More Than I Bargained For

This Spring Break is not at all what I envisioned. The plan was to visit my cousins in Ireland from the 7th to the 16th, go to Rome to stay with my friend until the 20th, and fly back to London from Dublin on the 21st. Thanks to this epic Icelandic-volcano-eruption chaos, it is the morning of the 21st and I am still in London. In fact, never made it to Rome because it just so happens that the volcano erupted the day before I was due to fly. I guess it’s a miracle in disguise – it could have erupted while I was en route, or after I already arrived, OR I could’ve been like my other friends who were traveling all around Europe staying in hostels. Point is, I am quite lucky I am with my family, safe, in a bed that I don’t have to pay for, as opposed to stuck in an airport because I have no money to pay for another night in a hostel. Sure, I would’ve loved to see Rome, but this is a much better situation.

I know I must sound unusally calm for being “stuck” on my spring break, but trust me, this past week has been maddening. Aside from worrying about my safety, I also can’t help but worry about my upcoming exam and papers. I have an exam on 27 April, and of course I didn’t take any study material to Ireland with me (when/why would I have had the chance to study?) so I can’t even study. Same goes for my papers, which are all due on 5 May. When I first learned that my flight for today was cancelled, I was scrambling to find the quickest solution that will get me back to London ASAP because of my assessments – what if I have to reschedule my exam and I can only take it after I’m supposed to be leaving back to the states? What if I have little/no time to write my papers? All sorts of worst-case-scenarios were floating in my head until I eventually shook them all out of me. Even though the thought of me being thousands of feet in the atmosphere so soon after this volcanic eruption scares me to pieces, I realize that flying woukd probably be the best option, despite the issue of time.

As it turns out, I am (hopefully) getting back to London on Sunday afternoon (25 April), which will give me a little more than a day to study for my exam. I’ve pulled all-nighters and last minute study cramming before, so hopefully I can pull it off. But just in case, I e-mailed my professor explaining my situation. As for my papers, I have a little more than a week, which I hope will be enough time for three papers (one of which I started working on before I left). Don’t worry, during this time I’ll allow myself some time to update everyone on what I did here in Ireland, complete with many pictures! Hope everyone else is doing well, and I hope all of my friends around Europe can make it back to London safely. Hopefully, I’ll see everyone on Sunday!

xx

Leave a Reply

Next ArticleTales from Italy ch.8: SPRING BREAK! Part 2- Chester, Liverpool, and Manchester, England