Planes, Trains and Automobiles: What I learned from My Hectic Journey to Nantes

Studying abroad can present several challenges, including culture shock, different academic expectations, and immersion in a foreign language. I had been informed of some of these possible struggles in the months before my departure, though I had not anticipated that I would encounter issues before I had even landed in my host country and begun orientation. 

For my semester in Nantes, France, I had booked a flight from my home city of Philadelphia to Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) in Paris. About two hours after takeoff, I was finishing my in-flight meal when I had a sudden nosebleed that took over the following hour and a half of my flight.

I am not generally susceptible to nosebleeds, and it had been the first time that one had happened to me in the air. As I was scrambling for napkins, I knocked over my cup of water, which spilled all over my sweater. I had packed a travel package of tissues in my backpack, though they proved to be insufficient for the situation. I was eventually able to grab some paper towels from the restroom and attempt to clean myself up.

When I landed at the airport, I learned that the flight had arrived about an hour earlier than expected, and saw that it was beginning to snow on the tarmac. Apparently, Western Europe had been bracing for winter Storm Goretti, which brought extreme winds and heavy snowfalls to several coastal regions of France and the UK that do not typically experience snow and frost during winter. 

I had planned to take the TGV train from the airport to Nantes, and scheduled my ticket for the 11:30 departure, which allowed some time in case my flight, which was supposed to arrive around 9:30, was delayed. By the time I had retrieved my luggage, it was 8:45, and I found myself in the middle of the large airport train station, which was much colder than I expected it would be. 

While there, I happened to find two other students from my college who were also going to IES Abroad Nantes. They had intended to fly from CDG to Nantes, but their flights had just been canceled due to the weather. Because of this, they purchased tickets for the 9:45 TGV to Nantes at the station. 

Not wanting to wait for three hours in the frigid train station, I went to the TGV office to inquire about exchanging my ticket for the 9:45 departure. However, by the time I got there, there was a long line of people whose flights had been canceled, hoping to purchase a train ticket. By the time I made it to the desk, it was already 9:30, and I was informed that I would have to pay 70 euros to exchange my train ticket, and I was not guaranteed a first-class seat like the one I had purchased for a good deal ahead of time. Not wanting to take the risk of missing the train, as it was my first time in that train station, and hoping to keep my first-class seat for the three-hour train ride, I decided that I would just wait for the 11:30.

As I was waiting, one of the screens suddenly read that my train was delayed another hour due to weather disruptions. I also discovered that the restrooms at the train station cost a one-euro fee for entrance. I had brought some euro bills with me in case I had issues with my cards, though the machine only accepted one-euro coins, which are more commonly used than change in the US, or payment cards with a tap feature. My card can only be swiped or inserted, so I was unable to get through the turnstile.

When the TGV finally did arrive an hour later than initially expected, I felt some relief in the knowledge that I was finally on my way to my host city. However, some issues persisted, as I soon found that the tray table at my chair was broken in a way that it was stuck jutting upward diagonally, preventing me from using it, and that the restroom sink on board did not work (fortunately, I had packed hand sanitizer in my backpack). 

During the ride, the train staff made frequent, rapid announcements about delays and complications at different stops in French, which I had difficulty understanding. In each announcement, they listed the names of multiple places that I assumed were stops along the line, though I was becoming a bit concerned because I heard no mention of Nantes. At one point, a staff member entered my carriage and announced something which she said very quickly. I was only able to discern something along the lines of “delays… must stop … change… soon.” As I was attempting to decipher what had just been said, she turned and asked if there were any questions. I was in the motion of raising my hand to request a slower explanation when she immediately turned and left to inform the other carriages. When I tried to find her, she had completely disappeared. 

Fortunately, I then decided to access the TGV WI-FI, and when I entered the password, it directed me to a website with information about my train. I was also to track how far the train had gone, and could see that it was still on course for the final stop at Nantes in another hour.

When I arrived at the Nantes train station, I soon saw two people holding IES Abroad signs and knew that I had finally made it. I boarded a taxi with other IES students on my train to go to the center. When I entered, the people at IES Abroad Nantes were very welcoming, and I was able to take a tour of the center while waiting for my host to pick me up. 

When he arrived at the center that evening, I loaded my luggage into his car and tried to make a decent first impression during the ride to his house in spite of my jet lag, travel fatigue, language barrier, and blood-stained sweater.

Over the course of the previous semester, I had spent time thinking about program-specific challenges concerning my courses and adaptation to daily life in a new country. I had not anticipated that I would need to adapt to so many unforeseen issues before even arriving in my host city.

This experience has taught me the importance of considering potential issues that could arise from local weather conditions at a travel destination, and that it is a good idea to carry euro coins in addition to paper bills while traveling in the EU. It is always a good practice to consider the unexpected while traveling abroad, and a bit of cursory research into travel center amenities and rail lines can be very helpful. 

Bad luck is inevitable while travelling abroad; I hope that the lessons from my experience can help to limit similar troubles in the future.