I was not anticipating writing so soon, but so much has already happened! I came abroad wanting adventure, and within my first 12 hours or so, it came straight away..
After saying my final goodbyes to my mom in the ATL airport, I cruised through security without a problem. I had a long wait at my gate, and killed time reading a book and chatting with friends, all smooth. As I boarded my plane to Miami, it started to settle in - I'm living in Peru for a semester! Obviously, I should know that by now, but its just know feeling real. The flight to Miami was fine, for the exception of spilling my Starbuck's coffee in my purse. With the help of the flight attendant, it got taken care of straight away. I wasn't going to let a silly spill get me down.
Upon arriving in Miami, I navigated my way to the International connections, way over on the other side of the airport. I grabbed a bite to eat a cafe before security, and went on my way to find my gate. At this point, I was getting more confident in myself, thinking I could handle my next few flights without a problem. I was ready to travel through the night and arrive in Cuzco the next morning. I headed other to the clerk to receive my boarding pass, which was not a problem. Though, while I was chatting with her, she informed me that my flight from Lima (where I was headed to from Miami) to Cuzco was canceled. That was a problem. My confidence disappeared. I can navigate my way through an airpot in the US, but I was not so sure about buying new tickets in a different language. Luckily, I met a boy, Taylor, who was also on the canceled flight and we planned to stick together through the Lima airport as we found a new flight.
Like Miami, the flight to Lima was overall painless. We arrived at 5 am. I had a minor panic attack when I couldn't find my next boarding pass. I scrambled around looking through my belongings as the rest of the flight exited the plane. It wasn't anywhere around my seat, and I figured if the flight is canceled, I probably won't need it anyways. WRONG - but I'll get to that later. Immigration was next on the list, "This shouldn't be a problem," I thought. I handed over the card I had previously filled out on the plane, and walked up to the next booth with my passport. The clerk scanned it. A big red box filled the screen. All sorts of spanish flooded the page - the word that caught my eye was, "ERROR." I almost chuckled.. Just my luck. I was guided to a few different rooms where they made copies of my passport and filled out paperwork. Within 10 minutes, they finished up and I went on my way (and honestly, I'm still not fully sure of what even happened..) Luggage. That will be easy enough. I caught up with my new friend, Taylor, and waited. After about 5 minutes it crossed my mind that my luggage could potentially be lost. I didn't want to believe, there were still plenty of bags left to go. So I waited and waited, and then waited some more. No bag. My friend had his pack and was good to go, so we parted ways for the time being. I then headed over to the lost luggage desk where I was asked for my luggage claim number. The sticker that was with my boarding pass. Lost. I unpacked my entire book bag, determined to find the boarding pass. And by the grace of God, it was there. Deep down in the very bottom (along with a handful of other items I didn't know were down there either.) I handed her the number. "Did you fly from Chicago?" The woman asked. "No mam, from Atlanta," I replied. "But you flew from Chicago?" She insisted. "No mam, I began in Atlanta, then to Miami, and now Lima" I suggested. She informed me that there must have been a mishap, and my bag was in Chicago. I was NOT going to let me get this down. I reminded myself that this is one less item to worry about for customs and my bag will be here soon enough. She handed me the paperwork, gave me a phone number, and sent me on my way.
Surprisingly, I made it through customs without a problem. Time to find a ticket. I headed over to the check-in desk, where many other frustrated flyers waited to find out about their new flight to Cuzco. I was able to find Taylor once again and laughed off my luggage situation. The line went quickly and we received new flights, as well as a complimentary breakfast. Taylor and I compared our flights, his at 9:30 am and mine at 10:30 am. At this point, the five hour layover did not even daunt me. I was happy to have any flight at all. We headed to the food court, where I was feeling anything but adventurous and stuck with comfort zone and ordered McDonald's. Over breakfast, we compared travel plans. Taylor is headed to hike around Cuzco, then explore Bolivia for the next few months. Hearing all of his plans were incredibly inspiring. I jotted down a few companies he was using for future reference. And after my eventful night/morning, it was so good to have a reassuring conversation about South America. All of the misfortunes are part of the journey.
Around 7 am, we parted ways for the final time and went to our separate gates. I wrote in my journal and read, trying to comprehend what all had happened so far, knowing it is just the beginning. Time went by fast, and soon enough I was on my final flight to Cuzco! I stared at the window, in awe of the beautiful Andes we flew over. An hour later, we landed. As soon as I stepped off the plane, I could immediately tell the change of atmosphere. It was already hard to breathe! I walked over, past the luggage claim, to find my ride to my homestay. I had a huge smile on my face as we drove thought Cuzco - I finally made it!
Currently, I am tucked in bed, extremely pleased to finally be settled. All is well and my bag is on its way tomorrow. My computer is dying (and I'm still unsure about the outlets), so I will write more in the next few days about my wonderful family and my experiences.
Buenas Noches,
Cole
After saying my final goodbyes to my mom in the ATL airport, I cruised through security without a problem. I had a long wait at my gate, and killed time reading a book and chatting with friends, all smooth. As I boarded my plane to Miami, it started to settle in - I'm living in Peru for a semester! Obviously, I should know that by now, but its just know feeling real. The flight to Miami was fine, for the exception of spilling my Starbuck's coffee in my purse. With the help of the flight attendant, it got taken care of straight away. I wasn't going to let a silly spill get me down.
Upon arriving in Miami, I navigated my way to the International connections, way over on the other side of the airport. I grabbed a bite to eat a cafe before security, and went on my way to find my gate. At this point, I was getting more confident in myself, thinking I could handle my next few flights without a problem. I was ready to travel through the night and arrive in Cuzco the next morning. I headed other to the clerk to receive my boarding pass, which was not a problem. Though, while I was chatting with her, she informed me that my flight from Lima (where I was headed to from Miami) to Cuzco was canceled. That was a problem. My confidence disappeared. I can navigate my way through an airpot in the US, but I was not so sure about buying new tickets in a different language. Luckily, I met a boy, Taylor, who was also on the canceled flight and we planned to stick together through the Lima airport as we found a new flight.
Like Miami, the flight to Lima was overall painless. We arrived at 5 am. I had a minor panic attack when I couldn't find my next boarding pass. I scrambled around looking through my belongings as the rest of the flight exited the plane. It wasn't anywhere around my seat, and I figured if the flight is canceled, I probably won't need it anyways. WRONG - but I'll get to that later. Immigration was next on the list, "This shouldn't be a problem," I thought. I handed over the card I had previously filled out on the plane, and walked up to the next booth with my passport. The clerk scanned it. A big red box filled the screen. All sorts of spanish flooded the page - the word that caught my eye was, "ERROR." I almost chuckled.. Just my luck. I was guided to a few different rooms where they made copies of my passport and filled out paperwork. Within 10 minutes, they finished up and I went on my way (and honestly, I'm still not fully sure of what even happened..) Luggage. That will be easy enough. I caught up with my new friend, Taylor, and waited. After about 5 minutes it crossed my mind that my luggage could potentially be lost. I didn't want to believe, there were still plenty of bags left to go. So I waited and waited, and then waited some more. No bag. My friend had his pack and was good to go, so we parted ways for the time being. I then headed over to the lost luggage desk where I was asked for my luggage claim number. The sticker that was with my boarding pass. Lost. I unpacked my entire book bag, determined to find the boarding pass. And by the grace of God, it was there. Deep down in the very bottom (along with a handful of other items I didn't know were down there either.) I handed her the number. "Did you fly from Chicago?" The woman asked. "No mam, from Atlanta," I replied. "But you flew from Chicago?" She insisted. "No mam, I began in Atlanta, then to Miami, and now Lima" I suggested. She informed me that there must have been a mishap, and my bag was in Chicago. I was NOT going to let me get this down. I reminded myself that this is one less item to worry about for customs and my bag will be here soon enough. She handed me the paperwork, gave me a phone number, and sent me on my way.
Surprisingly, I made it through customs without a problem. Time to find a ticket. I headed over to the check-in desk, where many other frustrated flyers waited to find out about their new flight to Cuzco. I was able to find Taylor once again and laughed off my luggage situation. The line went quickly and we received new flights, as well as a complimentary breakfast. Taylor and I compared our flights, his at 9:30 am and mine at 10:30 am. At this point, the five hour layover did not even daunt me. I was happy to have any flight at all. We headed to the food court, where I was feeling anything but adventurous and stuck with comfort zone and ordered McDonald's. Over breakfast, we compared travel plans. Taylor is headed to hike around Cuzco, then explore Bolivia for the next few months. Hearing all of his plans were incredibly inspiring. I jotted down a few companies he was using for future reference. And after my eventful night/morning, it was so good to have a reassuring conversation about South America. All of the misfortunes are part of the journey.
Around 7 am, we parted ways for the final time and went to our separate gates. I wrote in my journal and read, trying to comprehend what all had happened so far, knowing it is just the beginning. Time went by fast, and soon enough I was on my final flight to Cuzco! I stared at the window, in awe of the beautiful Andes we flew over. An hour later, we landed. As soon as I stepped off the plane, I could immediately tell the change of atmosphere. It was already hard to breathe! I walked over, past the luggage claim, to find my ride to my homestay. I had a huge smile on my face as we drove thought Cuzco - I finally made it!
Currently, I am tucked in bed, extremely pleased to finally be settled. All is well and my bag is on its way tomorrow. My computer is dying (and I'm still unsure about the outlets), so I will write more in the next few days about my wonderful family and my experiences.
Buenas Noches,
Cole
woah! you weren't lying when you said you had some stories! that's all so crazy. I also just want to add-- only miss positive Cole would respond to lost luggage as "one less thing to worry about in customs" haha
ReplyDeleteMiss ya and glad you're safe and sound.
-Laura