snow, don't let me go

Spring Break

destination: The Bahamas
mission: to relax and have a great time (away from the snow)
the problem: airports (any kind of transportation vehicles to be honest) really don't like us...

My last class ended on thursday morning so I had enough time to start packing and finish up my last assignments before the break. My plan was to go shopping that day as well but somehow time management wasn't on my side (is it ever?!) and so I had to deal with what I brought to Michigan in the first place. Which wasn't too bad, I always pack way too much stuff and of course I thought of bringing some tops and shorts when I packed for 5 months abroad. However as I wasn't even thinking about spring break back then, I forgot quite a few things or didn't pack them as I planned on buying new stuff once I'd be settled in the States. Mainly shoes weren't on my list, I ruined my flip flops and my sandals in Australia so I didn't bring them here, thinking that by the time I'll get to a warmer place, I'd have more than enough opportunities to go shoe shopping, we're in America after all?! Yeah... that didn't go as planned...The shopping mall is two buses away from where I live which means it takes you at least an hour to get there and once you're there you realize that although they have a few nice shops, all what's in store at the moment is to get you through the cold winter. Yes by the time of midterms and up until today (March), no spring in sight, but tons of snow instead! So no footwear for sunny weather, I had to deal with my boots and sneakers. Somehow I always manage to pack the right things (attention: irony!). I asked my mum to send me a few things but I texted her too late, so unfortunately that package never made it to me in time, and now that I got it, I can't really do anything with it because there's no need for a bikini or flip flops in Allendale right now...Oh well I'll make use of it afterwards when touring the USA with my best friend Vanessa. I cannot wait! But before going into that vacation I'd rather stay concentrated on telling you about the one that actually took place just last week-BAHAMAS! How I love saying this ;) In this Post let me tell you about how we got there and the many nerves that got killed along the way.

On friday 28th February Andrea and I got our stuff together and took the bus to Central Station as the cab that was supposed to come and pick us and two other girls up from GVSU, cancelled our arrangement saying they could only make it to the bus station downtown in time and then get us to the airport from there. No problem, we planned in some extra time and we're flexible, no worries right?! We arrived at the station where we met the other two girls who didn't have much more time left until their flight, so naturally they were a little nervous seeing nothing but buses and a bunch of people with luggage. We called the cab company and of course they didn't pick up, not the first, second or 211432358th time, so quite angry we tried several other companies who ensured us that it would be impossible to get a taxi within less than an hour now that spring break has started. 'Wie die verrückten Hühner' we started running around looking for taxis to drive by, ready to jump in front of them, because slowly Andrea and I became anxious too. How could they all bail on us and why the heck is it impossible to find a taxi in such a big city as Grand Rapids claims to be?! After a while of hysterically calling taxi companies, posting on facebook for help and imagining the worst. One of the other girls came running back claiming she found a car that would take us. I thought she was talking about a taxi, turns out she managed to convince a guy with his two children on the backseat to squeeze us 4 into their car and get us to the airport, in turn of chipping in some money for gas. At that point we didn't even care if our backpacks lay on top of the snow covered trunk (open-air btw) or if his little girl next to me burped into my ear. Not to worry family, he was a very nice family guy, doing this out of pity for us and maybe for the money, but most of all because we looked so miserable and he wanted us to make it to our well deserved spring break destinations. Faith in humanity restored, this man saved our day and probably our whole trip! Thank you thank you thank you stranger!!

First obstacle is overcome! There's more to come? Oh yeah, didn't I tell you about the 13 hours gap we'd have in Dallas, Texas? My bad! So after a 3 hours flight to Dallas our next flight wouldn't leave until next morning 10am so we had the whole night to discover the Dallas' airport. We stepped out of the airport to go to our terminal and had the joy of sweating in our warm winter clothes. After weeks or even months of snow, wind and cold, we finally got to experience what it meant to step outside and feeling a summer breeze. We didn't have to watch out for ice when walking on the sidewalk, nor did we have to bury our hands in our pockets to protect them from freezing and falling off. I didn't know what it was like to see grass or even the road instead of snow. Spring Break I already love you!!!

People at the airport then told us that checking in our luggage wouldn't be possible neither would be going beneath the gates where all the shops and food places were. Fortunately enough we had to fly off from the international terminal where they had couches and a hotel upstairs. Being poor students we couldn't afford the airport hotel, but we treated ourselves with a nice dinner and a drink at their restaurant. It must have looked quite funny, seeing us two packed students walking into that fancy restaurant, me having a huge backpack on, but what can I say it's just so much easier to travel with!! We ordered this amazing cheese platter, which was worth every penny and of which I'm still sometimes fantasizing.

 

Goat cheese on top of the freshly baked bread with dates, and a little honey sprinkled on top...#foodporn (I'm sorry but there's no other way to describe it)

After that we went back to reality and spend the following 11 hours trying to get some sleep while keeping an eye on our luggage build up around us like a shelter. Andrea somehow managed to get quite some hours of sleep, while I was observing funny sleeping behaviours of the people around me. I really couldn't sleep on these arm chairs, they weren't too bad considering we were at an airport but everytime I fell asleep I woke up 5 minutes later because I had to change sleeping positions or I'd end up with a broken back. Furthermore, there were two televisions on reporting non-stop news on maximum sound volume, interrupted every 15 minutes by an extremely happy and annoying jingle coming from the closed Starbucks right next to our chairs. So I concentrated as I said on watching others, listening to music that would actually cover up all other sounds and reading a book for one of my courses. By the end of the night, when the coffee shop actually started serving again (without annoying jingle in the background) I had finished the book and my Ipod was out of battery, I know how to pass my time I'd say. Andrea and I had a yummy breakfast at Starbucks, including a big cup of coffee, which I needed to get through the next hours of security check and boarding, without hurting others. Shine and rise, shine and rise!

 

After another 3 hours in the air, we finally arrived in Nassau, Bahamas!

We stepped outside, carrying most of our clothes in our hands, who would have thought that after 4 months of Australia I'd say that I'm not used to heat anymore?! I was smiling from ear to ear, I missed it way too much and now I can definitely say: I'm a child of summer! Whatever, I'm a child of anything that doesn't involve snow, rain and the cold ;) When we entered the airport they were playing 'bahamian' songs to welcome tourists, and by saying they, I don't mean the radio or a CD, there was an actual band located next to the immigration terminals dressed in colorful clothes, playing instruments and singing about the beauty of life. Oh how I loved this place already! Getting through immigration was easy, all we had to do was indicate that we were students on spring break and they let us through to get our bags. We took them and made our way to our hotel, smiling from ear to ear, enjoying the layed back mentality and sun shining on our skin.