The French quote “Apres la pluie, le beau temps” translates to English as, “After rain, comes sunshine”, and can be manipulated and ultimately interpreted to represent our journey across the world. At 7:30am, we landed in Paris relieved and rejuvenated, with the intention of boarding the final leg of our journey to Warsaw. However, once through passport control, the mood changed as we received news that our flight had been cancelled.
Before I begin to describe our group’s Paris experience, here’s a quick recap of the events leading up to what was, in the end, an incredible experience. On 26 November, 131 bright-eyed year 10 students arrived at the Sydney International Airport. After going though possibly the longest baggage line in history, we listened to Rabbi Benji speak about our IST journey, and after some tearful departures, we exchanged goodbyes to our parents as we officially entered the airport, and within a couple hours we were off.
Our first flight consisted of flight attendants getting angry, watching movies, sleeping, and sending back 99% of meals unopened, but we managed to entertain ourselves. After a quick layover in Bangkok, we were back sitting in stale air as we were finally on the way to Paris. Once we landed in Paris, we all mentally prepared ourselves for our final flight - until someone mentioned the fact that our flight had been cancelled. Surrounded by hospitable French people, we truly understood what it meant to be away from home, while Mrs Gluckman was working her magic, managing to organise a hotel, lunch and dinner for all 73 of us!
Flash forward to a few hours later, after checking in, eating lunch, and settling into the hotel - what capped it all off was that we had the opportunity to see the amazing Eiffel Tower! Quite a memorable experience before we head off to meet the rest of the group in Poland - looking forward to what comes next.