreaction. The "controller" told me directly that he "has a problem with Americans", didn't like their attitude/look and didn't provide further explanation, completely overlooking the fact that neither of the culprits was even from The US.

2.) BARELY MADE MY CONNECTION AT THE SPANISH/FRENCH BORDER AS THE TRAIN BEGAN TO MOVE.
I had to get off the train before crossing the Spanish/French border at a random stop to take out money before losing access to my Spanish bank account (lost my Visa cards just weeks pre-trip, damn gypsies). At the advice of a trainfriend, I got off a stop too early and didn't realize that there wouldn't be a taxi, bus or train to take me to the connection in Cerbere, just two stops away. A local advised me to hitch a ride at the major junction, just steps away, and assured that I'd have no problem. After unsuccessful hitchhiking attempts in the dark night I began to follow the 5, not 3, windy kilometers through hills and winds that led towards the waiting train. As the clock ran against me I picked up the pace and had to run with my full 40 liter plus backpack through pitch black hills along the coast and tunnels with wind in my face.

With the help of the border patrol I finally made it to a taxi after 5 kilometers of mountainous curves. The taxi driver in Portbou said it'd be 20 euros by cab but that we couldn't make it in time. I begged him to try and when we arrived in Cerbere he dropped me off by the tracks and said to run. I gave him a 50 and he only had 20 for change, assuring me the 10-euro tip would help pay for his children's education. I ran without hesitating and leapt onto the train as the bell rang and I could actually feel the train's engine begin to move! The elation of actually making the train eliminated any frustration with the incorrect directions and overpriced cab. I could feel that this trip was meant to happen.

3. RAN INTO SOME PARTYING COLLEGIATES FROM STEUBENVILLE, OHIO.
The easygoing American travelers were studying abroad in Austria, boozing on the overnight train of course and offered me a much needed Heini. The "kids" reminded me of studying abroad in La Universidad de Salamanca in the summer of '03 and were on an ambitious travel itinerary as well. Security passed several times but never checked our tickets. Suspicious looking foreigners smoked in the cig-car and walked up and down the isles eyeing luggage while unsuspecting passengers slept. I tried to sleep in a first class cabin for a bit, but got booted, just as I was getting comfortable, by it's official inhabitant, although there were three empty beds. Clearly not in the Couchsurfing spirit.

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