Submitted by Joshua O’Donnell on the 2019 winter session study abroad program in London, England sponsored by the Department of English and the Department of Theatre…
This week a few of my friends and I decided to take a break from the London look and take a day trip to Paris on Saturday.
It was an incredible day in which we saw the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Catedral de Notre Dame, and a man playing the accordion on the street; it was all in all, a very memorable experience.
However, the day took a turn for the worst when it was time to catch our train back to London. It was about an hour walk from where we were and we needed to get to the train station in 45 minutes before the gates closed. We decided to all take an Uber there as the drive was only about 20 minutes.
After only about a minute in the Uber, we suddenly came to a stop behind a row of cars. A sea of yellow vests from the protest flooded the street and no cars were moving through it. I knew that there had been protests going on in Paris before deciding to go there, but actually seeing it in person was much different than reading about it on the news.
We started to freak out a bit and contemplated getting out of the Uber and running to the train station to make it in time, but we didn’t want to go through the protest and figured staying in the car was safer. Luckily, some protesters started controlling traffic and letting cars go through, so slowly, but surely, we got past the protest and made it to the train station with time to spare.
After never having been in a situation like this one where I not only feared for missing my train, but for my own safety, I definitely learned a lot from this experience. By staying calm and weighing our options, we thankfully made the right choice to stay in the Uber rather than get out and try to get there on foot. It was a very nerve wracking experience but I’m glad we went through it because it gave me a great story to tell.
Also, the Eiffel Tower is much smaller in person.