My mind is racing and all these thoughts are spinning around in my head. How did I end up here?What should I do? Ok, I think I hate Australia. How long was that flight again?Surely I can just book the next one home and be done with this place. I have to talk to someone, I'm about to have a breakdown and I seriously need to wine to someone. I'm calling my mom; I know she will have sympathy for me.
Mind made up, I march over to the pay phone and dial as fast as my fingers will allow. She picks up after the third ring. "Mom, are you there?" I cry into the phone. "I'm here, what's wrong honey?" she asks worriedly.
"This place is horrible" I sob uncontrollably and am crying so hard that the complaints are garbled and are interrupted by hiccuping every fourth word. (My poor mom, she is usually the protector and is great at helping us kids out when we get into trouble, but there is a chance that this call almost gave her a heart attack.)
It's not every day mom gets a call from her daughter who's in a foreign country, and crying hysterically with no sign of the crying stopping any time soon.
Finally she cuts in and asks, "Honey I know your upset, but what exactly is it that you want me to do from half way around the world?"
"Good question, honestly I just need you to listen to me complain about the ridiculousness of my situation" I mumble while still sort of crying.
I proceeded to tell her about my late plane, getting ditched by my supposed driver, the taxi guy leaving me in this neighborhood with bars on the windows and the weird hotel that wouldn't even let me stand in their dinky little lobby.
She is supportive in her usual way. Listening to me cry and complain before finally asking as gently but as pointedly as possible. "Well, what are you going to do about it? You're there now, no changing that."
She has a point and I feel better having talked it through with her. Even though she's half way around the world, in this moment it feels like she is here with me giving me the courage to take charge of my situation.
YOU ARE READING
Survival of a naive travel nurse.
RandomI'm 25, and taking off on my first adventure overseas. Naive and unprepared only begins to describe me. This is my chance to get out on my own and see the world. I have some concerns though. I'm going alone, have no one coming to help navigate, and...
