Getting Here, Pt. 2

It’s Oct. 23, the day I’m officially to begin a new journey.  Finally!  I am so excited!  No more waiting!  No more living in limbo!  I have my VISA and passport in hand, the luggage thing is all sorted out, and everything seems to be in its place.  We have a safe, uneventful journey to SFO, arrive before the countering agents and are even the first in line…only to find that there’s a change in plans.  My scheduled flight to has an eight hour delay.   This means that I will miss my connecting flight in Amsterdam to Kano.  Okay.  Not a problem.  I invite Resolve to permeate me and affect an aura of calm.  I will make some phone calls and see what the solution should be.  I try to call my country advisor, the IFESH office, and the travel agency.  Nothing.  It’s Sunday and all offices are closed.  It’s the wee hours of the morning in Kano.  Freak Out is starting to creep in.  I approach the ticketing counter once again; by now there are 50+ people crowded in line.  (It is not a fun day at KLM, who has now issued out a memo apologizing for the inconvenience.)  I let the agent know that I’ll take my flight out and go from Amsterdam to Kano the following day…only to find out that there are no connecting flights to Kano the following day.  Flight 577 is scheduled only several times a week.  Grrrrreeeeeeaaaatttttt…..I take it.  I’m trying to keep my inner Freak Out in check.  I send out mass emails and voicemails to my country advisor, colleagues, and the IFESH staff noting them of my new itinerary along with pleas to PLEASE have someone pick me up in Kano.  By now my Inner Freak Out has made her way into the public’s view, with brief appearances here and there…saying hello to all my colleagues, program officers, and Delta and KLM staff.  To get her out of the limelight I ground my time in Amsterdam and look forward to it as a time to recoup…if it weren’t for all my damned luggage.  How am I supposed to get around with four bags at the airport…half of which are half my weight?  F***!

While other like, back and forth, airline dramas occurred during the time of my delayed departure, I found solace in the knowing that this is all a great exercise in letting go.  So, I let go as much as I could, got on the plane, and got ready for Amsterdam.