Viaggio in Italia

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‘Ciao’

...a long break. Junior year was perhaps very hectic.

Well, I am not good at writing but, if you’re reading this, I hope you’ll smile.

There's a thing called “internships”. I got one, though late. Luckily, the Visa was approved just a day (a working day; to be precise) before the flight. It took some sleep-deprived nights and I was at I.G.I. Airport, New Delhi.

The immigration officer asked me to show the offer letter; which I didn’t carry. After long arguments with the officer, it occurred to me that I had a soft copy of the letter. I opened the file and slid the screen towards the old man.

He erupted, “What the hell is this?” and slid the screen back.

The window on the screen read, “YOUR COMPUTER IS NOT RUNNING GENUINE WINDOWS”. Out of nervousness, I pressed some keys. What appeared was "a blue screen" with "WINDOWS IS SHUTTING DOWN TO PREVENT DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER".

Out of ideas, I begged him to find another way.

He asked, “Where are you from?” He frowned at my answer and said, “Look! I am allowing you to go, but you may be sent back.”

[SIGH]

The flight was delayed by a few hours; thanks to volcanic ash. I tried to pass some time on the internet but sleep quickly caught hold of me. I remember having nightmares of being deported to India. Someone woke me up and my eyes opened wide at the sight of a hostess who was saying, “Sir, are you booked on the flight LH-763?”

With my mouth wide open, I said, “Yeeaahh”. I was overwhelmed by her beauty.

“Sir, we have been announcing for the last 10 minutes. You are the only one left. Please hurry up. The flight is scheduled to depart in a few minutes."

I hurried up and she escorted me to the plane.

[SIGH]

The flight arrived late at Munich International. I had missed the connecting flight to Venice. It took some arguments with a German hostess and I was booked on a different flight.

It was late at night and I was finally at Marco Polo Airport, Venice. All the airports in Italy were closed on that day and Lufthansa (a stud airline) was the only one in operation.

My employer had asked me to give a phone-call on reaching the airport. The pay-phones in Italy don't work on coins; they ask for credit cards. It wasn't possible to make a call. I was scared of the loneliness at the lobby and decided to proceed with the onward journey. I looked for a taxi as there was no other means of transport available at that time. I asked the guy to drop me at Mestre(a town next to Venice); so that I could catch the train to my destination.

The next train was in the morning. It was raining heavily and I was drenched and cold. It wasn't a good idea to spend another sleepless night.

I looked around. There was a distant light, probably from a hotel. I knew I had money and didn’t think of anything else.

[SIGH OF HUGE RELIEF]

Everything was awesome since then.

It was a tough journey but when I look back, I do nothing but smile.

‘Ciao’