So, most of you have probably heard this story or at least some of it, but everyone has told me I have to write it on here so I don't forget. Here begins the long story or how I finally made it back to Portland...
The journey started on a snowy Friday when everyone at school was a little stressed about whether or not their flights were going to go out. I was taking the train from Wroclaw to Poznan and then from Poznan to Berlin. I had gone and gotten my ticket a few days before with some other teachers help to make sure I did not screw it up. I was told I could take any train to Poznan, but then I had a certain one with a certain seat and time that I had to get on in Poznan. I got to the train station in Wroclaw with plenty of time to catch the train, but for some reason freaked out and couldn't figure anything out. I dragged my suitcases up and down a few sets of stairs before finding what I thought was the right platform. A lady took pity on me and apparently could read from my face that I was ridiculously confused. She told me that I was in the right place and that the train went to Poznan. So, I got on the train, found a place to sit, dealt with my gigantic bags and thought the hard part was over. Never have I been so wrong in my life!!
The ticket guy came around and thankfully asked a few people before me so I knew what he wanted. I handed him my ticket and he started speaking in Polish a little angrily. I gave him a blank look and said "I only speak English". He seemed to get more mad at this point asked everyone around me if they spoke English and a guy finally did. He translated to me that I was on the wrong train. I told him I had been told I could get on any train, blah, blah, blah. Apparently I couldn't get on any train. The ticket guy then said I had to buy a new ticket, I was like whatever stop yelling at me and handed him my debit card. He then got mad and translated that they don't take cards. I showed him that all I had was 10 zloty. He became very angry at this point and was yelling Polish words at me. The guy translating said I had to give the ticket guy my residency card. I gave it to him and he came back a few minutes later with it and yelled at me some more about having to pay when I get off. Thinking back on it I never should have given him my residency card, but I was a little flustered. So, whatever I'm in trouble they didn't kick me off, I'm fine. Well I then realize that they do not announce where we are on stops, they do not have anything that says what stop we are at, NOTHING, and the windows are almost entirely iced/fogged over. This is when I just started freaking out. Not only was I on the wrong train, but I had absolutely no idea where I was supposed to get off. The train ride was supposed to take 3 hours, it took 5 so by this point I'm sure that I have missed the stop and am just 100% screwed. Thankfully, as I'm seriously starting to flip out the girl next to me looks at my ticket that I keep frantically looking at for some sort of answer and points to herself and says Poznan. I got off with her and had about 25 minutes till my next train. I decided I was not going to risk missing it, somehow figured out what platform I was supposed to be on and decided I was standing there till the train came even if it was beyond freezing outside. Right about when my train was supposed to come and it hasn't I'm starting to again freak out because, well lets be honest, this has been a disaster so far. Somehow, again I think I have a panic look that people must be able to read from miles away, a guy comes up and says something in Polish, I again say I only speak English and miracle has it he speaks English. We're waiting then he tells me the train is delayed an hour. Great. I go inside and am waiting and waiting (ok honestly texting Meg and Tony and telling them how I hate Polish trains). Then, as I'm about to go outside and wait again it comes up that the train is now delayed 4 more hours. I am sure that I will not make my flight now. I try to stay calm, wait in the information line, the lady speaks no English, no one in the entire line speaks English, so I give up sit on my suitcase call Meg (her flight was cancelled out of Frankfurt) and we discuss how we currently are hating life because there is literally nothing I can do and I am going to miss my flight. Somehow, after at least an hour someone comes up to me and says something in Polish. I am normally very nice, but I am tired and pretty upset so I grumpily say "I don't speak Polish", he says "I know" in English and says he will help me. We get in line and get up to the counter the guy is trying to tell the lady my situation and ask if there is a bus etc. but his English isn't great so he tells me to wait because he's going to get a friend who speaks better English. Well, the couple who had been behind us speak English so they just decide to take over in helping me figure out where I need to go, tell the lady at this new counter that I need a bus, I'm going to miss my flight, etc, etc. They get me a ticket and then saying they're going to walk me to where I need to be. I try to refuse, but they insist. The guy then takes my bags from me (I again tried to refuse), they walk me to where I'm supposed to meet the bus, circle the number on my ticket thing, and tell me every detail I need to know. They were maybe the nicest people ever! I'm waiting for awhile and a guy comes up who had gone in the one place looking for a bus at the same time as me. He too speaks English and we're talking. He tells me he's getting on a later bus because I got the last seat, but he wants to wait with me so he can see what the bus looks like. This was not true. He wanted to make sure I got on the bus and wanted to help me. He again carried my bags to the bus (which actually turned out to be a van) when it came, told the driver everything about me that he needed to know, and wished me luck. Again, nicest person ever! I don't know how I got so lucky! I'm paying the van driver while he loads my bags and he says "American, girl" I'm thinking that's weird. I get in the van (I am sitting between the driver and a big Polish guy in the front seat) and the van is filled with 6 other drunk Polish guys going to Milan to watch a big soccer game. They offer me a beer, which at this point I gladly accept and we head on our way. I was hoping to sleep a little in the van. No! The drunk Polish guys insist that no one can sleep because we are partying. Please keep in mind I woke up at 6:00 that morning and taught 5 year olds all day, I am exhausted. The van ride takes an extremely long time because a) they needed to stop and pee and smoke every 30 minutes or less b) the roads were terrible and c) a lot of roads were closed because of wrecks.
I finally made it to the airport with just a little under 2 hours till my flight left (it was supposed to be leave at 7:15am), I find the gate, wait in line, and they tell me I'm not allowed to get on my flight because I have a connecting flight, but they already booked me a new trip. I just follow the people in front of me and we wait in a line that is huge. The line takes literally 3 hours so I become pretty good buddies with a women from Texas, a guy from Michigan, and a guy from somewhere in the U.S. who is living in Berlin that are all in line with me. After 3 hours of waiting in line I get up to the counter and the lady tells me she has nothing until 2 days later. I tell her I will go to Seattle, Vancouver B.C., anywhere just get me to the U.S. She keeps looking at her screen, typing, shaking her head, and saying "I have nothing". After she says this about 20 times I start to fall apart so I just stop responding because I know if I open my mouth I will start bawling. I think she started to realize this and finally says ok I think I can get you on a flight that leaves tomorrow morning. At this point I'm happy with tomorrow. It is now about 9am. The people I met in line and I decide to get breakfast and they say their going to tour around the city and try to make the best out of the situation. I agree this is a good idea. The women from Texas also tells me that she can't believe I'm still awake and that her company pays for her room and I'm welcome to stay with her if I want. This may have been a little risky, but I was so tired I didn't care and gladly accepted. We tour around Berlin for most of the day, eat an early dinner, and then I am seriously starting to not be able to open my eyes so we go back to the hotel room and I sleep :)
The next morning I get up and thankfully made time to take a shower. I get to the airport like 3 hours before my flight is supposed to leave (I'm pretty paranoid at this point), the airport is full of stranded people waiting in lines, trying to get a ticket. I had packed my bags perfectly so that if they lost my big suitcase I the warm clothes for Whistler in my carry on bag. Then, after the whole ordeal the day before I added more to my carry on because I figured getting stranded was probably going to happen being as most airports in Europe were closed. So, when I go to check in my bag (it weighed nothing it was half empty) the lady also makes me weigh my carry on. I have never had anyone do this before this or after this. I hate that women! Of course my carry on is way over weight. I explain to her that I keep getting stranded so I keep adding more things to my carry on and that is why it weighs so much and I will not pay for an extra bag. I tell her I will put stuff in my big bag (which had already gone down the shute) but I won't pay. She acts like she's going me some favor and tells me she will check my carry on and not charge me. I then go wait for my flight. I again met some a really nice couple from Australia and a really nice guy from Michigan to help pass the time. The flight says "on time" up until 15 minutes before we are supposed to leave. They then tell us the Paris Airport (that we're flying to) is closed and maybe it will open in a few hours. We wait a few more hours. They tell us it's still closed, but they're going to wait longer and that we can all leave and go get food vouchers because it will be at least another 3 hours. We leave for about 30 mins. and then an announcement comes on saying my flight number is going to leave in 5 mins. We all run to the gate, they rush us on the plane, and we sit on the plane for over 30 mins with nothing happening. They then tell us they lost their landing window or something from Paris and we're going to have to wait another 3 hours, but we're not allowed off the plane. By this point I don't even care. I have missed my connecting flight by hours and I have pretty much given up all hope that I will make it home anytime soon. We end up taking off about 30 mins, not 3 hours, later thankfully! The whole flight actually cheers when we take off. We have the worst turbulance and landing I have ever experienced and we still all cheer when we land because we are that happy that one of our flights actually left the airport today. It is now like 8pm.
I somehow start talking to a guy as I'm getting off of the plane and he tells me he knows where we have to go. I discover that the Paris Airport is HUGE! It is a small city and without this guy I never would have figured out where I was supposed to be. We find some worker who point us to a line that is a minimum of 5 hours long with of course only 3 workers that we are all filtering into to get new flights since all of Europe has missed their flights for the last 3 days. After awhile we notice the line across from us that we were told not to go into is moving way faster. One of the new guys I have made friends with goes over and gets his tickets switched over there, but says the line is supposed to just be for people checking their luggage. The group of us that has made friends is now like 8 people strong. We sneak over 1 at a time and get in the other line. We make it up to the counter in like 30-45 mins. Crazy faster! I go up to the counter and the guy says where are you going, I tell him I don't know I need tickets, he says no where are you going, I say well I was going to Portland but I wasn't allowed on my flight so then I got tickets to Seattle, but that flight got cancelled and i would have missed it so now I don't know where I'm going. He tells me I'm in the wrong line. I look at him and say "So you're telling me I'm going to have to go back and wait in annnnooottther long line. I must have had a pretty desperate face he starts typing, then send me to another guy, this guy spends 30 minutes looking for a flight for me. I keep saying "I'm going to the worst place possible aren't I", "There's nothing isn't there" and he keeps saying "I'll find you something". He was way smarter than the lady who kept repeating "I have nothing" to me. After 30 minutes of searching (at this point I am literally laying on the counter, I was positive I was never getting home) he finds me a flight directly from Paris to Seattle the next morning!!! I literally tell him "I love you, thank you so much". He asks me if I have a hotel room and I say "No, but I don't care I just wanted a flight". He gives me a room anyways. I can't catch the bus for the hotel for about an hour so I go find food with some of my new friends. I then get on a bus that drives for 45 minutes to our hotel. Not a good sign when it takes 45 mins. to get there. We are promised a bus in the morning, given room keys, and I go pass out for like 4 hours. I think it was 3am when I finally got there and my flight left at 10am the next day.
The next morning I go down to the lobby super early because I'm beyond paranoid now, the hotel guy tells me there isn't a bus until 10:30. Helpful when my flight leaves at 10 NOT! Genius airlines I tell you. He orders me a taxi and tells me it will cost 70 Euro!!! (that is 280 zloty). I am not happy about this so I call the room of a women I had talked with the night before whose flight left at around the same time. She tells me her and her daughter will share a taxi with me so we can split the cost, but that the taxi only takes cash and only Euro. I of course only have 6 Euro, but about 200 zloty, and about 150 dollars. UG! We then are told that there is actually only one taxi that will pick people up at our hotel because of course it is snowing. Thankfully I was the 4th person to ask for a taxi so me, the women and her daughter, and a man get the only taxi and head to the airport. The women pays for my fare and says she's writing the airlines and they'll be reimbursing her so it doesn't matter. Again, nicest people ever! I am about 3 and a half hours early for my flight, but I am still in a deep state of panic. I now am assuming that everything will go wrong and am thinking of the worst case scenarios because they will probably be my day. I find the security line and after a few minutes realize it's not moving and they aren't letting anyone through. I go up to the front and politely ask what is going on and they tell me the airport is closed and point me to a guy standing near by. I not so politely ask him what is going on and he again says the airport is closed. I tell him that my flight does not say cancelled or delayed and therefore the airport is probably not closed and I need to get to my gate. He tells me he doesn't know anything and that I should go wait in the AirFrance line. This is probably the point where I lost it the most. I tell him that I understand this is not his fault but that in order for me to talk to an AirFrance person I will have to wait in line for hours and that I have been waiting line for hours for days and that am I literally going to lose it if I do not get on my flight because they will not let me through security. He's seems to understand that I am on the brink of a mental breakdown/getting arrested for freaking out at the security gate and calmly tells me I should probably just wait in line and if my flights not delayed or canceled they will open the gates soon. I got in line and they opened the gates about 10 minutes later. I got to my gate and sat. I refused to ever leave that area again. My flight said "on time" until 15 minutes before we should be boarding and then it got delayed an hour, this process went on for about 4-5 more hours and then miracle has it we actually boarded the plane! Crazily, the new person that I had made friends with who was on my flight informed me that I was first class. I told him I didn't think he was right. He was! In Berlin, the lady who kept telling me she had nothing, had put me in a first class seat (I'm assuming because it was the only one she could find), and from then on that was the ticket they saw, not my original one. I'm pretty positive that was also the only reason I got on that flight! So, thank you lady in Berlin!!! The flight took off, landed in Seattle, I was able to text my parents right before it left so they could come and get me, and I arrived in Seattle. Guess what didn't arrive in Seattle...my luggage! So, I went to Whistler with only the clothes I had been wearing for now 4 days. It gave me a good excuse to buy new clothes! My luggage was a whole other fun ordeal but I ended up getting it in Portland 5 days later.
There is no moral to this story, but the whole ordeal did make me realize how many good and amazing people there are in this world in all countries, from all backgrounds. Thank you to all of those people I will never be able to personally tell how much I appreciated all that you did for the frantic looking crazy girl who only spoke English and was hauling around 2 big suitcases.
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