Je ne sais pas!

Today while I was listening to my iPod on shuffle (I always listen to my iPod on shuffle), a song came on that has a very big memory attached to it. It was Destiny's Child's, "Independent Woman." This song saved my sanity this summer. Really, it did.

So a bunch of people from my study abroad group had gone to Munich, Germany for a long weekend in July. I had booked my returning train ticket to Paris late, and if I waned to ride on the train they were all scheduled for, it would have cost me almost 200 euros! Obviously, I wasn't going to spend that (That would have killed my shopping budget) so I booked a ticket for a much less expensive night train by myself. I was actually really excited for the night train. I bought a few English books from the international book store, some Cadbury chocolate, and a big bottle of water. I was thinking how relaxing this train would be, and how it would be nice to have some alone time.

Happier times in Germany. Shopping, naturally.

Oh, I was so, so, SO wrong.

The train we had rode to Munich had been an extremely modern and fancy one. The train I rode from Munich? Well, it was VERY OLD. I boarded the train and found out that it was organized into assigned cabins. I entered mine to find two Austrian teenaged girls, a newlywed couple from Oman, and an elderly French woman. I sat down in my small seat and noticed how hot it was. "Will they turn the air conditioning on once we get moving?" I asked my cabin mates. "Nope! No air conditioning on this train!" OH MY GOD. It was almost 100 degrees outside, which meant that this train was feeling even warmer than that! And the train ride was going to last TWELVE HOURS. That is when I knew, this was going to be one of the worst experiences of my life. And it was.

I pulled my book out of my backpack and my chocolate. The chocolate had completely melted in the heat. Of course. The Austrian teenagers were very nice girls, and they talked to me most of the trip. The one had "Los Angeles" tattooed across her arm because she wanted to become a movie producer and asked me, "So, is it difficult to become a movie producer in Hollywood?" The two girls were off to Spain to meet some guys they had met on Facebook. These girls were also only seventeen-years-old. Safe, right?? The newlywed couple was a result of an arranged marriage. They were becoming acquainted for the first time that night, and the poor woman had to remain totally veiled (head to foot) in the sweltering heat. I was sweating bullets in my jersey sundress! I still don't know how she did it.

Around 2:00am, our train suddenly stopped. It didn't keep moving. There was an announcement in German over the intercom. The Austrian girls shook their heads, saying, "Oh, no." Confused, I asked what was going on. The one girl simply replied, "We lost our caboose!" HOW DOES A TRAIN LOSE ITS CABOOSE?!!! I still cannot figure that one out. So basically, our train sat on that track for HOURS waiting until the caboose was returned. I was totally freaking out because I had a connector train to make in Paris that would take me back to my small town, and that connector train wasn't even leaving from the train station we would be arriving in. I had to budget myself time to arrive in Paris and navigate the subway system to the different train station.

The elderly French woman kept asking me a million questions in French. I felt bad for her because she didn't understand what was going on. I translated things as best as I could, sometimes drawing pictures when necessary (How does one say "caboose" en français?). Because I spoke that little French to her, she assumed I was fluent despite my constant reminders of, "Je parle un peu français" (I speak a little French). The entire rest of the trip she talked my ear off, and I would just kept responding, "JE NE SAIS PAS!" (Translation: I don't know) Whenever I was close to sleep, she'd tap my shoulder and sputter another question off in French. At this point I was totally about to have a melt down. I took my phone out into the hall and called my dad, about to cry. He replied, "I'm in Cincinnati, Ohio. I really can't do much for you now." Um, thanks, Dad!!!

I returned to my cabin and put in my iPod. Destiny's Child's, "Independent Woman" came on, and I thought, Okay! I can do this! I am an independent woman! Lame, I know, but that song is what got me through the rest of my trip. I was even able to sleep for two hours (which I regretted, as I woke up feeling even more nasty and greasy- soooo gross!!!).

We arrived in Paris late, but I was still able to hustle and get myself over to the Montparnasse train station (navigating the Paris metro alone was a miracle in itself). I survived my terrible trip, but every time I heard "Independent Woman" play, I think that if I could get through that, I can survive anything.