Read my blog post I wrote while studying abroad in Italy during the Spring of 2020!
In addition to being so fortunate to live in Italy and experience the unique culture, being able to travel to other places throughout Europe truly allows you to immerse yourself in so many different cultures. I enjoy traveling, but using unfamiliar airlines and transportation systems does have some downfalls. Flights get canceled for reasons that we would not expect, and sometimes the next flight isn’t for days. Airlines have different policies than we are used to, sometimes there are protests, worker strikes or other complications. Fortunately, so far I have only had one travel experience where I had to make a plan B.
A group of us for personal travel went to Paris. When we showed up to the airport to fly back to Rome early on Sunday morning, we noticed that there were barely any employees working. There was no one standing at our gate or anyone working in the entire terminal. The weather was questionable, but not severe enough to postpone flights. Hours passed, and there were still no updates on why we didn’t see a plane outside. Finally, an announcement came over the intercom saying our flight was canceled. While we did all have a moment of panic, we knew there were other ways to get home, so we calmed ourselves down and worked together to find the best option, which we concluded was to take the train. We knew booking another flight was a bad idea because the weather was only supposed to get worse.
After extensive research, we found a train that was going to leave from Paris and arrive in Rome the next morning. None of us had ever taken an overnight train, but at this point, it was our best option. We all were able to buy our tickets on the bus ride back into the city from the airport. Unfortunately, one member of the group could not get a ticket but was able to get out in the morning on an early flight, and she had a safe, free place to stay another night in Paris. The rest of us find the correct train station in Paris where our train is to leave. At this point, I felt a little relieved because we, for sure, have a way home! We sat down to eat and learned that Ryan Air employees had gone on strike, and that is why there were so few employees at the airport. While I was unsure at first how this train experience was going to play out, I was glad we decided to train. I kept a positive attitude, and in the end, I was glad I got to experience the overnight train!
We all arrived safely back to Ariccia, even the one member who did fly back. I learned more responsibility skills and how to work with others in an undesirable situation to come up with a new solution. Traveling can be unreliable, and it is crucial not to lose control of your emotions when Plan A doesn’t work out. Putting forth that stressful energy into finding another plan and remaining as calm as possible to not draw in any unwanted attention is crucial to staying safe when in a large airport, or train station.
The beautiful thing about traveling in Europe is the ease of getting around from country to country. Trains are always the best option for transportation, depending on where you are going. Airline tickets can be expensive, and there is limited communication from the airline about flight updates. I’m excited about my future travels and I can’t wait to see what more I will learn from traveling around this fantastic part of the world! Studying abroad is truly a once in a lifetime experience. Though times may be tough, I am going to be thankful for the knowledge I will gain from experiencing so many new places and methods of traveling. Excellent communication and teamwork skills will be essential to have for the rest of my life, especially in my professional development and career.
A beautiful picture of the Tuscan countryside during our train ride back to Rome from Paris.
Our initial plan was to fly and it got canceled due to a Ryan Air worker's strike. We took an overnight train to Milan, and then switched trains in the morning to arrive in Rome by the afternoon.
Read the full article here: https://wp.auburn.edu/italynew/2020/02/
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