Ok, well it was not planes, trains and automobiles. More like bus, plane, plane, plane, bus. Just a warning, this is a long one.
To LA
The journey starts in Phoenix with a Greyhound bus to LA. Jason drove me and we got there at 5pm for the 6pm bus. After I get through the extremely slow line to pick up my ticket the lady at the counter says that the bus will arrive around 6:30pm. Excuse me? The bus is supposed to leave at 6pm. Yeah, it gets here whenever it feels like it, but if you hurry you can catch the 5:30 bus that is getting ready to leave.
I cared about when the bus was leaving because I had a Super Shuttle picking me up at 1:30am in LA to take me to the airport and I did not want to have to deal with rescheduling. I was able to get on the bus and it was about half full. I had my own row about 2/3 of the way back and was glad to have the space.
On the bus I talked to Steve for a bit to see how things were going in his world. I then read for a while and took a brief nap. At Blythe, Danielle called and we talked for about a good two hours at which time my phone died. Danielle and I were having some great conversations and I was bummed that I had to end the conversation due to battery.
I think I was able to sleep a bit more – at this point it is all a blur. We arrived at the LA terminal around 1am and after using the restroom, I sat inside for a bit to charge my phone in case I need to call Super Shuttle. At 1:30am I go outside and find the Super Shuttle. There were a bunch of taxis outside and they were not happy that I was taking the shuttle and not them. Sorry guys.
To Chicago
We get to the LAX around 2am and all ticket counters are closed. Great. I am fading but I do not want to sleep and leave my stuff open for the taking. Instead I charge my phone and work on my blog (a recent update crapped out some of the admin stuff and it has been driving me crazy). After I finally figured out to fix the problem, I started going through my Oregon photos.
Around 3:30am I decide to go to the bathroom and change into pants. I was freezing on the bus with shorts and figure that if I wanted to change I had to due it now before I checked my bag. After changing, I pulled out a pair of extra socks just in case. Man, did that turn out to be a great idea. I went back to the terminals and got in the line that has started to form. Then I spaced out and people watched.
Around 4 or 4:30am the ticket counters finally open. And of course I go into the wrong line. When I get into the correct line I see that there are only 3 people working the ticket counters and the line is not moving. At all. Not an inch.
By the time I get to the front of the line, a new lady appears and takes charge. Starts telling people what they need to have ready and starts prioritizing the line for people that were flying out at 6am. Where was she 30 minutes ago? I get my tickets and check my bag. Bye-bye bag – until we meet again. Hopefully.
The TSA line was a breeze and the staff were friendly, which was nice considering it was 5am. I grab a yogurt parfait and go to my terminal. I scan the people sitting at the terminal trying to guess which of them might be on the trip. Turns out that I was able to pick out 3.
I get on the plane and am asleep before we take off.
To Amsterdam
I wake up off and on during the flight but finally wake up as the plane descends to land. I decided that I have 6 hours before my next flight leaves so I head to the trains to go to downtown. On the train I realize that I really only have 2 hours max to play so I decided that I will just grab some food and go sit at the park next to the Art Institute.
On the train ride I talk to this guy that was in town for a conflict resolution conference of which it sounded like he was helping run it. We talked a bit and I told him about Georgia. He asked if I have looked into Peace Corps and I told him about AmeriCorps VISTA. He asked if I was interested in humanitarian aid and I told him I was. He gave me his card and told me to look him up when I get back. Cool!
I enjoy lunch and then head to the library to use their free wi-fi. I send an email out to fam and friends letting them know how things are going and then I update my blog to fix the admin probs. Then back to the airport.
On the train ride back I started to fade in and out and reading did not help. I eventually fell asleep but luckily the airport was the last stop and I was able to wake up when we stopped.
The security line was crazy long and I felt like I was at Disneyland. Expect there was no fun ride at the end. I go to a fairly empty gate, not the one I was flying out of, and change my socks and put on some music. I then send out my last text message and tear up while doing it. I am going to miss my friends. Not my family. Come on, who really misses their family. Just kidding.
Wow, this is really happening.
Well, maybe not. I get the terminal and see one of the people from the LA flight (I knew it!) and I sit next him and meet another person going that flew in from San Francisco. While we were talking the announce that there is something wrong with the gate. After about 20 minutes they move us to a new gate and delay the flight by one hour.
Now, if the plane would have left on time, we would have had 1.5 hours to catch the flight in Amsterdam. Now the flight was delayed by and hour, so this cut it down to 30 minutes. Not good, but nothing I can do about it.
While waiting, I meet more people and it looks like 15 to 20 people were on our flight. I also learned that greenheart travel is not the only organization sending people. Another group called footprints out of Canada is also sending people. Huh, who new?
The plane was freaking huge and somehow a group of us got tickets in the economy plus section which basically gave us a couple extra inches between the seats. Sweet! Pillows, blankets, TVs, movies, headphones. Wow, I forgot what it is like to have this stuff.
The flight is over 8 hours but is not too bad. Between watching lame movies (iron man 2), sleeping, eating and writing, the time goes by pretty well.
To Georgia
We arrive at Amsterdam an hour late and we all rush to get to our flight. We had no idea whether or not we would have to go through customs or whether we would have to get the luggage and re-check. Luckily, everything was pretty easy. We get through security and get our boarding passes. There were three ladies working the ticket stand and they were moving as fast as they could for they were holding the plane for us. We finally get on the plane and get settled. It is weird to hear the emergency instructions in another language and still hear a few american words here and there.
I pass out on the plane and wake up at some point with food sitting on the empty seat next to me. Sweet! I scarf it down and look at the placemat on the tray. I swear it says Arizona and I am so confused. Turns out that it says Airzena. That makes more sense.
I pass out again and wake up as the landing gear comes out. The airport has three gates and looks pretty nice. We just have to present out passport to get through customs. We then go to the baggage carousel and check in with the Teach Georgia Program (TGP) rep. Luggage starts coming out and I start to realize that no one from my group is picking up luggage. Crap! None of our luggage made it on the plane. We go to the lost and found counter and fill out forms for our luggage. We then check in with the TGP staff, get name tags and get some local money.
We take a bus to our hotel and are surprised at how large it is. Not tall, but depth. Also, hardly any lights are turned on. And the smell of smoke is everywhere. Oh yeah, forgot about that. We get our rooms, take a shower and meet up for dinner. Pork, some kind of patties, pasta, cold cuts, cheese, bread, tuna noodle, fruit, pastries and pear juice. After dinner we learn that we will not be getting our luggage until Saturday when the next flight from Amsterdam comes in. In a deep sigh – Yeah!
Overall, trip was pretty good and I was not feeling too much like a zombie when we finally got to the Republic of Georgia. Now let’s see if I can sleep through the night.