back too soon.

i feel like i literally was just at the airport saying my goodbyes to my parents. those were some of the fastest 6 weeks of my life, yet so full of good memories. it wouldn't be as memorable without an exciting ending. so i left aix at 5:30 friday night for paris. getting on the TGV always makes me nervous because you have to find an empty spot for your luggage and of course the most convenient spots are always taken. i lug all of my bags on the train to find that the top shelf is the only open spot for my 50lb suitcase. thankfully some scrawny littler french man helps me lift my bag up onto the shelf...im pretty sure i had a good 15lbs on him. the three hour train ride was pretty uneventful but was bound to get better. i dozed off for about half an hour and woke up in a freenzy thinking i had missed my spot. i double check my ticket and the ETA is 9pm. around 9 the train announces the next stop and i wasn't exactly paying attention but i assumed it was the paris airport. so i got try to pull my suitcase off the shelf and of course it is tightly wedged in there. another french man sees me struggling so comes to rescue me. so i get off the train and notice the station is relatively empty. i ask the people taking advantage of the stop to take a smoke break and they inform me that the airport is the next stop. so i lug my stuff back on the train and embarrassingly walk back to my seat with a bright red face. the man who helped me laughed at me and i informed him that i failed to realize this wasn't my stop. so embarrassing. after getting off at the right stop i successfully make it to the hotel just outside the airport. i had an early morning ahead of me so i gave myself plenty of time to find my gate and get checked-in. good thing charles de gualle is one of the most poorly designed airports ever. i took the tram to terminal 2 at one end of the airport only to find out that my gate is at terminal 1....at the opposite end. so i get back on the tram and meet these nice southern men who are on my flight to charlotte. when we make it to the right terminal we follow the signs to hall 2 to check-in. well we get to the second level and see more signs for hall 2 which appear to be pointing back down to the first level. so we all go back down and search for more signs which point us to an elevator. back to the second level. apparently the "down arrow" actually means straight ahead. fail charles de gualle. at least i wasn't the only one who was confused. so we make it to the check-in counter where i find out that my bag is overweight, naturally. thankfully i only had to empty out a few things. after that it was smooth sailing from there. i made it back to the states all in one piece with all of my belongings. i finally got some good spicy mexican food tonight and i am not delaying my unpacking. im starting to hit a wall and its only 9pm...i guess im still on france time, 6 hours ahead. im so glad to be back with the family and they are all already saying that ill be going back next summer, i need a second chance to get my french citizenship.