Day 1 - On the Road to Rome: Langston and Peter

 

Day 1 - On the Road to Rome: 

Overcoming Anxiety and Anticipating New Adventures

Langton: I’ve “traveled” a lot in my life. I put traveled in quotations because I’ve never had the pleasure to travel anywhere besides the familiar territory of the East Coast, let alone outside of America. I’ve visited a myriad of beautiful places in America: Palm Springs, Baltimore, New York, or some other location that deems forgettable for now. Traveling to Italy will be, or more accurately put, is, my first time traveling outside America. Two weeks in a country foreign to me would seem scary, nerve wracking at the very least, and yet when I arrived at the airport I struggled to find a worry that I should fixate on. Funny enough, that lack of worry filled the abyss I just mentioned. 

Waiting for our flight in Charles de Gaulle Airport

My first thought when I anxiously walked down to the terminal was, “I wonder if anyone else is afraid.”, shortly followed by an insatiable hunger. Obviously, my hunger took priority and I remembered seeing a Jamba Juice earlier that caught my eye. I went in a group of three, safety first, and ordered a Strawberry Surf. Lemons, Strawberries, Lime, Orange, the memory of my bulging anticipation is almost as fresh as it tasted. I sat at that Jamba Juice for roughly 15 minutes, talking and laughing about anything and everything as my anxiety dissipated. In the midst of laughing over who knows what, the realization that I needed snacks hit me. 

We ran over to the closest store we saw, and it freakishly had all the food someone could think of. 6 different types of chocolate, ripe fruit, and even deli sandwiches inhabited the store. Shockingly, while I was purchasing my water and snack mix, I ran into my middle school principal. To summarize that brief encounter, the only word that comes to mind is Nostalgic. After a short conversation of how we had been, I realized I had one minute to get back to my terminal and prepare myself for the 10 hour long endeavor that is the plane ride I sit in while writing this. I'm excited to see what this trip has in plan for me, and can only hope it goes as well as the beginning of this trip that I’ve written about has been.

Just look at all the "oversized luggage"! 

Peter: After experiencing the unparalleled excitement of spending a week with our Italians friends as we toured around California, visiting large landmarks like the walk of fame or the Hollywood sign and taking them to do fun activities like visit museums and bowling, we silently waited in anticipation for the beginning of our journey to Italy. We all broke into groups of three or more and prepared the snacks we would need to make it through the long flight to Paris. As the plane prepared to take off, we all settled into our seats and prepared our movies for the ten hour flight ahead of us. 

On the plane to Rome! 

As I sat there, I dreamed of all the amazing places, food, and experiences we were all going to live through throughout the next two weeks. Then, after what felt like an eternity of waiting, we arrived at our first location: a layover in
Paris. Wandering around with the minimal hours of sleep we all got, we went through customs and sat in anticipation for the next leg of our journey.

Dinner detritus: all that remains of a Roman feast