Adventures of the ultimate rural girl

I will never forget that day I found myself wandering around Fiumicino airport. My character was tested to the limit and my endurance stretched to the maximum. That day was preceded by dramatic twists that would make reality shows look like child’s play. I departed OR Tambo on a whirlwind few minutes after I got my visa.
On 21 June 2013 I landed in Rome following a 5 hour delay in Ethiopia.I missed the connection to Bari, where I would have found a shuttle to Matera. I was unprepared for the 6 hour "adventure" that came without basic Italian to my vocabulary. To make the experience even entertaining, I had no Euros and no phone. English communications skills seemed worthless.When reaching out to individuals for help proved impossible I ventured in search of recognizable signs at the airport precint.
In such situations the very sight of anything resembling police brings an instant assurance and relief.I spotted a “policio” sign after few hours of aimless wandering. I knocked on the door and I started signing and making what I thought sounded like Italian. The confused officer closed the door and I remained thinking he was calling someone who spoke English. Thirty minutes passed and the door was not opening. I sat in front of the CCTV at the entrance and took out a book to read. I didn’t know I was capable of theatrics. It was desperate times. After a while I went to the Information desk for the 10th time hoping someone would show me mercy. A woman let me send one email but couldn't let me wait for the response.
I went to the international departures hoping for an English speaking miracle.I took a chance and greeted someone from Australia and they gave me a few coins. Within an hour my ticket was ready for the next and last flight to Bari. A timer was released with 40 minutes to go. I raced across the airport looking for the departure gate. The straps of my bag broke loose and it fell down as I was running. With no time to stop and cry, I scooped the bag and continued. I made it to the boarding gate in time to catch the last shuttle to the plane. Safely aboard the plane I went into a deep sleep until landing an hour later. The message that seemed to come with the madness of that day was that perhaps my best song hasn’t been sung yet. The experiences were epic and mentally liberating. In my head people haven’t lived until they have survived a day in a foreign country with a breakdown in communications. And that day I shall never ever, forget.