Colombian girl sees the world

By everyone, see you in a year -I think with a big smile on my face- I’m out. It's 2010. I leave Medellin and arrive in Bogotá, all good. An hour later, I get on a huge plane. Everything looks really interesting, good looking French flight attendants, not that good looking chairs, a big neighbor, at least I’m right next to the aisle, because I pee a lot. I pray so it doesn’t fall into the sea and disappear like Flight 447 a year ago. 10 hours pass and bam, I’m in Paris. I get off. “Oh Paris, how beautiful. Where’s the Eiffel tower? I don’t see it, what a lie” I laugh. But then it hit me. F*ck, where am I? Where do I go now? All these people look so weird. I could only see blue signs that didn’t help me at all, big halls, and shady looking people staring at me. This doesn’t look like Colombia at all. I sit on a chair trying to get over my shock, finally realizing the truth about being so freaking far away. I’m an eighteen year old Colombian girl, crossing the pond all by myself (I'll tell later why). I cry but then I stop. I decide to go into a safe area, which I thought was everywhere in Europe because nothing bad happens there- it’s Europe, you know? -until I got the see the reality and honestly, creepy people with creepy stare are not only in Colombia. “How do I go back now? Well, get yourself together, there’s nothing you can do now” I stand up and start walking around asking people for a safe area. They check me in. "your flight has a 7 hour delay. German pilots went on strike”. How amazing! Anyway, I decide to stop being such a kid and start walking around trying to discover all the new amazing things Europe had for me. I thought everything was so cool. The coolest thing I saw was a blonde Parisian woman, holding hands with five black kids. They were her children. I fell in love. But then the best thing happened. I got into a souvenir shop and start asking the lady for prices. I really just wanted to start a conversation. She notices my accent and goes in Spanish “¿are you Colombian?” I say yes and we start talking. I feel so relieved. She’s Colombian too, from my city, from my neighborhood. Is this real? It is. I stay there with here for the rest of her shift. She tells me the story of her life in France. She tells me not to feel scared of new feelings, places or people, that just as it happened with here, it could happen with anyone if I tried to find a friend in a good or a bad moment. I smiled and felt safe. Ready to say hello to my new life.