The long way to the airport

Wrrrr! Wrrrr! Wrrr!

5:45 a. m. I crack my eyes opened. It's still dark. I try to reach for my phone, but it falls on the floor. Now I can hear it vibrating on the floor even louder than before. My dad wakes up. He turns on the lights... Oh, no, no, no... I just wanna sleep, god damn it! My trip to La-La Land has just ended. I wouldn't really cared if I would have slept a whole hour last night, but between my dad's snoring and my anxiety of moving to another country, I just couldn't.

Now, I'm so sleepy that I even forgot to put on more clothes. I forgot that it was my last day to stay with two girls. So, in a really slow-motion way, I dress with some clothes I had prepared beforehand. Two more hours until my flight leaves.

”It's snowing! Omg! Everything's white outside! ”, Raluca, my roomie, joyfully informed me. That moment I turned completely white. There were less than two hours for me to get to the airport and it had just snowed. ”The city will be paralized”, I nerviously told my father. While he's putting on his boots, I'm desperately calling for a taxi. ”We're sorry. We've got none available at the moment”. ”Isn't that great? ”, I said to myself. One hour and 45 minutes till my flight to a new world takes off.

We decided to wait for the taxi in front of my building, but there was just one problem... We couldn't find one. The big snow flakes were just falling on my head, ruining what I would usually call a very nice hairdew. My dad starts to shout. ”I told you we should have woken up earlier! You'll lose the flight... There's no point in calling a taxi anymore”. I never heard my dad shout. He's always so calm, so good, so generous. One hour and a half left...

Finally, we caught a taxi to the airport. We were covered in snow when the yellow Dacia stopped in front of my building. I was about to puke and my dad was on the verge of a breakdown. Such a pretty picture, ha? The traffic was chaotic. We paid the taxi driver to lift and carry the heavy luggage I was taking with me. Once inside the airport, we were confused... Where do we check-in? Baneasa Airport, if you'll have the misfortune to fly to or from there, is more like a bus stop. It doesn't resemble to an airport. One hour left...

”We're sorry, but your luggage exceeds the permited limit of 15 kilos”, the old lady from the check-in point kindly informs me. By protocole, she's obliged to smile after each sentence. Of course, that is extremely annoying and unnecessary. ”We're sorry. You have to throw most of your things away or you won't be able to get on the plane” is what she was really telling me. Smile. I smiled back... but it wasn't a very happy smile, but a nervous one. 45 minutes till take off...

”Hello? What? OK. I'll be there soon”. As I was determined to get on the plane with most of my things, I called Stefana, a good friend of mine. She lives close to the shitty airport. All dressed-up and with a big troller in her hands, she passes the guards from entrance and reaches the check-in point where I was already selecting the things I didn't really need. ”They have frying pans there, don't they? ”; I said while tossing it aside. ”But your mother said... ”, my dad timidly tries to answer. ”My mother wouldn't like to pay extra for a fricking frying pan”, I said trying to maintain my calm. Almost half-an-hour before the flight...

”Sir, if you want to fly with us, I recommend you check-in right now”. I looked at the handling employee with hate and said: ”Just wait by the counter, I'll be there in a giffy”. After weighting all my luggage pieces, I headed to the check-in counter... again. Stefana stuffed all my unnecessary things into her big troller. I kiss her goodbye and pass to the control zone. My father continues to thank her as we reach the other side of the control area. Half an hour left...

Baneasa, as it said, is a very shitty airport. No ventilation, no proper bar, no gates. Just one big waiting room where you can hear all kinds of languages and smell the sweat of those around you. Not that posh, ha? As we reach the final frontier - the bus-, I tell my father while snearing: ”I can't wait to get there. I'm sure it will be everything that this country isn't”.

To be continued