That time I got stuck in Switzerland

Hi. I really, really wanted to write about happy things like Venice and Florence with my sister, spending my last week in Rome, or traveling to Budapest with Michelle. But no. Instead I am going to try and recreate my evening in SWITZERLAND on this lovely, cathartic  blog of mine.

To start, I began the day in Rome, went to Milan, and then I was supposed to end my evening in Lake Como with Eryn.  But since this is me we all know that would have been too easy.

I’ll fast forward to the part where Eryn and I were parting ways in Milan to get on our respective coaches on the train to Lake Como. I will never forget my time on Coach 7. It’s where all my troubles began.

To clarify – this was a regional train. This may mean absolutely nothing to you, but to me it meant the difference between success and failure. Success being the ability to get off the damn train, and failure resulting in me remaining on the train after it passed Lake Como. You see a regional train doesn’t open the door unless you press a button. Ladies and gentlemen, HOW IS ONE SUPPOSED TO KNOW THIS IF YOU AREN’T ITALIAN? You aren’t. So I failed. Meaning I kept going.

I was literally (read: not figuratively) standing at that stupid train door for 3 whole minutes waiting for someone to wave the wand and the door to open. Right as the train began to move I turn to a woman working there and say “Como. San. Giovanni?” Which translates into: Why the hell are we moving right now?

There is nothing more humiliating than the italian train stewardess lady looking at you in complete disgust. She dismissed me and advised I seek additional aid from her coworker at the end of coach 7. Screw coach 7.

I followed her sympathetic and heartfelt advice and ran to the nearest man who looked professional. He clucked his tongue at me and disappointment, sighed, and just kind of said “No :/”   …. No? No as in I’m never going home? No as in there’s no solution? No as in I am going to live on this train for the rest of my life?

I think it’s clear that my emotions were running high. Luckily the man could recognize a lost soul when he saw one (also indicative by my escalated pitch and watery eyes) and told me he would graciously help me press the button to exit that God forsaken coach 7.

I got off on the next stop. He (the nice man who helped me press a button) kindly advised I take a taxi. I run outside to find the taxi.. there is none in sight. Right as I turn back in and flag him down, I look down at my 5% battery phone and see a text message “Welcome to Switzerland.”

Men and women of wordpress and the internet. I was not supposed to be in Switzerland. Before I can start crying out of sheer frustration, the man tsk’s at me and says “But.. actually I think you cannot get a taxi across the border.”

No really, it’s fine. Switzerland was on my bucket list anyways.

So. Let me recap. Eryn had called me from an Australian stranger’s phone and left a voicemail saying she was going to the hostel. My phone was on its last leg. I didn’t have a return train ticket. The man and woman from the train left. There was nobody in sight.

I was really wishing I brought my rosary with me at that point. So I kind of just gave myself the same pep talk I had to give myself when I was flying down a blue slope 3 hours after learning how to strap on skis.. “Just don’t look down. Baby it’s going to be fine. Honestly this will be funny tomorrow. You deserve a coke.” Things like that.

I buy an 18 Euro train ticket back to Milan (not realizing there was a 3 Euro train ticket just to San Giovanni. That would be too easy) and tap on the shoulder of these two teenage Italian boys and ask for directions.. who promptly start gesturing and saying “destra, destra”. I should mention I barely passed my Italian class this summer.

I head toward the general direction and find myself at the police station. Okay, I can work with this. The police are kind hearted and warm, right?

He stares at me. Points behind himself which I take to mean it could be LITERALLY ANY STATION IN THE WHOLE BUILDING.  And that was that. So I race out to the tracks only to find an attendant who informs me that it will be another hour before I can catch a train. Okaaaayyy, I think. No big deal. I will get back eventually.. right?

But it was at that point I realized my phone was dead and I didn’t have the instructions on how to get to the hostel. Eryn did. So I run back into the police station and in a tone of absolute hysteria I beg the policeman (a different one) to charge my phone using any outlet. He looks at me with sympathy and nods once. I think YES! This is it! By the grace of God something has gone right.

Lol. My converter doesn’t fit. Because I’m in SWITZERLAND. It was at that point I was ready to call it quits and just get my citizenship in Switzerland and spend the rest of my life in this place. But the policeman clearly didn’t want me to earn my residency in his country because he offered me his partner’s computer to plug my phone into.

I get my phone up and running and in response to my hysterical messages I had been sending Eryn I just get one message that says “Rachel”.

From there I think Eryn was able to talk me down a couple of ledges. Right up until I look to the left and see 4 policemen hovering around the door and staring at me like I’m a risk to society. I’m not joking. They waved at me as if I was going to crack at any moment. It was not my finest hour.

Right as I’m getting comfortable I decided to triple check that my train is in an hour.. So I turn to my new friend and I say “San Giovanni is in an hour?” And his partner goes.. “Ahhh no, San Giovanni leaves now.”

OKAY UNIVERSE. SERIOUSLY?

So I’m hypervenilating. I AM NOT GOING TO MISS MY ONE OPPORTUNITY. So I race out there with the policemen at my heels and my friend says “We will get you on”.. Because obviously I bought the wrong ticket.

So he tells me to get on, waves me on my way, and says he will take care of it. Bless your sweet, sweet soul you Swiss man.

I arrive at the station and wouldn’t you know it – the doors open automatically.

I run outside to catch a taxi because my phone is barely alive.. only to find that I can’t see any. Are you recognizing the patterns in my life?

I tap on the nearest girl and ask about the taxi. I don’t know if everyone just recognized panic when they saw it but this girl grabbed my hand and dragged me to the taxi and made sure the taxi driver knew exactly where I was going.

30 Euro later I was exhausted, near tears, and emotional, when I called for the shuttle to come pick me up from a piazza pick up point.

I am sure that tomorrow I will laugh. But people, I was really scared today. I know it was irrational but with the language barriers, confusion, and feelings of uselessness, I was hopeless.

Anyways.. I’m alive and back in Italy. That was my experience with getting stuck in Switzerland.. but in more uplifting news I got to write 2 blog posts in a day. That’s something, right?

Day 1 – Baguettes and Brie

An advance warning of the next 4 posts .. There will be a lot of pictures.

  

I think I’m always a little nervous that something is bound to go wrong in any given airport, bus, or any type of public transportation.. But we made it! It was so fun to sit around with 3 girls I met just 2 weeks ago and realize we had effectively made our way to Nice, France. It was a #proud moment. I think the saddest part of getting there was watching Easy Jet ruin the lives of people who didn’t realize that “one bag” meant. one. bag. All the poor women with purses and men with briefcases never stood a chance. Anyways we arrived and since our hostel had messed up our room arrangement we immediately set out exploring our home for the next few days.

These are my gal pals above who made this trip as wonderful as it could possibly be! The top left is a picture of a beautiful park smack dab in the middle of Nice and every single time we walked past the park throughout the week we would see a million children playing and adults picnicking on the grass.

  

The streets were something straight out of a movie set. There were tons of little shops and the buildings were squeezed so tightly together you could barely fit three people in side by side. You’ll notice the BATHTUB on the top left. The hostel that had previously screwed up our room situation generously upgraded us to two private rooms and we got our own bathtub.. it was basically like a Four Seasons at that point.

 

We made our way to the beach and OH MY GOSH the French Riviera! It was stunning. I have more pictures from the beach in the posts to come but this was our first glimpse of the colorful coastline and we spent most of our evenings out there just sitting on the rocks and admiring the view.

    

This was a pretty central plaza to everything. In it you could find street performers, children, dancers, and more backpackers than I have seen in my entire life.

  

To wind down our day the girls and I grabbed a bottle of wine, 4 baguettes, and a slab of brie. It was perfect. We started off in the giant park we had visited earlier and then made our way over to the beach where we watched to moon come up and tried to wrap our minds around the fact that we were in one of the most stunning places in the world.

Day 1 was a complete success! It was a ton of exploring, a lot of negotiating with the hostel, and I spent the entire day admiring the charm of this beach town. I would need all the rest I could get because day 2 was filled with sharks and hikes!

 

I’ve arrived(!!!!!)

After waking up at 6 a.m, taking a 2 hour flight to Chicago followed by a 9 hour flight to Italy.. I have arrived! 

I am so tired right now that every time I blink I get worried my eyes aren’t going to open up again. Today has been a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts! I think it didn’t really sink in that I had arrived in an entirely foreign country until I was left waiting at the baggage claim for 20 minutes, wondering if I had really lost all my clothes for the next 2 months. Luckily my bag arrived in an ungraceful fashion and I found 3 other girls from my program at the airport. 

For a few minutes we just kind of stood around.. discussing exactly how we planned on getting to our university. I, in typical Rachel fashion, had no idea where in the heck I was, geographically speaking, and at that point was just ready to splurge on a cab. However the others were amped and ready for a trip on the shuttle bus. So after walking back and forth (literally. We kept missing signs.) we navigated our way to the bus stop, where I was greeted with the most fashionable men I have ever seen. They made me feel like I was underdressed and sloppy in what I had previously considered a cute maxi dress and a scarf! Once on the shuttle I was tasked with the challenge of thrusting my 50 lb suitcase on a tiny rack.. I’m pretty sure a fair share of Italians got a sneak peek of what was under my maxi dress with that little move. Oops.

At that point some of the Italians were laughing and/or shaking their heads in disappointment at our group of 4 when one of my friends had tried to just hold onto her suitcase because it was just too gosh darn hard to move anywhere else. After holding up the ENTIRE shuttle we finally were off.. and I promptly passed out on the shuttle and missed all the scenery. Cool.

Anyways – My eyes are really starting to fight back now, so I will keep it brief. I was initially terrified. I was reminded of how much of a foreigner I am, how silly my “American” behaviors are, and even how loud I can be in a public setting. I have never been more aware of how quickly I am prone to laugh because I have never had such an audience before when I flashed my front teeth. Seriously, I went through a phase of guilt for being a relatively upbeat person.

Despite the exhaustion, blisters from hiking from the bus stop to our university, and the embarrassment of all my faux pas, I’M SO GLAD TO BE HERE. The group I’m with is an amazing mix of smart, sassy, and easy going girls and guys. We immediately hit it off and stopped by the market, gelato shop, and fruit stand. I unpacked, went to dinner, and just toured the place while I constantly had to remind myself that yes -ohmyactualgosh- I am in Rome. Holy cow. 

Here are pictures from day 1. I know. I’m bad at picture taking. It’s a work in progress.

The Details

So approximately 3 days ago I learned about all the different reasons this summer is going to be better than the one summer I spent hanging out in my backyard or the summers spent babysitting 10 different families and walking 3 high-energy dogs. 

I went to my pre-departure session my school requires us to attend and I heard from two guys who had gone to Rome in previous semesters and spoke with an advisor who oversees our program. For starters – the drinking age in Rome is 18. I’m not saying this because I’m one of the kids in college who already drink and am looking forward to the easy access.. the reality is that I’m terrified of breaking laws and I’m so excited to go somewhere that has “suggestions” as opposed to stringent rules and regulations. I’m looking forward to being able to enjoy a glass of wine and feel adult-esque for the next 3 months.

Another thing that sounded a lot like a Lizzie McGuire movie was the fact that I will be taking Italian 1 and am being encouraged to go out and actually apply my newfound language ability in the streets of Rome. This is simultaneously terrifying and exciting. I’ve never actually learned a language, unless you count the one year of spanish I took, which I don’t. I don’t know the first thing about learning a language and the farthest I’ve got in preparing for Italian is going through lesson 1 in Rosetta Stone. So this is probably going to be both the hardest and most rewarding challenge of this trip. 

My geek moment came when we received our official schedules for the classes we are enrolled in. I’m taking Survey of Art and Architecture, Italian 1, and Principles of Management. The way it’s set up is that I will be taking Management online through my home university and I will take the other two through the school I’m attending in Rome. The first one will be Italian and will be for the first 6 weeks. Then it switches to Survey of Art and Architecture, at which point the city becomes my new classroom! I cannot begin to express my excitement for my art class. At the beginning of this year my mentor through the Catholic Church had me read a book that analyzed a painting of the prodigal son parable in the Bible. For the first time in my life I was prompted to consider art as a form of education in and of itself and I am so grateful for this opportunity to learn more about the historical art and architecture that is everywhere in Italy! 

The last thing that has gotten me the most excited about this upcoming journey was meeting my peers that would be traveling with me. The program is small, with under 15 students participating. I anticipate getting to know these girls and guys better and from what I’ve heard from my brother’s abroad experience in spain and my friends who have traveled elsewhere, it’s the new relationships that make these trips so memorable!

Tomorrow I hope to write a little bit more about Haiti because as a part of this summer’s travel plans, I’m going to Haiti from May 3-11. When I first traveled to Haiti I realized how incredibly important it is to me to expose myself to cultures vastly different from the western comfort I’m accustomed to. For the past two years I’ve visited a small mountainous village called St. Suzanne and this year I’m excited to visit Jacmel!