I was doomed from the start. After a delayed flight, a missed
connecting flight, a new connecting flight and another missed flight to
my final destination, the good news is that I am finally on the right
continent! Let’s just hope this isn’t an indication of how the rest of
this trip is going to go.
Thanks to thunderstorms in Atlanta, my
first flight from XNA was delayed by two hours, which caused me to miss
my connecting flight to Amsterdam. A kind lady rerouted me to Paris,
which was my original plan before Friday’s terrorist attacks. I could
work with that. I was looking forward to practicing my French and eating
some delicious French food that I’d been craving since my first trip in
2010.
However, the layover was tight, and I had to run to the
international terminal to catch my flight. But there was no reason to
rush or worry because once I boarded the plane, we sat for an hour
before taking off because of technical problems with the plane. I
finally got into the air, and what followed was typical. I watched a
couple movies, ate some nasty airplane food and tossed and turned trying
to get at least a couple hours of sleep. Still not too worried.
Yet
upon landing, that’s when I started to fall into a fiery furnace of
chaos. I had a one-hour layover, and I had to run to my terminal, again.
That’s when I really began to regret skipping the gym for the past
three weeks. Thanks to a less-than-efficient layout of Charles de Gaulle
and beefed up security throughout the airport, I missed my flight by
minutes. I was so close. I saw it sitting on the tarmac through the
glass window, but the flight attendants told me they were no longer
boarding.
Then, of course, I had to hike halfway across the
airport in the direction I had just come to get a new flight. Oh, and I
got lost a couple times. I gave up on trying to speak sophisticated
French at that point. “Je suis perdue.” That was the only phrase on my
lips for nearly anyone who would listen.
As I sit here at my
gate, treating myself to macaroons, the only thing I can think of is,
“It’s going to be a miracle if my luggage makes it to my destination.”
Karma has to owe me something, right? I also have a slight urge to use
the bathroom, but I’m too scared to leave in case I get lost again.
Here’s to holding it for two hours!
For those of you who have
stuck with me until the end of this post, I sincerely apologize for the
rant, but that’s what the Internet is for, right?
The next time I travel to Europe, I’m swimming.
--
Read more from Jaime at http://jaimed03.tumblr.com/
Learn more about past Model United Nations conferences at http://waltonblog.uark.edu/2015/01/26/national-model-united-nations-rome/
