why I shouldn't be allowed on planes, a memoir by me.

Welcome back! :) The past few days have felt like a dream and I cannot believe I am currently sitting in my Italian apartment blogging after an exciting day walking around this beautiful city and stumbling about the language I thought I knew so well. Needless to say, I require a lot of practice. While we're taking a much needed break from this afternoon's adventures, I thought I should bring you up to speed with what has happened and post my travelogue.

TRAVELOGUE. DAY 1

PART 1:Buffalo Airport

The weather could not be any more typical Pennsylvania. Cloudy, cloudy and more cloudy. Security was terrifying, as per usual. I am a bit of a nervous wreck around anything I’m not comfortable with. Ask me again why I am going abroad to a country I’ve never been before…. 

Looking around I see families going on vacation, youth groups coming home and multiple single riders, all looking to go somewhere different, somewhere else. Somewhere. And here’s little old me. Taking up four whole seats in the waiting area like the princess I wish I was, wearing a tshirt I am "borrowing" of a football team I don’t even like. This is traveling. At least from my eyes.

For the past few months whenever anyone would ask me if I was excited for this trip I would either answer a gushing “yes, oh my gosh, I can’t wait” or I was honest and replied with a “it hasn’t hit yet” or “It doesn’t feel real”. And if I’m being honest it didn’t hit until I walked away from my mother into security.

“Oh god, what am I getting myself into?!”

“I hope they don’t think I’m a terrorist”

“I’m pretty sure I put all my lotions in my checked bag”

“I really hope they don’t throw anything away”

“I am suddenly claustrophobic”

“Can I run away and hide under my bed now?”

“I look like such a girl. Never traveled. Inexperienced. Someone’s going to kidnap me.”

“WHY DID I WATCH TAKEN?!”

(someone tries to sit next to me) “YOU CAN’T SIT WITH US!”

and breeeatthh

In an attempt to calm my worried soul I turned to you. A constructive way to think through and rationalize the craziness that is my mind. Constantly moving.

The planes keep racing by. Onto places I may never see or maybe places I have already been, places I will visit. 

In a little less than an hour I will be on one of those planes on to my next adventure. For now, though, I will text my mother, best friend and boyfriend and vent about this interesting and otherwise uneventful start to my journey and I will leave you. For now I will breath and remember this is fun. Remember how lucky I am to have this opportunity and continue to wonder how I got so lucky to be able to go to the country I only ever dreamed of seeing. 

Okay okay, for real this time. 

Untill next time,

Xoxo.

PART 2: Connecting flights

Well in between the time I left you and now a lot has transpired. Delayed flights and then no longer delayed flights and back again to delayed flights. Oh the joys of traveling. My flight to JFK was uneventful but the landing was quite another story. To say I’ve never been to JFK will help to explain the craziness that was me trying to make my next flight. If you have never been there before it’s huge. Ginormous. It was “Rachel had to ask at least 7 different workers how to get where she needed to go" big. And to add insult to injury, I had to leave one building and enter another. Which translates into another security check while my flight had already boarded and waiting for one last passenger….me. There was even a kind man with a placard with my flight number on it urgently insisting that I hurry so they do not close the gate.
Lovely.
If you were wonder, yes, I was that person sprinting through JFK with two bags and my stupid (but very comfortable) pillow under arm, not even caring about the snickers I received as I raced (or stumbled) by. When I finally and breathlessly arrived at the gate an older French gentleman loudly exclaimed in his charming French accent “What are you doing?! Hurry, hurry!” So this is how sweating, out of breath Rachel entered the plane, gaining the attention of everyone on board. So glad I decided not to wear makeup that day.

Okay, mission accomplished. Plane boarded. 

Now I can proudly claim that I had an international flight hold for my arrival. 

Am I royalty yet? 

No? 

Didn’t think so. 

All went well on the plane ride over. Well, that is until I inevitably had a panic attack and ran to the bathroom, thankful my mother insisted I get Xanax before leaving. Panic attack, check. 

Passed tf out for the rest of the flight, check.

So here I am, day 2 or still day one maybe? As I’m writing this it’s currently 9:45 in the Paris airport (3:45am EST time). Getting off the plane I replied with “grazie” and embarrassingly hurried away. I have now acculturated and am saying “merci” and have already found myself in a café, eating a croissant and drinking tea. #cultured

I suppose that is all to report for now. I should probably check my next flight, ciao!

To wrap this flight experience up into one, neat moral: I should be sedated before entering any airport. This has all been such a dream and I don't know how I ended up so lucky to be here right now. I must leave, though. It's my first full day in Italy and as much as I love writing and keeping everyone updated I must go explore! :) Don't forget to subscribe to get the latest on my travels! Until next time, 

xoxo,