After returning from Budapest Hungary, I had the tighted schedule ever. I returned to the student dorm at around 11pm on Sunday night and my flight to Hannover, Germany left at 8am the next morning. Therefore, I had to leave the dorm at 6am to make sure I got to the airport in time. I still would have had time to sleep except I also had to do washing and pack my suitcase for the next 3 weeks of travelling. As a result I finally fell into bed absolutely exhausted (we only slept a few hours each night in Hungary) at 2.30am. As usual I struggled to pack 3 weeks worth of stuff into my small suitcase and I repacked it dozens of times trying to make things fit, sacrificing more and more items every time. Due to complete exhaustion and lack of sleep, there were tears at one point, but I pushed through and finally finished packing. Having now returned from my 3 week trip, it is disappointing to admit that some items that made the cut I did not use at all, while I found myself wanting things that didn’t.
Somehow I managed to get out of bed and leave on time the next morning. I blame my lack of sleep for my comedy of errors at the airport. Firstly, I was surprised by the complete lack of security at the airport. I was able to walk straight into the area for passengers only without anyone checking my passport, ticket or even walking through a metal detector. I found the sign for my boarding gate which pointed down some stairs, but I was very early so I went looking for food instead. Having thought I had made it through the security check I bought a bottle of coke, hoping the caffeine would take effect and for something to drink on the plane. After slowly enjoying my breakfast, I decided I may as well make my way to the gate. And what should I find at the bottom of the stairs? The security check! So I lost an entire bottle of coke and a bottle of water. I’d forgotten about the new liquid laws at airports; luckily my asthma puffer made it through. I made my way to the gate and waited there. When I arrived people were lining up but I thought I should wait because maybe they haven’t said my seat row yet, like in Adelaide. So I sat down, trying my best to stay awake, only to be disturbed by an announcement over the loud speaker, ‘Frau Richardson, bitte gehen Sie zu Tor 38. Ms Richardson please proceed to gate 38 immediately’. I was at gate 38 so I looked up feeling rather confused and said to the staff there, ‘that’s me’. I was then told to ‘hurry up!’ I was so confused! Our flight didn’t leave for another 30 mins yet.
I was then herded onto a bus at which point I remembered that Vienna International Airport does not have those walkways that connect the plane to the airport. Instead I boarded a bus with every other passenger on the plane as well as the flight staff, then we drove for several kilometres, stopped to give way to a plane (I kid you not!) and finally pulled up next to a plane. Then we had to walk on the tarmac, and go up those really small stairs onto the plane. It was the quite the experience and I’m sure I would have enjoyed it if I wasn’t struggling to keep my eyes open. On the flight they did translate announcements to English but I found it rather annoying because the English translation was not accurate. I was wished ‘a pleasant stay on board’ numerous times. It’s not incorrect, but it’s certainly not something I would say.
Despite these travel hiccups, I did notice that I was not nervous or unsure at all. I was quite happy just to go with the flow and that I would be safe and get to Hannover on time. This is quite different from my apprehension when I left Adelaide, so I guess I am becoming more comfortable with travelling and undertaking new adventures on my own.
Now I guess by this point you are probably wondering why I went to Hannover, I mean out of all the cities in Europe, it’s quite small. I went to Hannover to meet family there. I have spoken with them on the phone before and exchanged emails but this was the first time I got to meet them in person. Our relationship is quite complicated as we are not blood relatives. My brother married an Indonesian, and my sister in law’s sister married a German and lives in Germany with her two children. It is this family that I went to visit. Now not everyone would consider themselves family in this position, but in my experience Indonesians take family much more seriously than Australians do. In fact, during my entire stay in Hannover I was treated like family and I felt like family. Caroline (who is my brother’s niece) introduced me as her Australian aunt to try and avoid confusion from such a complicated story. In sum, don’t sweat the math! We regard each other as family even though one could argue that we are not.
Somehow I managed to get out of bed and leave on time the next morning. I blame my lack of sleep for my comedy of errors at the airport. Firstly, I was surprised by the complete lack of security at the airport. I was able to walk straight into the area for passengers only without anyone checking my passport, ticket or even walking through a metal detector. I found the sign for my boarding gate which pointed down some stairs, but I was very early so I went looking for food instead. Having thought I had made it through the security check I bought a bottle of coke, hoping the caffeine would take effect and for something to drink on the plane. After slowly enjoying my breakfast, I decided I may as well make my way to the gate. And what should I find at the bottom of the stairs? The security check! So I lost an entire bottle of coke and a bottle of water. I’d forgotten about the new liquid laws at airports; luckily my asthma puffer made it through. I made my way to the gate and waited there. When I arrived people were lining up but I thought I should wait because maybe they haven’t said my seat row yet, like in Adelaide. So I sat down, trying my best to stay awake, only to be disturbed by an announcement over the loud speaker, ‘Frau Richardson, bitte gehen Sie zu Tor 38. Ms Richardson please proceed to gate 38 immediately’. I was at gate 38 so I looked up feeling rather confused and said to the staff there, ‘that’s me’. I was then told to ‘hurry up!’ I was so confused! Our flight didn’t leave for another 30 mins yet.
I was then herded onto a bus at which point I remembered that Vienna International Airport does not have those walkways that connect the plane to the airport. Instead I boarded a bus with every other passenger on the plane as well as the flight staff, then we drove for several kilometres, stopped to give way to a plane (I kid you not!) and finally pulled up next to a plane. Then we had to walk on the tarmac, and go up those really small stairs onto the plane. It was the quite the experience and I’m sure I would have enjoyed it if I wasn’t struggling to keep my eyes open. On the flight they did translate announcements to English but I found it rather annoying because the English translation was not accurate. I was wished ‘a pleasant stay on board’ numerous times. It’s not incorrect, but it’s certainly not something I would say.
Despite these travel hiccups, I did notice that I was not nervous or unsure at all. I was quite happy just to go with the flow and that I would be safe and get to Hannover on time. This is quite different from my apprehension when I left Adelaide, so I guess I am becoming more comfortable with travelling and undertaking new adventures on my own.
Now I guess by this point you are probably wondering why I went to Hannover, I mean out of all the cities in Europe, it’s quite small. I went to Hannover to meet family there. I have spoken with them on the phone before and exchanged emails but this was the first time I got to meet them in person. Our relationship is quite complicated as we are not blood relatives. My brother married an Indonesian, and my sister in law’s sister married a German and lives in Germany with her two children. It is this family that I went to visit. Now not everyone would consider themselves family in this position, but in my experience Indonesians take family much more seriously than Australians do. In fact, during my entire stay in Hannover I was treated like family and I felt like family. Caroline (who is my brother’s niece) introduced me as her Australian aunt to try and avoid confusion from such a complicated story. In sum, don’t sweat the math! We regard each other as family even though one could argue that we are not.
I found my family without any problems and really enjoyed my 3 days with them. I spoke German most of the 3 days and because we were constantly chatting, that’s probably the most German I’ve ever spoken at one time. I’m certain that my grammar was dodgy in places but the best part was that I was able to maintain a conversation, as if we were chatting in English. I even found the words I needed in quick situations, like ‘mach es wieder’ ‘do that again!’ It really was such a great time, and I felt so welcome and part of the family.
It was also great to rediscover some aspects of life that I took for granted in Australia but have not had for 2.5 months. For example, I got to ride in a car for the first time since I got here. I got to watch TV for the first time since I got here. I got to hire a dvd – I can’t do that here because the regional coding means they will not work on my laptop. We even had a barbecue! I tried barbecued pig stomach and I definitely recommend it. Very tasty! But the best thing was that I got my own room! I didn’t want to be on my own, because I was having such a great time with the family, but having my own space was such a luxury and I would say the thing that I miss most.
I really bonded with the entire family. I bought an Australian football for Leon and taught him how to kick and pass it. I went shopping with Caroline who showed me where to get the best gifts. Yanthi and I spoke about everything from politics to university, while Bernd and I discussed social problems in Germany (to which I will dedicate an entire post). It’s amazing to think that I learnt so much in 3 days while having such a great time.
It was also great to rediscover some aspects of life that I took for granted in Australia but have not had for 2.5 months. For example, I got to ride in a car for the first time since I got here. I got to watch TV for the first time since I got here. I got to hire a dvd – I can’t do that here because the regional coding means they will not work on my laptop. We even had a barbecue! I tried barbecued pig stomach and I definitely recommend it. Very tasty! But the best thing was that I got my own room! I didn’t want to be on my own, because I was having such a great time with the family, but having my own space was such a luxury and I would say the thing that I miss most.
I really bonded with the entire family. I bought an Australian football for Leon and taught him how to kick and pass it. I went shopping with Caroline who showed me where to get the best gifts. Yanthi and I spoke about everything from politics to university, while Bernd and I discussed social problems in Germany (to which I will dedicate an entire post). It’s amazing to think that I learnt so much in 3 days while having such a great time.
No comments:
Post a Comment