I get to the airport Tuesday, May 26th around 3:30pm for my 5:15 flight into Atlanta only to find out that it has been delayed. So I sit and wait. It gets delayed again. I get nervous. It gets delayed again. I get more nervous. My flight to Paris leaves from Atlanta at 8:45PM and now our flight out of Jacksonville is leaving at 7. And then we get delayed. AGAIN. By the time I make it onto this flight, I have missed my connection to Paris but am rebooked on the 11:15. We leave Jacksonville and arrive in Atlanta. Atlanta has been shut down due to rain. We sit on the runway. And sit. And sit. It is now 10:15 and we are not at a gate. Oh, and did I mention that we are in Terminal A, the international terminal is all the way in F, and I am carrying a large purse and Vera Bradley duffel? We make it to a gate. I sprint. I make the tram. I get to the gate just as the flight is boarding. Thanks to rebooking, I have a middle seat in the middle of the three "columns" of seats on the plane. It's okay because I am on a plane to Paris and I am so tired from running across Atlanta airport that I fall asleep watching Eat, Pray, Love. Great movie, by the way. 7 hours into flight I feel sick. Probably because I have been dozing in and out for the flight due to the inconvenience of not getting comfortable in my seat. We land at Charles de Gaulle at 3pm Paris time. Oh, did I mention that our 11:15 flight was delayed too, so we landed a full hour late? I get my passport stamped, smile when it is handed back to me (I love getting that thing stamped), and walk to baggage claim. Then wait, wait, and wait. My bags haven't made it. I am alone in a foreign country and my bags haven't made it. I am alone in a foreign country, I do not speak the language, and my bags haven't made it. I walk to baggage services. My bag was never rerouted from my original flight and is sitting in Atlanta. Tired, nauseous and with a migraine I walk to the guy who is taking me to my apartment. The whole drive to the apartment thoughts run through my head-who is doing this program with me, is the place nice, when will this ever-lasting jet lag end, do I have enough clothes for the next few days, will I like the food, etc. An hour later we arrive at my apartment. My RA greets me and takes me to the studio apartment that I will call home for the next 2 weeks, which is even bigger than my apartment at school. I unpack what I have and get ready for the welcome dinner, thankful that I packed my travel straightener and hairdryer in my carry-on bag. We go on a tour of the neighborhood, eat at this great Italian restaurant and grocery shop. I meet the other 2 girls in my program. I find out that my suitcase is boarded onto a flight from Atlanta heading to Paris, and I should have my stuff tomorrow. I have the best sleep that I have ever had. My classmates and I go to the center where we will have class for the next 2 weeks and make it through orientation. I sit around and wait for my luggage. It doesn't come. I wake up early the next morning and wait for my luggage. It still hasn't come. I struggle to put on the last clean outfit that I have and go to the center because we are going to a creperie and then touring the Seine River. I call the luggage delivery service. My parents call the delivery service. The people at the center call the luggage delivery service. I call Delta and Air France. My mom calls Delta and Air France. We all keep trying to call the luggage delivery service, who clearly don't have anyone working their phone line. Then by some miracle I go to the store to buy some snacks and run into my RA on the way home. My luggage is delivered that night. Two days in, my luggage is delivered. I am in Paris and have my luggage. Life is good.
So much wrong with this, right? Right. I'm not sure why this would ever happen to me, or anybody for that matter. Jetlag + a new country + lost luggage does not add up to even the most conducive conditions for happiness or even just enjoying oneself. But, all that aside, I now have my luggage and am comfortably settled in Paris. Ready for the adventure of a lifetime. So here we go!
