An American Girl in Avignon

Sorry this took like a year and a half to update, but I just got internet yesterday…here’s my attempt at some serious catch-up:

Driving to the airport with my grandparents was interesting indeed. I begged to go to Chipotle one last time. Since I knew I would be suffering Chipotle withdraw for 3 months, I had it for lunch three times before I left. One day for each month I would be gone, of course. I swear there is something addictive in that cilantro-covered rice…craving some right now actually…

Miraculously, I had managed to stuff my luggage full of everything I thought I would need, and inevitably, I forgot stuff. Thank God for H&M. My grandparents argued for thirty minutes while trying to find a parking spot, but I was too busy to notice their conversation because I was using my last US cell phone time texting Adam, who was anxiously waiting to hop on that plane behind the security checkpoint. We rolled into a spot, checked in, and said our good byes…I thought my grandma was going to cry. I’m glad she didn’t; I would have been sad during the flight. Surprisingly, I felt sort of numb throughout my entire travel experience. I felt no fear at all. It was strange. As if the fact I was going to be living in France for three months hadn’t really settled in yet. I did feel one emotion though: anxiousness. I was ready to hop on that plane and GO! Finding Adam was a huge relief. I was so happy to be traveling with people I knew. I don’t know if I could have felt as calm as I did about leaving the country without a strong (and very entertaining) support group by my side.
I
got a panic text a few minutes from Sakinah behind the gate saying that her bag was 9 pounds over. Frantically stuffing 10 pounds worth of shoes and scarves to a second checked bag was her quick solution. Don’t ask me how I managed to only have one checked bag weighing only 42 lbs, three pairs of shoes, one purse, one carryon, and one laptop bag. It’s pretty much a modern miracle.

After meeting up with our other friends Melissa and Katie at the gate, we did a miniature version of musical airplane seats. I switched with Sakinah to get the back of the plane to myself while she sat next to Adam for her first flight. Waiting behind the gate, I received several hilarious texts from Kyle saying things like, “My plane is here. Yay.” “At the gate.” “Waiting” “Staring out the window right now” “Boarding now.” “I am so nervous. I am going to die.” He cracks me up. He was flying out of Cleveland and meeting us in Philly…to fly to Paris!
The flight to Philly was short and sweet (side note: the Philly airport is sweet too). After landing, we ran (literally) to find Kyle at the gate and get something to eat. Airplane food just wasn’t going cut it. After my last bit of Chinese I would have until June (ahh, I am going to miss Jeff’s
Wok Bar), we boarded the plane for a 6.5 hour flight across the Atlantic.

At the gate, it was obvious who was American and who was European. The Americans were obnoxiously loud and dressed in head-to-toe sweats and American Eagle (in other words, like us). The Europeans were attractive to the point of intimidation. They almost seemed to be from another time and world (especially the males, but we’ll get to that later) and were dressed to the hilt. I heard bits and pieces of French being mumbled around me as I struggled to eavesdrop on various conversations without much success. The French speak very fast and very soft. They have that sort of sophisticated air about them. They slur their words together perfect, as If to say “that was easy” after finishing a triathlon. And the cherry on top is that they manage to parle comme ça avec a sexy accent. They certainly have the je ne sais quoi.

The flight was uncomfortable, like most long ones, but thankfully, I was seated next to some of my favorite people (Kyle, Sakinah, and Adam) and in front of my other favorite people (Melissa and Katie). I took a sleeping pill from Melissa, and surprise, surprise, I didn’t sleep at all! The same exact thing happened on my flight to China actually. Those things must not be strong enough for me. I struggled to get my neck in a comfortable position, but it was impossible, so I resorted to sitting back, closing my eyes, and cranking up my ipod. I am so glad they had Toy Story for entertainment. You’ve got a friend in me…so good!
More later…