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| classic Snapchat picture |
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| view from the farm! |
Saturday, June 28, 2014
So many strange feelings of déjà vu today – arriving to
Terminal E, checking in luggage with Aer Lingus, etc. This time, my parents
(and everyone else) went through security with
me instead of saying goodbye right before. Two hours to spare in the airport
and I talk to Sara on the phone: “I know, I know! I can’t believe I’m going
back, with my family this time. It’ll be weird… and fun, I think.” We laugh and
talk about where to bring my family and what to do. I miss Sara and wish she
could come too, knowing that so much of my study abroad experience last spring
was defined by the people I was with, in addition to the beauty of Orvieto.
I browse through the airport gift shops, looking at Harvard
t-shirts and BostonStrong bumper stickers, wondering if I should splurge on a
neck pillow or not. I end of spending my money on a mediocre slice of S’barro
pizza, reminding myself that there will be better pasta and pizza to come.
Boarding the plane – this time I’m sitting with Emily
instead of a total stranger. Michael keeps looking at my from across the aisle,
mouthing, “Is this even REAL!?” I am quickly reminded that planes are both
miserable and magical at the same time… magical because of the adventure but
miserable since I’ve never discovered a way to comfortably sleep on a place.
The 5.5 hour flight passes slowly even though I watched TV and took a ten minute
nap (even though I swear the nap lasted for 4.5 hours).
In the Dublin airport, Michael and I split a sausage roll,
which I thought looked like some sort of delicious Hot Pocket but turned out to
be a strangely shaped pastry with a soft inside. Michael and I were suspicious
of the “sausage” part and once again I reminded myself that there would be better
food to come.
The red eye flight struggle begins to kick in here and
6:30am in Ireland is actually 1:30am at home. The next plane is smaller but
somehow it’s easier to sleep here because my head is already right next to the
window so I don’t have to figure out which way to lean.
Our arrival in Munich comes with a few (okay, maybe more
than a few) moments of crankiness and the next ensuing moments of trying to
find an open bank and getting the rental cars were less enjoyable moments in
the journey. Dad couldn’t figure out how to turn the car on and I couldn’t
figure out how to give him directions without sounding like an annoyed brat. A
2.5 hour drive to the farm was next and the only thing I could think about was
where to lie down once we arrived. I threw my stuff down and collapsed on my
bed, feeling torn because I wanted to explore but I also felt like my head was
going to explode.
A few hours later, we all piled back into the cars and drove
a few minutes down the road to a restaurant. Monica had to translate everything
on the menu and I realized that I honestly don’t know any German. At least in Italy, I was used to Italian menus because
we went to eat at Fratello’s almost every week during my childhood. Dad, Emily,
and I all got schnitzel with potatoes and it was pretty good, considering I was
still a zombie and was almost falling asleep on my plate.
We drove back to the farm, held some of the baby rabbits,
and then I got into bed at 8pm. I wore my eye mask, earplugs, and shut all the
blinds in our room. I vowed to keep the windows open another time but for
tonight, I wasn’t messing around. This was going to be the best night’s rest.
It seemed to work because I fell asleep at 8:15pm and work up the next morning
at 11am. Although I DID wake up at 3am, wide awake and ready to start the day.
Good job!! Keep writing;)
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