Location, location, location

For a first day of an Auslandsjahr it has probably experienced every emotion and human action possible; rage, anger, tears, a bit more rage, silliness, laughter, confusion, loss and finally actually getting to Bonn Studentenwerk where I am going to be living until February.

Location One – Manchester airportPeople don’t fly with flybe.com. I think first and for most that has to be said. Secondly it resulted in a very VERY angry mother which is never a pleasant thing but to be honest after paying over £150 in excess baggage fees who wouldn’t be a fair bit cheesed off?? Stupid regulations.

Location Two – Flybe Aircraft. As many of you will indeed know I am TERRIFIED of flying and it is something I do not pretend to enjoy in the slightest. However on seeing the tin can I was flying in I can safely say that I was more terrified than usual and not happy at the hour and a bit I had to spend in the damn thing. You see Easy Jet and Ryanair ( I should just keep plugging cheap air lines I think) are nice big planes where you have space to breathe in them. Oh no nothing like this with Flybe it was a PROPERLOR plane which I have never been in and the plane was tiny thus the STRICT regulations on the baggage. Going up into the sky felt like the plane was going to fall apart at any second – I think it was the burley football fans that were just about keeping it together.

Location Three – Düsseldorf AirportOn leaving the tin can and getting aboard the shuttle bus to go to the terminal building it came that time to go through border control. Only as I looked through my already heavy cloth bag – no passport to be found. I had only gone and left it in the tin can. So I sprinted back to the shuttle bus to ask the driver ‘SPRECHEN SIE ENGLISCH?!’ to see if I could actually get away with it but oh no he said ‘NEIN’....I set my language from stun to kill at this point explaining in a panicking manner that I have left my passport in the plane and could I go back to get it. The bus driver drove me back to the plane and said I was not legally allowed to touch the tarmacL So he got off the bus and knocked on the plane door – WHO DOES THAT? HE KNOCKED ON THE PLANE!!!! Had to then go to the Grenze Polizei /border police to explain I had left my passport in the back pocket of the seat on the plane – so a few radio calls and a nervous wait later the passport was found RESULT!

Location Four – Düsseldorf S-Bahn lineComputers in foreign countries never make sense even when they are sneakily put into the English option. THANK HEAVENS for George Michael’s cousin who lept from the stationary train to help me and the Dottie. We managed to purchase our ticket to Bonn Hauptbahnhof almost the second success of the day but it went down hill from then as we missed the connection train and had to wait an hour for the train.

Location Five – Bonn Hauptbahnhof and the final destination SWBONN. Luckily my study buddy Doro was waiting at the station for us and managed to drive us to the Studentenwerk which was absoulutely lovely and meant no kerfuffle over try to find which way to go. Arrived in my room. Got the tour – am the only girl it would appear who is living on her floor. The boys seem lovely but messy...I will soon sort them into shape and if not then I got to ship over Emily Ford. Anyways I need to try and sleepL