Okay so as most of you know I made it to jolly ol' England safe and sound -- but there was nothing very jolly about my experience. Well, I take that back. The first half was great, the second...not so much.
My parents dropped me off at the Virgin gate at O'Hare with ALL my luggage and for the first time ever there was NO line at the check in. How lucky could I be?! Even the Brit standing behind me laughed and made a comment about the non-existent 'queue'. Note: he was standing behind me thus a 'queue' had actually been formed. Americans 1, Brits 0.
What was not so great about the short queue is that all the clerks were arguing with the people they were helping which could only mean one thing -- my flight was canceled. Fortunately the lady was able to book me on another flight leaving and arriving at the same time. Unfortunately my premium economy status, which came complete with free champagne and little more leg-room, was gone. To standard economy I went.
I know what you're thinking, "oh , boo hoo. You're moving to London so quit whining." I guess you're right - but I was really looking forward to that champagne!
I made my way the next ticket operator so I could check my bags in on the new airline I was flying. I made friends with the guy so he booked me in a seat that would have an empty seat next to it. Lovely! He was Polish so of course I told him I really love pierogies -- only to find out that they actually don't make those in Poland and its an American thing. Then I told him I really love Polish Sausage and he about took my seat away. You mean to tell me that's not an actual Polish dish?! Polish 1, Americans 0. (Oh and yes, I'm fully aware that this paragraph and several others are filled with "that's what she said's").
I made my way through security and then to the gate and sat there for a couple minutes and then began to call everyone I could. I held off on crying for a while and then out of nowhere I realized the gravity of the situation. It was going to be a VERY long time until I physically see all these people again and could call on them at all hours of my day. So I started to cry -- but it was VERY minimal. Like maybe 5 little tear streams. I mean, I really doubt anyone even saw me. Really.
Okay fine. I'm sure only like 5 people saw me and out of a gate seating 100, that's not too bad. In fact, its only like 5%...which is less than the US unemployment rate.
Around 5:45P I boarded the flight and was seated near a woman named Lynette. She was really nice and we chatted for about 5 minutes. She wanted to chat longer but I had something very important I had to do and she was getting in my way. My friend Colleen had organized for all my close friends to help her build a book for my trip. Each person was responsible for 2 pages: one giving me advice for my new life and another that detailed things they'd miss about me. She gave it to me before I left and told me I couldn't read it until I was on the plane. Everyone told me I was going to cry when I read it, but I didn't. I mostly just laughed...really really hard. Well, except when I read what my parents wrote...thanks mom & dad, that was nice.
I read through it about 16 times and then watched some movies and tried to sleep. I was really uncomfortable and couldn't sleep at all. All I could think about was if I had had 6 glasses of free champagne I would have been knocked out in no time. Gah!
Finally we began landing and it was just as the sun was rising. Very pretty. I got my stuff and headed for the baggage claim. Unfortunately I did not read any of the 100 signs along the way that instructed me to fill out a slip of paper for customs (how American of me) and got in trouble with the customs officer. Brits 1, Americans 1.
I filled out my slip and headed for my baggage. I thought for sure it would take about an hour to collect, but it was all sitting there waiting for me when I arrived. Splendid!
Now it was time for me to meet my driver who was to be waiting for me at the arrivals hall with a sign that said "Lichtenberg". This was something I had looked forward to ALL WEEK LONG. I mean seriously. I even had plans to take a picture of the guy holding the sign and make it my Facebook profile shot...I mean that's pretty big. Well I walked through the gate with a big ass smile on my face only to find a bunch of drivers holding up signs with last names like 'Chanel', 'Norris', 'a;lksjdfoa' (my attempt at the middle-eastern last name),
Hannah", but no 'LICHTENBERG'. WTF?!
Surely they were just running late. I mean, I had sent in all my flight information beforehand and had confirmed with the service I would be there. I pulled my phone out to call and low and behold I had no service. Thanks a lot, AT&T. You've really been wonderful in the vast amount of situations where I desperately need to get a hold of someone - your lack of service at the AT&T sponsored stage at Lollapalooza was also a gem. keep up the good work. jerks.
Okay, back to my situation. So luckily there were plenty of pay-phones around so I got my cash converted and called the car company. Funny thing was, they had no record of me. The only thing is that it was not funny at all. In fact it pissed me off. They told me I had to take a cab. JERKS!
I grabbed my stuff and walked outside and got a driver. I was still being pissy so I told him he had 2 jobs to do: 1. take me to Princes Square, 2. Cheer me up. He did both and I arrived in Princes Square safely - to the tune of $120 (65 pounds...I can expense that, right?).
All right well that wraps up my first post. Thanks to those who finished. And a special shout-out to Bernie for proof-reading! My next will pick up on details about my apartment and first week on the job. Stay Tuned...
