"This is definitely the first time that I can remember ever riding in an actual passenger train," I commented as the whine of the rails accentuated the swaying movement of the train car that we were sitting in. Mark shifted in his upholstered seat and looked out of the large windows into the bright, sunny day outside. "So theyas is France.." he mumbled with a smile. I looked around at the nearly empty cabin and wondered why they had booked an elderly lady in the seat next to me. The seating was arranged with four pink, cushioned chairs (two facing forwards and two facing backwards) surrounding a low, IKEA-quality table with a narrow isle for walking between the groupings. The sunlight streamed in the copious windows, revealing glimpses of the picturesque French countryside. I turned to glance at the frail woman who was only inches away from me, but who had said nothing so far. She quietly worked on a Sudoku puzzle, occasionally taking in the passing scenery. I wonder why she traveled alone... I thought. Sharron scrolled through her phone, trying to connect to a cell tower while talking to her parents via her data plan. "This SIM card cost me over 50 euros! I can't believe my phone isn't letting it work properly!", she exclaimed in frustration. "I'm just planning to use the WiFi calling option on mine while I'm here. It's not like there will be a lot of people wanting to talk to me. Besides, I'd like to take a break from all the tech usage for a while." I said, reflecting on how much I had been forced to use some app (or computer program) for one work or university related thing or another during my recent college years. "I'm bored," Mark declared over the screeching sound of a passing train on the adjacent track, "Any of y'all gawt some cards ur sumthin'?" I suddenly remembered that I had put some in my luggage before our initial departure, for just such an occasion as this, and went to retrieve it from the storage cabin area.
When I returned empty-handed several minutes later, I had to explain to my traveling companions that my playing cards had somehow gotten lost, and that we'd need to find another way to pass the time. Mark suggested taking a nap and promptly leaned back against the headrest of his seat and closed his eyes in an attempt to doze through the remainder of our journey. "How are we going to know when we are at the right station? We have several stops before we get to Tours...", I nervously inquired of Sharron, who had been scrutinizing the map. "I think our stop is on the third station...it'll say this on the platform," she indicated the name of the Tours rail-station on the map with her finger. "Well, we just passed stop number one, only two more to go!" I was thankful for that information at least. There was no knowing for sure if our host family would be there to meet us or not, and whoever they were, there was no telling if they would recognize us when we finally got there!
I continued to stare out of the window in wonderment at the passing scenery until we arrived at our destination. The reality of my location was only now beginning to sink in. It's like I know we're really here, but at the same time, it's hard to fully believe that we are actually here... I thought to myself in the quiet of the sunlit cabin. The sudden swaying of the train indicated the final stop. I tapped Mark on the shoulder to wake him up and looked out of the window on the far side of the cabin. "Yup! This is definitely our stop!" I announced before heading towards the baggage storage area. As I was lifting my heavy suitcase out from the metal rack where it had been placed at the start of our railway trip, Mark kindly offered to help (since he only had his backpack to carry) and brought it down the steps and across the tracks. We all stood on the platform for a moment before realizing that this deserted place was not our intended final destination. "What do we do now?" Sharron asked. The only practical solution was to ask for assistance, after which we discovered that there was a shuttle train that would take us into the actual Tours train station. Armed with further instructions, we started our way down the platform; Sharron dragging two pieces of luggage and a carry-on behind her, me with my carry-on over my back while wrestling with yet another piece of Sharron's luggage, and Mark with his backpack, gripping my ungainly suitcase.
"I have got to pee!" I declared, my desperation showing as I searched in vain for relief, "There has to be some sort of WC around here somewhere...!" There wasn't. Before long, our shuttle appeared and we climbed aboard, our feet barely above the tracks on the low-budget version of a train car that we were now standing in. I stood there in utter misery for several moments before looking around and noticing a familiar white image of a male and female figure separated by a line. "Hey!", I nudged Mark, "I think that's a public bathroom stall in that corner!" "Ain't much to it", he observed before asking a nearby Asian girl if she knew if anyone was currently using it. She shook her head, and I hurriedly went to claim the as-yet vacant source of my bodily salvation. It is worth mentioning that while I was in the poorly constructed facility (that was comprised of not much more than an airline-style toilet), that the door would not lock, so I had to trust in my fellow-travelers to keep unsolicited visitors out until I was done. To add to my public embarrassment, the door/walls could not have been more than a few centimeters thick, and I was certain that every single person in that car could hear everything that was happening in my "private" stall. Mercifully, I was soon out of there and could not wait to vacate the seemingly over-crowded shuttle. I hope it's not going to be like this for the rest of the trip...
The ear-piercing shriek of the brakes indicated that we were now at our destination. After nearly two full days of traveling, very few hours of which involved sleeping, we were finally disembarking into Tours, France. As we stepped out into the uncertainty that lay ahead for the three of us, we said a quick thanks and goodbye to each other for all of the shared adventures that had led up to this point. Granted, the journey had been exhausting and full of challenges, but we had made it through the ordeal together, and felt a sense of closeness as a result of our time together.
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