A friend told me about a travel agency in town, which was selling an “Around The World Ticket”. A ticket, with which you could get anywhere on the world for a bad ass cheap price of 1.400 €. So, one day I rang the agency and fixed an appointment to learn more about this offer. I was thinking about treating my self with an extra long holiday after having been nonstop working ans studying in the last past years. So I stepped into the travel Agency and was welcomed by a trendy environment, with good vibes and young people greeting at me as I was their best friend. Btw, a quite unusual way for German Standards. 😉
So I sat down and started explaining my crazy plans about having a long vacation of 6 weeks in a row, traveling around the world! The girl behind the desk was not impressed at all.
– She asked me: „So, you are still under 26?“
– Me, flattered: “No, thanks darling, I am already 30.“
– She: „Oh I see, but you‘re still studying, right?“
– Me, getting insecure: “Ehm, no, not any more! But, anyway, why are you asking?“
– She, making a kind of sad face: “Oh well I am sorry, I can‘t help you out. The offer is reserved for students or young people only.”
And in one second, my world collapsed. “Students, Young People”? What does that mean, am I suddenly old? When did that happen?
– Me: “Well, I Want the ticket! Money doesn’t matter!“ I knew I had enough saved to buy at least three of them!
– She: “Well ok, same directions?”
– Me: “Same directions!”
She tips on her keyboard, starring at the screen with squinting eyes, biting her lower lip and says: 5 Stops, clockwise it’s 6.4!
– Me: „6.4? 6.400? Euros? You punish me with 5.000 Euros on top, just cause I am not studying anymore?“
– She: “…and because you are too old.“ she adds, making a even more sorry face. „But you could go somewhere else!“ says she, trying to cheer me up from this deep hole of the depression I evidently have dropped it in the last two minutes.
– „Where would you really like to go?“ says she very excited.
– „I don‘t know!“ I answered, almost defiantly. “And probably it, was a bad idea anyway coming here, believing I could see the world.” I went on contemplating with myself.
– She: „Alright, where would you like to be right now?“ I looked outside at the grey, rainy streets and said: „Well somewhere ,where it‘s warm and I don‘t have much trouble getting around, somewhere I could speak…“ at least one of the languages that I know. And due the fact that either Germans nor Italians were really successful spreading their languages in the world in the past centuries… „Somewhere I could speak English.“
– She: „What about Australia?“
– Me: „Australia? -Really?! I am not 19 anymore! I am not like these yolo kids, just done with school, walking bare feet, spending daddy’s money on booze and weed, surfing all day, enjoying theirselves having no clue what life is, ….But on the other site, why not?”