The Joy(s) of Second Class

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July 13th was the day that I left Nantes for the last time. As the train picked up speed, putting distance between the place I called home for the last five weeks myself, I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness come over me. Everyday that was spent within the city limits provided a completely new and rather exciting experience. Even though I will not physically be in Nantes, the lessons I learned there will stay with me until my last days. I have met people from Australia, China, Spain, Germany, France, Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy, and even Morocco. Every person I met from a different country seemed so different, but at the same time so alike. As college students, we just want to live a decent life, have fun, enjoy a drink and be with those who make us happiest, it doesn't matter where you come from. Truly, everyday held a valuable life lesson. For all the good, the bad, the weird, the funny, the frustrating, the absurd, the unbelievable, the inappropriate, the incomprehensible, the pitiful and the wonderful experiences that have taken place have become a collage of memories that I will never forget.

Nantes, you are something else. But my time has come and new adventures await me on the horizon. Someday I may return, a changed man, knowing you will always be there noble and true. Thank you.

All mushy stuff aside, I was ready for whatever destiny had in store for me. With Nantes behind, I was heading east further into the heart of Europe. Before arriving to my final destination, I knew that whatever lay ahead would be a BIT different from France. Who knew that a simple two-hour train ride would be a whole new experience of its own.

Are you ready?... Glad you are, because I wasn't.

Being a simple man, second-class traveling is all I could ever ask for. Give me a seat, that is headed in the right direction, a good book and my I-pod, and I can handle just about anything. Boarding my next train in Paris, among the other billion travelers, I found my seat in the 6th cabin (2nd class), put on some classical music, and dove headfirst into my book. Ahhh, very peaceful. I was lost in my own world, well the world of The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz. Then all of a sudden my imaginary world began to dissolve due to loud noises. Like, really loud noises. What was going on? Was I in the cabin that was host to a live rock concert? Nope, something much more appealing. I had selected the lucky seat to become the judge of this years episode of "Who can be the nosiest family in the world?" contest. Perfect.

This was a special year as well, in one corner we had the 2009 champions, and in the other was last years champs who were ready to defend their trophy. Truly honored, I rolled up my sleeves, cleaned out my ears and was ready for the thunder to begin.

Contestant #1 was located a row up and to my right. They had brought forward a righteous clan of three children, an over the top obnoxious mom, and a girl in her late teens to stir up the pot (probably an older half-sister of sorts, the rules clearly state that all participants must be related by blood). The children were making more noise than a heard of hyenas, while the mom tried to trump their volume while on a phone call. The half-sister tried to push the loud little ones on to others, so she told them to go play. Where do kids play on a train? The aisle of course! Thankfully I was safe in my seat, because the aisle became a narrow torture chamber and the only way to be saved was to scream bloody murder. It was music to my ears to hear the children go wild. Hopefully the mother was on the phone with a rescue squad. A pretty good effort by contestant #1, gave them a score of 8.5.

Contestant #2 was ready for their shot, and they surely wouldn't go down without a fight. Equipped with two-middle aged children, an infant, mom and dad these folks were ready to rumble. They even brought a wild card; an I-pads. Wait, wouldn't I-pads just calm the kids down? Surely the use of modern technology would subdue the children. But boy was I wrong. Not bothering to turn down the volume, the sound of weird games reached all the corners of the cabin, while the two middle aged children fought over whose turn it was to play Angry Birds. Even in the comfort of a mothers arms, the infant decided that wailing at the top of its lungs would surely gain some extra points. The parents seemed to have adapted to the noise and were having an audible conversations through the whole thing. Equally impressive, contestant #2 got a 8.5 as well.

Neck and neck, it was too hard to decide who the winner was going to be at the midway point. How well had each family trained? Only time would tell who had the perseverance to keep up the raucous. Then the unexpected happened. Were now heading into a new country and customs was strolling through the aisle with a dog (they handled the aisle torture chamber much better then the little ones). As the dog sniffed around for undesirables, the kids were howling. A puppy, a puppy! Just as the noise in the cabin was reaching new record (and window) breaking levels, a rather fierce looking woman, yelled "silencio!" Whoa, who did this lady think she is disrupting the competition?

Well, it was customs wasn't it? They can do as they please...I guess. But this was no ordinary customs squad. Holy cow they were terrifying. They boarded the train in civilian clothes to not direct attention. As soon as the train got moving, they threw on a bright orange armband and some black leather gloves. They looked like a corrupt gang from Russia who was ready to take over the government. All of a sudden the dog gave a sign of some sort and the gang hovered over the seat behind me. They interrogated two young men just behind me. I can't even imagine how scared they were, my life flashed before my eyes and the worst thing I had in my bag was a crappy wine opener. After ten minutes worth of questions they decided the two young men were innocent. I wanted to turn around and celebrate their narrow escape with death, but more important matters were calling. The noise started up again.

However, the quiet time had taken its toll on contestant #2! The two middle-aged kids had fallen asleep! What bad luck; ashamed they got off at the following stop. They looked at me like I was the crazy one when I told them better luck next year when they got off the train. Contestant #1 was ecstatic and kept up their flawless display of racket until they got off the train a few stops later. I really must remember to send them some Champaign (and juice boxes for the kids, I don't promote underage drinking) when I get home.

The rest of my ride was pleasant. I got back to my book and soon enough, I had arrived at my final destination. I was surely out of France. Warm smiles, laughing people, beautiful woman?! This was no longer France, this...this was Amsterdam.

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Comments

[VirgoGirl98]

where are the pics? :) thanks for sharing!