It was wonderful. Many of them were seeing the city and the US for the first time ever. Seeing their faces in Times Square was priceless. We were able to see pretty much every major landmark that the city has to offer. As a bonus, they went and decided to host the Super Bowl in New York for us. It was great to get to show the students just how big of a a deal the Super Bowl is here in the US. We got delivery pizza from Papa Johns. They liked it so much that we ordered it again the next day. It was a whirlwind of a tour, but I think the kids got to see everything they wanted to and then some.
When we got up on Monday, we were greeted by about six inches of snow. It was beautiful, but unwelcome. That was the beginning of the obstacle course that we called getting to Raleigh.
The next obstacle occurred when we realized that our flight was leaving from JFK and not La Guardia. We were about five minutes from La Guardia and about forty from JFK. Did I mention all the snow? Well, we had to lug our bags through a maze of slush and icy puddles, up and down stairs, and in and out of subway trains. It was exhausting, but kind of fun. Well, not really.
Obstacle number three occurred when our flight to Raleigh was cancelled, causing us to spend the night in the airport. We did not get to check in our luggage due to a mysterious "security" measure that stated that we could not check in our bags until six hours before the flight. (This measure was even more mysterious when it disappeared the next morning due to us being in the way.)
We spent the night on the hard floor of the JFK airport. Some of us got pillows, some got blankets, some got both, and others got neither. Our students did not complain (at least not in English) and they used their luggage to make little forts in one long line through the airport so that they could have some privacy while they slept.
The next morning we were awoken by a less than friendly staff as they told us to move because we were in the way. I told the employee that we couldn't move because our flight was not available to check in (it was more that six hours before it left) and we had no where to go. "Who told you that?" she asked me, as if she had never heard of such a rule. "You did." I replied as calmly as I could. Now at this point, the trip could have taken a real turn for the worse. Thankfully, no one had to bail me out of jail that evening.
We got to the counter to check in and an employee who may have been part angel realized that we did not have to wait six more hours for a one hour flight, but that there was room on the next flight that was leaving in forty-five minutes. We rushed and made the flight, only to face obstacle number four: a malfunctioning aircraft.
We sat on the plane for about three hours while they tried to get it to work. Finally, we had to deplane and board another aircraft. From there, we were on our way to Raleigh, the subject of next week's blog story.
To sum up our flight schedule: Our 8pm Monday flight was delayed until Tuesday at 4pm. We boarded that flight at 8am on Tuesday instead and finally took of at 12pm. Sheesh.
Obstacle number three occurred when our flight to Raleigh was cancelled, causing us to spend the night in the airport. We did not get to check in our luggage due to a mysterious "security" measure that stated that we could not check in our bags until six hours before the flight. (This measure was even more mysterious when it disappeared the next morning due to us being in the way.)
We spent the night on the hard floor of the JFK airport. Some of us got pillows, some got blankets, some got both, and others got neither. Our students did not complain (at least not in English) and they used their luggage to make little forts in one long line through the airport so that they could have some privacy while they slept.
The next morning we were awoken by a less than friendly staff as they told us to move because we were in the way. I told the employee that we couldn't move because our flight was not available to check in (it was more that six hours before it left) and we had no where to go. "Who told you that?" she asked me, as if she had never heard of such a rule. "You did." I replied as calmly as I could. Now at this point, the trip could have taken a real turn for the worse. Thankfully, no one had to bail me out of jail that evening.
We got to the counter to check in and an employee who may have been part angel realized that we did not have to wait six more hours for a one hour flight, but that there was room on the next flight that was leaving in forty-five minutes. We rushed and made the flight, only to face obstacle number four: a malfunctioning aircraft.
We sat on the plane for about three hours while they tried to get it to work. Finally, we had to deplane and board another aircraft. From there, we were on our way to Raleigh, the subject of next week's blog story.
To sum up our flight schedule: Our 8pm Monday flight was delayed until Tuesday at 4pm. We boarded that flight at 8am on Tuesday instead and finally took of at 12pm. Sheesh.
