December 15th.

Einstein said that there are two things that are internal: Universe and human stupidity. And he wasn't sure about the Universe. He was a wise, wise man.

You would think that the approximate check list for the day before departure would be:

• last minute shopping
• laundry
• packing
• cleaning the room
• making lunch for the next day 
• sleeping early
• waking up early

Yeah, right! :/

Instead of "peacefully" packing my stuff, I went out with an Armenian guy, who lived in Germany, but just moved back from South Africa and was thrilled that there was an Armenian student at the University of Oldenburg. He arrived a day before I was leaving, so the only chance we were supposed to meet was yesterday. 

So, instead of talking to him for an hour and a half then doing all the items on the check list (by 8 pm I only managed to shop) I went out at 10 pm.

The guy was very nice. He was born in Armenia but his family was one of those who moved in '93. At home he rarely spoke Armenian, only with his grandmother (God bless all grandparents who move to a foreign country but never learn the language and are the main reason why their grandchildren learn the language). He didn't know how to read or write in Armenian, but was very much aware of his roots, and involved in it just enough to be excited that there was another Armenian student in his University.

I just couldn't say no to meeting him, because I was very interested to talk to him, blah blah blah, Diaspora studies, blah, blah, blah.

It was great. We went to a Bavarian restaurant-bar, had a Schnitzel and beer (typical), he insisted on treating me. All we talked about was Armenia. Imagine my excitement. He never visited Armenia, so of course there were questions like "Are there any supermarkets/malls in Armenia, is there a subway, what is life like there? Are there any overcrowded bars, et cetera. I love these conversations.

Of course I missed the last bus home which meant that my "peaceful" packing and sleeping early plans were fucked. But we had to figure out how to take me home.

He called some of his friends to find out if I could borrow a bike and bring it back next day morning before catching my train to Hannover and then to Yerevan. One of his friends (a german guy who was twice taller than I am, of course) agreed to give me the bike. It was very nice of him, but after getting his keys and 10 minutes later discovering that my legs would definitely not reach the pedals, (I swear, the bike was bigger than me) I was screwed. The Armenian guy and I decided to walk home from the city centre. I never tried it before, but I thought it would take approximately 2 hours. Shit. 

35 minutes later the guy offered that I sat in the back of the bike and he would drive (he was as tall as the German guy we borrowed the bike). I hesitated, but in the end agreed. 

It was one of the things I didn't do it Oldenburg and it was scary as hell. The following 15 minutes I was praying (a habit I have when I think that my life would soon come to end by a car/bike accident). Being an atheist I think that sometimes I am being a hypocrite when I pray. 

I got home at 1:30. I still had to pack. Plus, I heard some really irritating news (more on that in my next post) and I was really pissed.

I was packing till 3:30 and then went to sleep, promising I would wake up early, finish packing, make lunch, have coffee and peacefully make my way to Hannover. 

Right… :/

As I woke up, I checked my Facebook messages, where I came to find that Anne, my flatmate and really good friend, sent me a message saying "Hey Laura. I am sorry we didn't say Goodbye to each other. I guess you left really early…" I didn't read the rest of the message, because I saw what time it was…

Instead of waking up at 9 (it was the sacred duty of my alarm clock), I woke up (thinking that it was earlier than 9, because I didn't hear the alarm) at 11:45.

FUCK!!! 

My room was a mess, I had no idea when the trains were leaving for Hannover, and the only thing that I could do was to PANIC!! 

Putting on the only clothes I could find, my shoes, closing my luggage not even checking what I put there, I started looking for trains from Oldenburg to Hannover. Thank God Brunna helped me there, because I only saw the direct trains and I was almost about to burst out in tears because I only found the train that was getting there at 4:30 while my plane was at 6:05 and I would still need to go to the Airport.

She found a train that would get me to Hannover at 3:30 which was perfect. The train left at 13:06 which meant that I was supposed to get the 12:20 bus to the train station, which was in... 10 minutes.

With half a sandwich for breakfast, no coffee, no make-up, no combing hair, no NOTHING, I put my computer in my backpack, checked my wallet and passport in my bag and screaming "Thanks Brunna, I love you. See you in 25 days. I am sorry … can't hug … have no free hands … the bus is… 4 minutes… Bye… Love you…" I went to the bus stop.

Now, my heart was still racing as the only thing I knew was that there had to be a train to Bremen, and one from Bremen to Hannover, but I had to figure everything out there, because I had no internet and no time to check. 

Worst start of the trip EVER. In the bus I started counting all the things that I forgot to take with me, including my Kindle, some clothes, toothbrush, some souvenirs, but nothing vital. 

The train to Bremen was on time (of course. It's Germany). My sack-voyage, which I bought yesterday, was banana-yellow and really heavy. As I wanted to enter the train, I heard "Laura!" and I turned around only to find out that the Armenian guy from yesterday was right behind me with a huge smile. He was visiting his grandmother, who was living not far from Oldenburg. We talked some more about Armenia (more on that later). 

-Say hi to your grandmother from me. Tell her that I love her, - I said to him when he went out of the train a couple of stops later. I still had a long journey home, but it looked like, despite my frustration and panic, that I would get home on time. 

"Would praying be really inappropriate?" I said to myself, doubting that I would feel like a hypocrite again.