Departure

Thanks to my step-dad Jevan, we had finally arrived at the Amtrak station in Champaign. The car ride to the station was uneventful. Jevan, Karissa, and I chatted about the trip, ate at Taco Bell down the street from the station, and Karissa and I were dropped off. The Amtrak waiting area was nearly empty when we arrived, with the exception of our classmates and two older adults. The man had a long, gray beard, and he wore black slacks, a white shirt, and a hat with a wide rim. The woman wore a simple long, black dress with long sleeves, and a white bonnet covered the top and back of her head. Her head was bent over a thick book with yellowed pages. I looked up at them occasionally, and caught the man’s eyes once or twice. He watched us as well, and he smiled when a few of my classmates took a group photo together.

I have been on a train before, but always by myself. Boarding the train with twenty-two people was an entirely different experience. I was toward the back of our group, and by the time I got on the train it was a little chaotic. Multiple conductors were attempting to find seats for everyone so we could all sit together, but that did not happen at first. The last few of us kept moving forward, but we were then directed to move backward because there were no seats left by our group. I could feel myself thrown a little off balance because the train had started to move. My eyes were struggling to adjust to the sudden dimness of the train as I slowly walked toward the back. We found two available seats, but not even five minutes later we were told to move back up by our group. The conductors had moved some people around for us, and we were finally able to settle into our seats. I could feel sleepiness tugging at my eyelids, and a slight ache in my head was beginning to get worse. With the smell of some spicy food behind me, and the sound of a Pac-Man game starting up, I fell asleep.

I have never slept on a train before, and I fell in and out of sleep all night. It felt as though as soon as I found a comfortable position, I would wake up with a pain in my back, shoulder, etc. At around four in the morning I was suddenly awoken by seemingly nothing. It was eerily quiet. The only sounds I could hear were the wheels of the train scratching against the tracks, air coming into the car through the vents, and the muffled sound of a thumping bass through someone’s headphones.

This was also my first experience eating in the dining car on a train. It was nothing to brag about, a little pricey, but it was warm food which was nice. Karissa and I split a mini pepperoni pizza, and I got a Pepsi. My favorite part of the train ride has been the observation/lounge car. As I write this blog I am sitting at a table in this car. There are windows everywhere, and the sun has finally stopped hiding behind the clouds. It is very refreshing after being in a dark car for fourteen hours. 

Dining Car

Observation Car

Karissa and I's Gourmet Meal

Poster in the Observation Car

I remember the first time I took a train and saw Amish people on the train with me. I was confused and curious. Their lifestyle fascinates me, but I always got the feeling that they looked down on people like me. Or I got the feeling that I was doing something wrong in their eyes and I should be wearing a turtleneck and a long skirt that doesn’t show my ankles. I know that is most likely not the case, and that was proven to be true in some aspects in the Champaign train station. As the Amish man occasionally watched us have fun and just be college students about to embark on a trip, he smiled. This surprised me and shattered my stereotypes about the Amish. I have only ever seen Amish people look stern, and usually avoid eye contact. This older Amish man watched us, almost the completely opposite as him and what he believes in, and smiled. As with many occasions before this one, this taught me to be watchful about how I initially perceive people by what they look like, how they dress, etc.

As described before, boarding the train with a group of twenty-two people turned out to be much more chaotic than we thought it would be, and what it needed to be. I felt so stressed and anxious just trying to find a seat. It was made worse by the fact that there seemed to be so many people, it was dark, and the train had already started moving. When I made it to my seat by the rest of the group, I felt much better. All that stress and worry was for nothing. 

I had trouble falling asleep at first, and when that happens my mind tends to drift to oftentimes bad places. My mom was texting me, and I felt a sudden sadness from being away from home. I know, twenty-one years old and still uncomfortable with leaving for a few days seems pathetic, but that is how I have always been. I love to travel and experience new and exciting things, but I always miss my home in the beginning and towards the end of the trip. I’ve gotten better over the years, but it still nags at me. In a text my mom told me “It’s only a few days. Enjoy it! Not everyone has this opportunity. You are lucky!” and she is definitely right. I am so very lucky, and I cannot let sadness over being far away from home for a few days ruin this opportunity of a lifetime. Speaking of being far away from home, this is the farthest I have been away from home without a family member with me.

With so many different people on the train, I can’t help but wonder where they are all going and why. There was a woman sitting diagonally behind me and she asked about our group, where we were going, what school we were from, etc. She had a southern accent, and she also shared with me that her daughter is a registered nurse in eastern Mississippi. To me, this is a place that I am just passing through. But to others, these small towns are their whole lives. I know life cannot be that much different for them as it is for me, but I am still curious to know about what their lives are like and what brought them to this train.