On the train

Finally made it out of Chicago and to Paris. I'm trying to remember my manners by saying "parle vous anglais?" and "merci" a lot. The French people either think it's funny or just boring so I'm not so worried about it anymore.

I'm not lying when I say I jumped onto the train as it was leaving (yes, moving out of) the CDG station, with my baggage thrown in after me. For a minute I felt like it couldn't be the right train, but the conductor guy punched it so it must be legit. We shall see, I suppose.

You can tell from the telephone pole picture that we are zooming along quite fast. I wish I could get a better view of the countryside for you guys--it's definitely not American, but in a good way.

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More Chicago

Flight to Paris got delayed, but no worries. Just more time to read a good book.

You may be able to tell that I'm a bit bored. O'Hare has some cool stuff including lots of restaurants, a gigantic floating globe/flag hallway, and some of the most scarily intelligent toilets I've ever seen in action.

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Chicago

First stage: Accomplished.
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Charlotte

After much crazy driving and freaking out, I have made it through my first trial--Charlotte airport security. Wish me luck! :) And yes, I have Charles with me.

-Rachel
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Lock and load

Here's a picture of my 49.6 pound suitcase. I don't know what that is in kilos, but it better make it through airport security without some horrendous fee attached to it.

All that's left now is cramming every electronic device I own into my backpack and praying that I remember all the different chargers. Oh, and toiletries. Can't forget those. Might come in handy if I get stuck in Chicago. :)

Official countdown: 1 day.

-Rach
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Crackberry operational

Hi everybody!

This is a test to see if my shiny new phone can update the blog. This is so cool!

Official countdown: 5 days.

-Rachel
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More preparations

Astoundingly, managed to pack the car (with some much-appreciated help) and drive all the way from the ATL to Statesvegas yesterday. The scope of what I'm about to do has finally started to stress me out.

This week is going to be an insane scramble, but optimistically I'll have everything important with me when I board the plane. I dread the "uh-oh" moment that always happens when you remember something you obviously forgot.... As long as it's more along the lines of "uh-oh, I forgot my chapstick" instead of "uh-oh, I forgot all my pants" I think it'll be okay.

Happy Mothers' Day! :)

Official countdown: 8 days

-Rachel