I don't know why my title thing doesn't work! I shall call this entry:

The clever souls at Liverpool Airport

Okay, so, I'm currently in Dublin (which is awesome by the way)...but trying to get here was somewhat annoying...I took the longest freakin bus rides of my life (basically the whole day, from Durham through Leeds, Manchester and then into Liverpool)...I got to see a bit of Leeds because we stopped there for a while, none of Manchester, which means I must go back there. After the bus rides, I got to the airport and had to "queue" for an enormous amount of time in order to get checked in. So, I plop myself into the line, dump my sack on teh floor and continue reading my book and listening to music. Suddenly this other guy comes up to the line from another direction and dumps his crap right next to me, but a little ahead of me, expanding the line...But...this wasn't a two-person line...we were not together. It was in that moment that I realized something: he was trying to cut me.

Nono...not literally cut me, like with knives and stuff (sorry I recently read this book about growing up and stuff...and the back of the cover reads all innocently about first relationships, blahblah, that this girl goes through (critic's comment: "What you don't remember or choose to forget about growing up...")...however ,it suddenly takes a quite frightening and morbid turn of events when this girl starts, quite literally, cutting herself with things--compass, razor blade...I think nearly everything in sight. I was so sickened, but I was also about 300 pages into the book...so I had to read on. Gaaaah...they shoulda warned me!

So yeah, where was I...he was trying to get in front of me in line...and I thought these English people were all big on proper queuing and stuff!

Well, I just pretended to ignore him...but silently continued scooting my sack up ahead while reading and listening to my music. He did the same thing with his sack...and suddenly it became a sack race. Everytime I moved mine up a bit ahead of his, he'd move his up ahead more...

Anyway, I won in the end because as the gentleman, when on of the two people up front opened up...he hesitated, and I just jumped for it (had been preparing my bag, etc...).

When I got up there, I immediately regretted not waiting and going for the other lady...My lady just took a two second look at my passport...and opened it up to my visa for France and my carte de sejour, which allows me to stay for a longer amount of time as a student...mumbled something to the lady next to her, got on the phone...and was like..."I have a passenger here with a French visa...and carte de sejooooooouuuur...can she use this to travel with?"

I just stared at her. It was an American passport. How stupid did this lady have to be?

She got off the phone and started getting up. I leaned over the litle edge thing and said, "Excuse me ma'am...is there a problem?"

The lady ignored me and left the desk to go to another office and G-d knows where in the airport. Behind me I saw the line snaking back with at least 40 people...

After standing around waiting for about 10 minutes I lean over to the other lady and ask her if there is a problem. She tells me she things that the other lady wanted to check if my passport is okay to get into Ireland.

"But, American passports are approved for travel in the European Union"...I tell her, calmly.

"Yeah...I don't think she knows..."

Gaaaaah! Isn't she European? Isn't she working at the airport? She's not younger than I am...how does she not know this.

Ten minutes later she shuffles back in with a booklet full of regulations and she starts flipping through. I lean over and ask her again, "Excuse me ma'am...what seems to be the problem?"

"I just need to check something," she throws at me, without a glance, annoyed-sounding.

I mean, she could have just asked me...or informed me at least...

"Um...I have used my American passport to travel throughout the European Union...it's approved for travel throughout the European Union..." I calmly told her.

"I just need to check..."

The lady next to her finally gets involved..."Yeah, American passports are approved for worldwide travel..." (Editor's note: Umm...no, but I didn't want to have to start correcting the other lady too, so I just shut my trap an.d stayed silent.)

"Really?"

"Yeah, I flew into the UK on my American passport without any problems," I said, dangling my previous luggage tag in front of her.

"Oh, okay, sorry about the delay," she said, without looking sorry at all.

"No problem," I said, without meaning it.

Anyway, I finally got my luggage tagged and, because of the small straps on the backpack, I had to take it to oversized luggage. Over there there were two really nice guys, and I told them to please not lose my luggage...because that always happens to me...and we had a nice conversation. They asked how people had been treating me, and I related the most recent event. "She must be new"...they said, awed by the stupidity of their airport staff. I had to concur...

Up in the lounge area of the terminal I went to get some food...however, I was running on zero pounds, some euros and just credit cards. It would have been foolish for me to take out money from the ATM since I wouldn't need pounds in Ireland or Paris, so I went over to get some food, tried paying with my euros or credit, when they wouldn't take either...I got a little disheartened. So...I turned to the people near me in line and asked them if they had any pounds they wanted to exchange for my 10 euro bill...it was a little confusing math-wise, but I'm sure we could figure it out. However, a really nice guy in the group just threw out a 20 pound bill and paid for my meal. Told me to never mind about it...and that was that. A friend of mine thinks I'm too friendly...I find it pays off! Do unto others and you want done unto you...Nice.