be very careful when writing in dates on your flexipass

Last night I wrote in my date on my flexipass at 29/06 and then realized, no, it’s an overnight train, it’s 30/06. So I wrote over it neatly and figured all would be good. I get to my couchette, get settled. The conductor comes around to take the tickets and starts SCREAMING. My Spanish is not so hot, so I’m not sure what’s going on. He grabs my eurail flexipass and storms off.

So I go, “What happened?”Remember, my Spanish is good for getting around, ordering meals, small chatting with people, not for understand a psycho. This woman goes, “He says he wants to give you a fine.”I’m like, Ä fine? For what?” Because I wrote over the date, he was all pissed. He comes back, and I say, “Lo siento,”and try to explain. He screams at me I need to read the back of my ticket and is screaming way too fast for me to understand. He goes off, and my couchette mate is like, “He wants to give you a fine.” I don’t understand why and he comes back in with his superior, ignores me begging and pleading and makes me write in the date, losing one day on my flexipass. I was so pissed.
Well, my trip can’t be perfect. I was talking with this woman at my hostel this morning, and also, Andrew and I have talked about this–the service culture in the US is a million times better than any other place, and people are rude and don’t care. If that happened in the US, I’d insist to see the supervisor and explain myself. The manager would remind me of the rules, and I’d be off.
Or as my new friend Mike said, “Train conductors in Europe are assholes.”