Okay, so if it were at all possible I would avoid telling you guys this considering it’s one of the dumbest things I’ve ever done. But as there are quite a few people expecting me to post tomorrow morning with happy “I made it to France photos,” I don’t see any way around it.Here’s what happened. Back in April-Mayish when I was still in school and attending a bunch of study-abroad orientation meetings, we were told the details for our group flight from JFK to Paris. I wrote down in several places that it was August 28th, and I could have sworn I had this date confirmed somewhere, but I can’t seem to produce any evidence to this fact. I have probably told a hundred people this summer, “I fly out on August 28th.” In fact, I was so sure of the date that Mom and I booked my flight from St. Louis to JFK months ago for, you guessed it, August 28th. (Can you see where this is going?)
After 2 days of frenzied packing we left this morning at 4:39am for the airport. (Note: I would really love to write 4:30 but my father would not approve. He would most assuredly point out that we had to turn around because I forgot my cell phone, putting us staggeringly behind schedule. :) )
Anyway, about a half hour from home I just happened to be looking at my ticket information for the AirFrance flight and you’ll never guess what I discovered. Highlighted for your viewing pleasure...
Yes, indeed, my flight doesn’t leave until Sunday August 30th. It’s Friday, August 28th. Fail.
At this point began my frantic journey through the world that is automated phone menu systems. Turns out not much is open at 5 in the morning, including: Delta Airlines, AirFrance, and Anthony Travel at Notre Dame. About an hour into the trip we settled on two possible options: 1. Take my original flight and beg for shelter from acquaintances in New York (Thanks to the Weil family for being a promising candidate.) or 2. See how much money it would cost to change my flight. I still hadn’t had any luck reaching anyone without a computerized voice so panic was rampant. Many thanks to ChaCha, the free question-answering service which allowed me to procure all these phone numbers via text message.
Fast forward about 2 hours, we had finally made it to the front of the Delta airlines counter and I had learned several things. After being transferred through 3 people who spoke no discernable English, Travelocity had finally offered to rebook my flight for a mere $759 dollars, thanks guys! Needless to say we turned to our next option, a very wonderful Delta employee Barbara. She would be able to book me on the correct flight as long as I could produce an AirFrance confirmation number, easy right? Well after another hour of calling, receiving no help at AirFrance, and being told Anthony Travel had been evacuated due to an electrical fire on campus, (I kid you not) I finally reached the woman who had booked our Paris flight in the first place. She was able to provide me with my new confirmation number- Barbara hadn’t been able to find it because AirFrance had reissued our tickets the previous night for some ridiculous reason. Finally, finally, finally I was able to change and confirm all my flights for the correct days.
Technically, I was able to make a complete dry run to the airport, learn that my bags were 2 pounds overweight, and feel like a complete idiot for the bargain price of $157 dollars. (woo hoo!)
Here comes the life lesson part. I, Rebecca Sandbothe, am turning over a new leaf. I am going to make every attempt to be more organized and well-prepared for all my endeavors. Yes this does include actually reading a plane ticket itinerary that you’ve had for 2 months before booking a connecting flight. I will refuse to be late when I go places, and I will keep better track of my things, especially my cell phone.
Here’s hoping Sunday goes better. Off to repack my overweight bags.
