Update from Paris...9/22

-9/22

So I’m sitting in the airport in Paris…pretty much miserable and sleep deprived, just like the other 20 something kids in the group. We got in at 6 am Paris time (midnight on our bodies) and don’t take off until 12:45 (6:45 am on our bodies) so basically, it’s an all-nighter. I personally am not a fan of France so far. Everyone in the airport has pretty much lived up to the stereotype. The security was borderline ridiculous. A lady yelled at me because I stared at her when she ordered my to “Open” several times my already-open bag. Finally she realized she meant “close.” She was opening my bag because we had to go through security here (something none of us expected to do) and I left a water bottle in my bag with liquid in it. I offered to drink the remaining 2 ounces of water, but the crazy Frenchwoman proceeded to walk me out of the security area, point at the bathroom and make a dumping motion of the bottle and say “toilet.” She then made me go through the entire security procedure all over again. Awesome. And people say no one loves the French? I really can’t see why. Also, there is this noise coming over the loudspeaker every 2 minutes that resembles a text message notification on a cell phone. It’s followed by a bunch of noises (which I guess is someone speaking French). Needless to say, it’s getting old. I also am a bit ticked off because I bought a 7-up for 3.4 Euros, which translates to about 5 bucks. Greaaaaaat. We’ve been sitting, trying to sleep in the airport for the past 3 hours and still have a buck forty five to go. Should be interesting.

The good news is, despite all this annoying waiting and the long flights, and complete lack of sleep, everyone seems to be getting along, and to be honest, everyone in the group seems pretty cool. The guys living in my apartment all seem to be good guys and it looks (at least at this point) like they are going to be great roommates. Anyway, things are going great and life is good in Europe thus far. Tonight, after we get settled into our apartments, we have dinner at a Greek taverna in Athens as a group. At this point, it seems like forever away, but in reality it’s only about 7 hours or so. I’ll post again when I get set up in Athens.

Peace

Ryan