"Farvel" Burlington

My last day in Burlington was spent laying outside at a yard sale with some friends enjoying the beautiful sun, which doesn't show itself often enough in Vermont. I spent my entire Friday afternoon packing my room and stressing about moving out of my apartment in time, only to spend my last day sitting around. This was a much needed change after moving my bed, dresser, and the never ending boxes earlier in the morning. All that was left in my room was a big blue suitcase, a small carry-on duffel bag, and my purse. It doesn't matter how thorough I am while packing, I'm always left with the unsettled feeling that I've forgotten some quintessential item like socks or my passport.

Don't worry, I didn't forget my passport or socks and soon enough I was on my way to the airport headed to New York. My flight would get in at about 7pm and I was instructed to take the JFK AirTrain to the Jamaica station and then catch the train to Hicksville. Good thing I'm getting practice with navigating train stations with all my luggage now because I was practically a train wreck. Getting to the AirTrain was easy enough, but once arriving at Jamaica it slowly went downhill. It took me at least 10 minutes to figure out which tickets I needed and where I would use them. In my defense, they started charging for the AirTrain only 3 months ago in March, so I wasn't the only rookie. Then I had a wait almost an hour longer because I must have just missed the previous train. Once the train to Hicksville finally arrived, I lugged my suitcase down the aisle and managed to hit every person along the way. My bag was just barely too big to fit down the aisle without squeezing past each chair. After causing a road block to through traffic, I finally found the closest open seat and attempted to put my bag in the rack above me. Gravity was not my friend. I was a quarter inch from getting my bag where it needed to be before losing strength and practically dropping my 50 pound bag on my fellow passengers. Mental reminder: work on upper body strength next time I workout. I don't like pushups, but for the safety of those around me I better suck it up and start doing them. The fun didn't stop there. I managed to miss my stop. I underestimated how long it would take me to grab my suitcase (gravity was on my side this time), awkwardly drag it down the aisle, and get to the door. Just as I approached the exit, the doors slid shut and I was in shambles trying to figure out how to proceed. Luckily the next stop was only 5 to 10 minutes away, so I called my friend, Arie, who I would be staying with, and started the conversation by apologizing profusely. Shortly after getting off the train I called my mom and told her I was last seen on the corner of Lee and Stewart if she didn't get an "I'm safe and with my friend" text in 20 minutes. Let's just say this was a trial run for Europe.