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A teen age girl from the U.S. was my seat mate. As the train departing, the PA system announced they will be checking passport on the train. I told the girl
to be sure to have her passport with her. She went to get hers from her parents. Half hour after the train left the station I started to wonder where my
passport was. I looked in the carry-on bag but couldn't find it. I went to check
the suitcase and couldn't find it either. Slightly worry, "where could it be?" I recall I left the airline ticket at my friend's at Falmer -- since I
don't need the tickets, I'll have one less item to lose. "hmm, I've been sticking
the passport inside the airline ticket sleeve since I started the trip" "Oh no! I left the passport
at my friend's apartment!" Now I really started to panic. The girl tried to be helpful, "you can hide in the bathroom until they pass." "Call your friend." "Oh yes, call my friend!" I walked down a couple of carts to find the phone. My mind was foggy and my stomach was tying a knot. I was looking for
a phone but knowing it was not going to help.
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The training was racing down to the
coast. It's not like my friend could catch up with the train and hand me the passport through the window. But what else could I do? I found the phone but
it only takes BT phone card. Sittig back down in my
seat, feeling sick to my stomach. "They are going to send me back!" "I've
planned this trip for over 8 months, worked very hard to get the work done
so I can leave with a clear conscience.
And now, I'll be sent back to England and miss the games!"
 I started to cry.
The custom guy came. He checked the girl's then asked for mine. "I don't have
my passport, I left it at my friend's in London." I said with teary eyes.
He saw that I was very upset. Although
he didn't say anything, his facial expression was saying "OK, we have a situation here. it's okay, let's handle it." He asked me "What nationality
are you?" "US" "Do you have any ID?" I handed him my driver's license. He
looked at it for a moment and handed it back to me. "It's OK" he nodded and
moved on. "yeah, I get to go to France!"
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P.S. After I got to the hotel in Paris, I found I DID have the passport with
me. It was in one of the pockets in the bag I somehow missed. I have no one
but myself to blame for the undue stress I added to the trip. hmm, I wonder if I didn't have the
passport, would I be lucky again and get back to England, or, would they send
me back to Paris? interesting...hmm?
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I arrived at the London Gatwick airport, taking the inter-city train to go to Brighton. Standing at the station platform, I was waiting, expecting the doors to slid open. It took
me a few seconds to realize that the doors are not going to open automatically.
The doors are narrow, as you can see in the picture on the right. It's not much wider than the suitcase,
and the train is not leveled with the platform. I have to lift the suitcase
up and hurry to get in. Once I arrived at the Brighton station, I found out
there is no handle inside the door. I was panicky, trying to get off the train.
Luckily a guy walked by outside the train. I knocked on the door and got him to unlock the door for me. I later learned that you have to pull the window down
to reach out to open the door.
