“RyanAir’s employees are going on strike this weekend.”
Who would have thought one little sentence could inspire so much panic. I frantically began reading articles, scrolling through mentions of RyanAir on twitter, and researching our rights as RyanAir customers. Everything left me with more questions and anxiety than answers. I thought traveling in Europe was supposed to be easy!?
My name is Josie Zakrzewski, and I studied Spanish in Madrid, Spain for a month this summer. As a double major in International Studies and History with a minor in Spanish, Madrid was the perfect place to be. It truly is a global city; there is no doubt about its influence across media, politics, education, and more. Despite this, it has not lost sight of its unique history and culture, and its citizens talk with pride about the place they call home. I grew to deeply love Madrid over my four weeks living and studying there. My experience was overwhelmingly great, filled with good food, friends, and professors. However, being my first experience overseas, I expected there to be at least a few mishaps, and I wasn’t disappointed.
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After three weeks living and traveling around Spain, I thought I was a pro. My friends and I discussed just how comfortable we had become. We could navigate the metro, order perfectly (the first time!) in Spanish, and our stomachs were finally accustomed to the new diet which for me (a vegetarian) consisted largely of eggs, potatoes, and tomatoes. So, when my friend asked the group if we wanted to take a trip to Portugal our last weekend in Europe, we all agreed with little hesitation. We felt like experienced travelers at this point. What could go wrong?
My first mishap began when buying plane tickets. After spending an hour attempting to purchase my tickets from a rather sketchy website, I decided to give it a little research. “Is EDreams legit?” I googled. What was I met with? “NO! Run away, please, run away.” Ok, great, I thought, glad I researched before buying. Upon my return to the website, I attempted to cancel the transaction. What happened? I accidentally accepted the purchase. Frantically, I backed out and closed the tab, hoping it hadn't been processed. After 30 minutes with no email, I figured it was canceled and proceeded to buy tickets from the same website my friends had successfully used. As soon as I’d finished, I received a confirmation email from the initial “sketchy” website, “Your trip to Portugal is confirmed!” Oh, boy.
Lesson #1: Buy flight insurance that lets you refund your tickets. Better safe than sorry.
Now, geared with two round way tickets to Portugal, I felt overly prepared for the trip. Sure, I was out an extra $250, but ever the optimist, I was determined not to let it ruin the trip. Well, my optimism could not have prepared me for what came next: “RyanAir’s employees are going on strike this weekend.” The cherry on top.
No reliable source could tell me whether our flights were likely to be canceled or delayed. RyanAir employees were only able to guarantee that we would be “fully reimbursed” upon any cancellation. Good to know but not the issue. Our issue? Our flight back to Madrid was scheduled for Sunday at 11:30pm. Our finals were Monday morning. If anything happened to our flights, we would miss our finals (33% of our grade) and there were no makeups.
Lesson #2: Don’t trust cheap airlines to get you where you need to be. Especially if your entire program grade depends on it.
We ultimately decided after three full days of panic to cancel our plans to Portugal and accept our losses. I, however, was determined that our last weekend in Spain would not be a disappointment and began research on cities nearby that we could spend the weekend in. I found the furthest place from Madrid our public transport cards would take us: Guadalajara.
Airbnb booked, we boarded the bus to Guadalajara. What did we find upon arrival? Absolutely no one. The streets were desolate, and I began questioning whether anyone lived there at all. Where had I brought my friends? We ignored the elephant in the room (that Guadalajara seemed closer to a ghost town than any type of travel destination) and ventured on.
The first half of our day was rough. One person wasn’t feeling well, lunch was not great, and everything seemed to be falling apart. As we wandered back to our place for a quick afternoon nap, we stumbled across a street that had… people! We strolled down, happy to finally feel like we were not the only ones in the entirety of Guadalajara. We decided to take our nap and come back later that night to grab some dinner.
When we arrived later, music, laughter, and people flooded the street. In shock, we tried to figure out what was happening. We happened upon Guadalajara’s annual folk festival. We stopped to talk to the residents, who were happy to share in their culture, even gifting us each a traditional instrument from the region. We watched dancers and singers in traditional clothing in a parade down the street. We ended the night at a small concert that had been an empty park that morning. This time, it was far from empty. Singers, dancers, and the community of Guadalajara had come together to celebrate their shared traditions.
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We stood in the back as they sang traditional songs, feeling privileged to be let in on what felt like an extremely intimate experience. Older folks sang along while kids laughed and played together in the street. My friends and I smiled at one another with the silent understanding that what we were experiencing was truly special. I was overwhelmed by the love and joy, completely forgetting about our lost trip to Portugal. What I experienced in Guadalajara was so much more important. It’s a memory that is permanently etched into my soul.
Did our flights end up delayed or canceled? I still don’t know. I didn’t care enough to look them up.
Lesson #3: When airline strikes force you to cancel your trip, take a free bus ride to a city you’ve never heard of before. You might wander upon a festival you don’t know the name of and make one of the most meaningful memories of your life.
