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S1: FROM SWITZERLAND TO NASHVILLE!

April 1st, I took off for the unknown. Let's name it: « Nashville, Tennessee ».
Pretty exciting!

 Some of you were wondering why I would even want to do this alone and many of you actually asked me if I knew anyone in Nashville before going there or if I had ever been. It seems completely insane to some people that I’d want to spend some time in an unknown place on the other side of the world, and mostly, do it on my own. Here were/are my feelings about the upcoming two months, before experiencing them.

5:45am, April 1st. Departure from Lausanne.
Travel day:
To be honest, I was feeling pretty relaxed about it all as I was making my way to New York. I was a little worried about « logistics » up until takeoff: traveling alone with heavy luggage and trying to board a plane with your beloved guitar - not always welcome as cabin luggage - is never very relaxing. But, I woke up calm in the morning and I guess I remained calm when travel problems kicked in along the way.

The travel plan was:
Lausanne > Bern > Zurich Airport > New York JFK Airport > New York La Guardia Airport > Nashville International Airport > Hotel in Nashville.

Estimated time of travel: About 20 hours.

Due to a storm in New York, it took me around 38 hours to reach Nashville…  And, it was more like this: 

April 1st, from 5:00am:
> Lausanne 
> Bern
> Zurich Airport 
> New York JFK Airport 
> 1 hour and a half at US customs, worrying that I wouldn’t have time to switch airports and I’d miss my connecting flight 
> Crazy bus ride to New York La Guardia Airport
> 15:45pm: sat on the plane for 2 hours and a half before they returned us to the gate. NY-Nashville flight cancelled due to bad weather. 
> 9:00pm: queued up for 1 hour to get « what now? » info from American Airlines staff 
> 10:00pm: 1 hour of organizing a new flight to Nashville + a hotel and transfer with American Airlines staff 
> 11:00pm: waited 1 hour for a taxi (and four phone calls) 
> 12:00pm: crazy taxi ride to Newark 

 April 2nd:
My only proper meal in 38 hours travel.
> 01:00am: 3 hours at a hotel (sleep + shower) 
> 04:00am: Shuttle ride to Newark airport 
> 04:07am: Shuttle drops us off at train station instead of airport… 
> 6am: Flight to Charlotte, NC
> 9:30am: Flight to Nashville, TN. 
> 11:00 am: Arrival in Nashville!
FINALLY!

Never again...

My feelings about the trip
I had been really enjoying every minute of this long journey up until my flight was cancelled and New York chaos kicked in. I felt so curious and happy about the unknown that was awaiting me on the other side!

Chilling on the plane.
I was surprised how something just felt right about my decision and this may be one of the greatest gifts I have made to myself: taking off to play music for 2 months, no strings attached. This feeling of freedom helped me overcome my flight and accommodation troubles, although fatigue and hunger was getting me down. 

 Being alone on this trip is something many people around me don't understand too well, but it’s a real reward for me to do this alone. Don’t get me wrong, I’m an extremely sociable and caring person: I couldn’t live without my friends and close family, they are everything to me. But, this is MY adventure and when it comes down to achieving and experiencing things, I need to do it alone. As much as I want to share it with everyone, I couldn’t imagine to have had to taylor this trip to someone else’s needs as well. We just don’t all have the same dreams and each one of us should allow ourselves to experience what WE want at least once in our life. 

When time came to say « goodbye » to my friends and close family is when I kind of realized I was actually going away on a little crazy adventure. It is never an easy thing, saying goodbye, even though it’s only two months away this time. Yeah, I am a little emotional… probably because I’m so thankful to those special people for supporting me and encouraging me to make this life-changing decision for myself. I love you guys!

A comfortable bed for only 2 hours sleep.
But, if you ask me, I’m not quite sure I realized it was really happening before I landed. I've been wanting to take this musical break for so many years: just take off with my guitar on my back and « live » the life I’d always wanted. And during the travel, I felt I was on my way to living it with no idea what was on the other side. I love that crazy feeling! And, the funniest thing is that it felt « normal ». So, maybe this was meant to be and this is who I really am.

Two months seem really short all of a sudden (note: I limited my trip to two months for budget reasons). But at the same time, so many incredible, life-changing things can happen in two months. Who knows what will come next? 

 I came here with a few humble musical and personal objectives, mainly to improve my vocal and songwriting techniques and see what’s « out of the box ». If I’m able to fulfill these, I’ll be more than satisfied to have reached my goals but I’m also certain that Nashville will bring much more than I’m hoping for as a human experience.

"It's impossible." said pride.
"It's risky." said experience.
"It's pointless." said reason.
"Give it a try." whispered the heart.
- unknown
Coming up soon: my first few days in Nashville, TN!





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