Back on the Continent

Hey everyone!

I'm back! (or rather, on the continent. I'm still out of the country. I was able to see it for about two hours before crossing the border into Canada. It was nice to stand on American...pavement... for a little while). I've been back for about a week (as you probably saw on Life in Canada, Eh.) Getting here was rather difficult. It's official, I have bad luck in airports. I have spent WAY too much unnecessary time in them.

We almost missed our flight out of Munich and had to sprint to the gate. The lady at the check-in gave us a look that made all of our hearts drop. "Please, go straight to the gate," she begged us. We went through the standard security line and an additional security line before we could get to our gate. Our passports were checked four times (I can understand two, maybe three, but four?). The eight hours from Munich to Washington D.C. seemed to take forever. When we finally got there, we had about an hour and a half until our next flights (I was going to Buffalo and Heather and Courtney were going to Oregon). We got some Mexican food and called our families.

I figured that the "A" gates - where I was flying out of - were within short sprinting distance of the "C" gates - where we landed and where Heather and Courtney were flying out of. Of course they weren't. As I ran, dread was sinking my heart once again. I got through the tunnel, ran up two sets of escalators, down three, and then there was the subway...and two more escalators to run up, and then some more running. As I approached the gate, the door was open onto an empty runway. I checked my phone for the time. Ten minutes. I still have ten minutes. Where's the plane? Gone. It had already left. The man at the desk was already giving a ticket to another lady who had also missed the plane.

I was sweaty and breathless for the second time that day. And I was mad. The man was very nice and patiently printed me a new ticket for the next flight to Buffalo while I paced, panting from frustration and lack of oxygen. The next flight was for 9:55 p.m.... 4 1/2 hours later...and it was back at a "C" gate. Seriously? Back on the subway, up and down all those escalators.

I finally got ahold of my mom to tell her I would be there for five hours later than usual - there goes our shopping trip in the states.

I was so tired on the little jet that took me to New York. I was not very conversational and couldn't keep my eyes open. Too bad the guy next to me was young and wanted to talk. Not to mention I was trying to read and the book that I was trying to read was New Moon. I was a little embarrassed about that and tried to hide the title and the cover, but I was practically unconscious so I doubt whether I succeeded.

We finally landed and I finally got to see my mom and sister waiting at the security line (when my mom took that really attractive picture of me and Katie).

When we got to Washington D.C. we found out about the volcano and only a couple days later found out that everyone in our group got out of Munich, but just barely.