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Well, after a hectic week getting prepared for this trip (i.e. buying new clothes, toiletries, shoes, converters, credit cards, etc.) I finally left. My departure date really snuck up on me, almost to the point where I'm not entirely sure I am mentally prepared for this experience yet. I mean, it's much longer than I've ever been gone before (to New Zealand in 6th grade and France/Italy in 12th grade), not to mention much more independent. I also found it MUCH harder ever before to part with the people I love back home (you know who you are; you're getting an email telling you I updated my blog). So far, this has all added up to a pretty rough start, but I'm hoping I will settle into my routine soon.
On the morning of Thursday, May 20th, I was up very early (4:30am) because I just couldn't sleep. There was far too much running through my head; so much I had to worry about. The first of these worries surfaced a while later when my lovely girlfriend, Olivia, dropped me my off at my house to hang out with my mom and sister before I left. I know no one wants to hear all the mushy details, so I'll just leave it at this: after seeing each other on perhaps all but 5 of the days in the last 2 years (this is not an exaggeration), you can imagine how hard it was to say goodbye. After this grueling farewell, the next step was to tie up some loose ends. I completed my packing, and then ran a series of errands with my mom and sister that needed to be done. Regretfully, we didn't get to do much else, partly because (due to all the stress), my awful stomach problems had resurfaced. For those of you, again, receiving an email telling you about this entry, you know how lame my stomach is. So, it was a really, really rough morning, to say the least.
I got to the airport around 11:30am, and breezed through baggage check and security like I actually knew what I was doing (hah!). I was at my gate by 12:00pm, and my flight was scheduled to leave at 1:05pm. Things were beginning to look up, and my stomach was starting to settle down. I arrived in Chicago at 2:05pm EST, 1:05pm Chicago time. I then bored myself to death for the next 4 hours waiting for my departure flight to Paris at 5:30pm. Apparently O'Hare doesn't believe in electrical outlets, so that eliminated a lot of options for me. Finally, 5:30pm rolled around and I hopped on my flight overseas.
The flight was about 7 hours in length, which I thought was pretty good. It was long and grueling because I can't sleep on planes, no matter what. Fortunately for me, this would work out in my favor later on. I did watch The Mist, a movie, and hope to never watch it again (even though it wasn't too bad). It was incredibly gruesome, and the ending nearly killed me because it was so sad. Probably not a good choice for the plane. I landed safely in Charles da Gaulle Airport in Paris at 8:30am Paris time, so 3:30am EST. This is when things took a turn for the worse again.
I'll be frank, I hate CDG airport more than any I've ever been in. And from what I've heard from other people, it's not a crowd pleaser. First of all, they don't drop you off at the terminal (what gives?), you have to ride a bus. Then, I got lost trying to find the door I was supposed to meet my group at, and the airport people who are supposed to help didn't speak English well, at all. So naturally, stress comes rolling along whilst in this totally foreign environment, and my stomach issues return. I finally get to baggage claim, and wait 10-20 minutes at the wrong one. So I ask someone, and they point me in the right direction. My baggage claim had stopped running completely, so I had to get my bag from the service desk. Then, I went and found my group, where we waited for our 2.5 hour bus ride to Troyes. This is where the lack of sleep aided me. My stomach started going berserk right as the bus pulled away, of course. I was so drained, though, that I was able to fall asleep for the entirety of the ride, alleviating my concerns temporarily. On a side note, what I was awake for was gorgeous. French countryside is amazing.
We arrived at UTT in Troyes sometime between 1-2pm. They gave us our room keys and the rest of the day to ourselves. I unpacked, which calmed my nerves a little, but due to my stomach issues missed the initial trip to the supermarket (which was a bummer). Then, I figured out how to get the internet to work and sent out emails letting everyone know I was okay. The most recent exciting event was that my roommate and I blew a fuse in my room, so now our electricity isn't working (hence the rushed pace at the end of this blog to finish before my laptop dies). And now I am here, beginning to settle in, and hopefully stopping blogging complaints about what should end up being a great trip. For now, the worst part should be over: I've gotten through the airports, did the long flight, and gotten over (sort of) the initial pain associated with leaving everyone back home. On another note, if you are still in Michigan and you hang around on Skype in the late afternoons/evenings, I should usually conclude evening activities sometime after 8pm here, and will then proceed to come back and Skype you as best I can. If you happen to be in another country or state (i.e. England, and later California), we need to chat at some point.
Oh, the confused title of this entry refers to the numerous time changes I've encountered in going from Detroit -> Chicago -> Paris, causing the past two days to really blend together. It's all a blur to me at the point.
Up next: a relaxing night getting introduced to the campus, a sports tournament tomorrow afternoon, and the biggest event of UTT's schoolyear tomorrow evening: The Gala.
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Amanda
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Welcome to Europe, land of fabulous and weird things! Sounds like you had quite an adventure. I've never been to CDG but the runway/bus thing is fairly common in European airports because people here are insane. A tip for successfully navigating life in France:even if you don't speak french, asking them in french if they speak english before you talk to them in english will get you a long way. So have the small exchange first: bonjour madame/monsieur, parlez-vous anglais? and it should work better. We'll skype soon! Have lots of fun and when your stomach settles down eat all the cheese possible because it is effing amazing. Give me a call on skype whenever you want/feel lost/have a question since we're only an hour apart and I have skype on my phone, so I'm on all the time.