joy in the journey?

Whoever came up with the phrase “finding joy in the journey” has never had a delayed flight before! Tuesday June 9 started what was suppose to be my “beautiful journey,” and it didn’t start it out very well. After an all night packing frenzy with my mom, my brother came to pick us up at 6 am to head to the airport. My plane was scheduled to leave at 9:40. I had called the airport and checked on my flight and they said it was on time. However, by the time I made it to the airport, my flight had been delayed by 2 HOURS! This was a bit of a problem….. my connecting flight to Germany was suppose to take off 2 hours and ten minutes after my first flight landed.

I was getting pretty nervous by the time they started boarding the plane, but they started boarding a bit sooner than they thought so I relaxed a bit. We got on the plane, and I found my seat buddies! J I sure lucked out on the flight from Salt Lake to New Jersey, I got to sit by three sister missionaries just leaving the MTC . Things were looking up when we started taxing down the tarmac, until the plane stopped and the captain came on saying that they delayed us a bit so we had to sit on the tarmac for 30 minutes. I knew there was no way I was going to make my plane!! Lucky for me, the plane took off after only 10 minutes! I thought to myself… “maybe I will make it then….” I thought too early!

After a long flight to Jersey, I grabbed my carry on’s, and booked it off the plane. I had no clue where to go! I found a nice young man that works in Security and was willing to help me figure out where I needed to go and when I got there, the Air India people told me I was not going to catch any flight that night. My plane had already left. I went up to the Air India room and they gave me a voucher saying I had missed my flight due to a late flight previous, and that I would be catching the flight the next day. This did not comfort me any. I was histerical, really I was. L My mom called one of the greatest men I know, who happens to travel a lot and he called to help calm me a little bit and to let me know some options I had. There were a few other people who had missed the Air india flight and were really mad. He talked to one of the ladies and then he talked to me again and told me just to breath. I got off the phone, and turned to listen to what everyone else was saying to Air India just in time to see the office door close. They were totally un willing to listen to anything any of us had to say.
Not knowing what to do, I headed down to the Delta Baggage claim to make sure my luggage was safe and not on some far off plane to who knows where. They had my luggage for me, and when they asked what was wrong I started crying really hard again. When they heard I had been on their plane when my flight was delayed, they told me not to worry about anything. The nice lady behind the counter started calling some people on the phone while the young man there was just asking me all kinds of questions about my family, where I was from, where I was going and other fun questions like that, trying to calm me. They gave me a glass of water and I found my inhailer and then I was good. When the lady finally got off the phone she walked up to me with three ticket looking things. She handed them to me and then explained what was going on. One of them was a hotel voucher, and the other two were meal vouchers. She had called a hotel so that I would not have to spend the night at the airport and so that I could go and relax and get some good food that I didn’t have to pay for. I think they just felt really really bad for me, and when they found out I was only 17 they felt even worse!

I headed on the airtrain to the hotel courtesy transportation vehicles and then headed to the hotel. My room was really really nice, and all the people there were really nice too. I cleaned up some and just relaxed and then went and got food. It tasted so good and filled me up really fast(which was good cuz the only thing I’d eaten all day was an apple at about 7am) I slept and then headed back to the airport the next morning.

When Air India had given me my ticket voucher for the next day airplane, they told me that it left at 2. I made sure I was at the airport in plenty of time to catch my plane, not wanting to miss it again, only to find out that it did not leave at 2, but instead it left at 6:30pm. I had got to the airport at 10am.
So I hung around at the airport for almost an entire day just playing on my computer and with my little activity books(word find and sudoku!) until about noon when some of the other people that had missed the same plane i did got there. then we talked until 2:30 when i went to go check my bags in...

again with the fun.... NOT! Stupid airline, I could only have 1 carry on, but on Delta I could have 2. so I had to go up to the ATM and get out $100 just so I could check my small carry on suitcase(that was $90)

I went through security(oh fun once more.... only this time I wasn't crying!) and then I sat in the waiting area to board the plane for like another 3 hours!! it was so boring!! I finally got on the plane(which was HUGE) and we took off!! :) I was happy I got to sit by the window. I watched Mamma Mia, and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants-2! it was a joyful flight. I slept for about an hour and then I was ready to get off the plane!!!!

It was really weird to loose a day, because i got to Germany at like 8:00 am, on thursday, and I got on the plane at 6:30 pm wednesday. but that's ok!! it was so great to see Heike and her parents again!(They came to the airport!!!) oh happy day happy day!!!!