It’s about 6 a.m. when we have to get up so that we won’t be late when we arrive in Strasbourg.  We get our things ready and watch the landscape.  We are happy to see France and cars with French license plates.  I get off at the Strasbourg train station with joy. 

I hear French being spoken like I heard Mandarin being spoken in the streets of Beijing, or Mongolian in the Tran Siberian, or Russian on Lake Baikal, or Azeri on the Caspian sea, or Turkish on the Bosporus. 

We withdraw our TGV tickets to Paris from the automated booths, and dad settles himself somewhere to let me go to the toilets that charge 50 cents so that I can get ready and make myself look good for our return home.  After three days of traveling by train, it isn’t luxury!  Coming out, I bump into Louis who wants to call his daughter.  I help him and he thanks me. 

We still have a bit of time, so I go have a look at the results for Marseille.  I’m happy since they won 2-1 against Sochaux.  I join dad and we go to the station’s bakery.  Then, we get on our last train, the TGV to Paris.  We find our seats and we start playing chess and for the third time in a row, I beat dad.  Then, since we have to charge the batteries, I sit across a man who has a plug to recharge them.  I start talking with him.  He lives in Aix and he visits his aunt in Strasbourg.  Since I’m bored, he lends me his magazine that I read with joy. 

We arrive in Paris, I say goodbye and get ready to get off the train.   On the platform, I shout with joy and jump in the arms of mom, Djanan, Titou, Mina, Marina, Soheil, Rodolphe, Roshanak, and then Sam and Tristan who arrive later and then, I say with dad: We did it!

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