Day 2.0 of Traveling: Dec 29th,2017

DALLAS to MIAMI

      So I woke up at the Quality Inn and made my way downstairs to check out and board the shuttle to the airport. I can easily say that hands down the shuttle ride from the hotel to the Dallas Airport was the scariest part of my travels. My diver was a sweet guy but I was not prepared for "the Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" style of driving that this gentleman had up his sleeve. There was only one other passenger in the shuttle. The whole ride I became more and more happy that I had opted to wait to eat breakfast at the airport. The entire ride me and the other passenger just held on to the "oh shit" handle and said a silent prayer. The shuttle dropped me off first and as I jumped out I turned back and told the other passenger to have a safe and smooth flight. He told me that I should also have a safe flight but after that shuttle ride, that everything else would be smoother in comparison.

   Okay so my parents got my TSA PreCheck  (it's $85 US dollars for a 5-year membership) and I highly recommend to get if you flight often! I walked into Dallas airport and from the time I walked through the door until I got to my airport terminal, took me 10-12 minutes!! Now, I need to express that if I had gone through the normal line, it would have easily been 50mins. There were tons of people at 04:30.

Once I got to my gate I decided it was time to scout out some breakfast. I saw a small little shop and I went in to investigate what kind of goodie they might have. I was in shock when I saw that a single (kind of on the smaller size) banana was $2 US dollars. Umm, I don't need potasimum that badly! geez

I got something for breakfast (not their pricey bananas) and headed back to my terminal. As I eat my breakfast the flight desk stated that you could check your carry-on bag and it would arrive with you at your final destination. Since I was planned to reach St.kitts by that afternoon, I thought it was a good idea. Plus, there was that issue I ran into on my Wichita to Dallas flight, of it not fitting in the overhead bin. So I decided to go ahead and check it. So I just had my huge backpack and boarded the flight.

  So as I boarded the flight and one of my zippers on my smaller pockets on my backpack caught on the dividing curtain, you know that tissue paper thin that separates the first class from the common folk. When it pulled my zipper open, all my 50 fruit roll-ups shattered all over the aisle of the plane. My first thought was "maybe no one noticed" and as I turned around I realized that was completely incorrect! I actually had a thought like "just keep going and they won't know those are your 50 fruit roll-ups". I was embarrassed but leave no man or fruit roll-up behind so, with the help of some other kind passengers I picked them and shoved them into my empty see-through waterbottle. I clipped my water bottle to my backpack and tried to just get to my seat without giving anyone else another funny show!

I got to my seat, which was the middle seat ( the universal favorite seat on airplanes, right?), between. an older couple. I spent the flight to Miami chatting with the couple. They were going to the Bahamas to go sailing on their sailboat for two weeks together. I asked if they would like to switch seats so they could sit together and the wife told me "we have been sitting next to each other for the past 37 years, we enjoy the change" and then she gave me a warm smile. The rest of the flight was very calm and went a lot smoother than the shuttle ride.

Once I got to Miami I only had to walk 5 gates to the south of where my plane had docked. Once I got to the gate area, I began looking around thinking that some of these passengers are going to be my future study buddies and such! I met a family that was traveling with their daughter to Ross for Vet School. The girl's mother was slightly concerned that I didn't have anyone traveling with me but I assured her that it didn't bother me at all.

   As I boarded the final leg of my journey to RUSVM (Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine) and found my seat, I had a clear moment of utter panic! What am I doing? This is craziness! I'm leaving all my friends, family and pets and going off on my own to ANOTHER COUNTRY!?!?  But I had to remind myself that it was going to be okay and all the love and support from the people at home. Remembering how much they believed in me and supported me, calmed me down just as fast as I had freaked out.

   This was not going to be easy but I was not going for easy. I was going for those three letters after my name, DVM, and to reach something I had been dreaming about since I was a little girl. About that time the girl who had the seat next to me sat down. Thinking that she may be one of my new classmates, I asked her if she was excited and followed it up with asking if she was in Ross. She looked at me like I had just suggested we fly to St.Kitts on a pegasus! She informed me that she was with her family, on vacation. But we kept chatting through the flight.

Our plane finally landed and I had butterflies in my stomach and was so nervous and excited! I got off the plane and had to walk across the tarmac to get to the airport, kinda felt like an old-time movie. After making it through customs without any real problems, I went downstairs and got my luggage. All three of my bags were there but my pink suitcase had huge cracks all over on the corners but the fabric liner had kept everything inside. So there was a silver lining.

Well, this is a good place to stop, for now, I promise that I will get you all catch up to speed with my travels and Vet School Adventure.

Day 1 of Traveling: Dec 28th, 2017

Well, I’m all packed and ready to go to the airport. I have three bags to check, one carry-on and my personal item ( a very stuffed backpack).

My flight was originally scheduled for 6:15pm but kept getting delayed. First to 7:00pm then to 7:15, 7:30, 7:55 and finally to 8:01pm. So it was a lot of sitting in our living room, trying to not leave too early for the airport.

When we arrived at the Wichita Airport, I went to check my three bags. When I got to the counter I was told that the statement I had originally been told, that I could take three checked bags, had changed to two check bag restriction. So of course, my stomach promptly turned into a knot!  I pulled my three bags over to where my mom and Dad were sitting and started playing the ultimate game of “Need VS. Want”. I may have hated the game but I totally won, with the help of mom, Dad and W. I won’t have been able to do it without them, especially W! He was a lifesaver! 

I was definitely a sight as people walked into the airport and see me, on my knees with my bras, toothpaste and such all over the floor around me. 

After packing all my needs into two of the three bags, I went back up to the counter and checked my two bags. The lady behind the counter reminded to collect them in Dallas before my next flight the following morning. My mother had the brilliant idea that a friend I had made who is a returning Ross student who also lives in Wichita and was here over break, could possibly take my third suitcase!!! This is why you should always be kind to your mother (and dads)because they are amazing and you would probably die without them! 

So Dad was the source of reason when he suggested we all go grab a coffee or some snacks before we went upstairs to the TSA. As we sat around that little coffee table, I looked at my family and realized just how lucky I was to have them and how much I wanted and needed to make them proud. I opened my phone and saw all the messages from my family and dear friends, wishing me well and safe travels. I feel truly blessed.

After a bit, it was time to go upstairs so I could go through TSA. There had been so many tears (most of them, of course, coming from me....with mom coming in a close second place for volume of tears cried) and you better believe I cried, even more, saying goodbye to each of them. They watched as I went through TSA and, Lucky SJ, getting “randomly selected “ for additional screening. But it honestly wasn’t too bad. I was too excited and emotional to let anything break my positive spirit. 

After going through TSA, I found my flight gate and waited to be called up to board. There ended up only being about 15 people on my flight. I got a whole row to myself, which is good because my carry on bag was just a wee too big to fit in the overhead bin. But with a smile, the flight attendant came to my rescue! He offered me a thick trash bag and I put my liquid bag, makeup bag and my pair of jeans in it and tried again to put my bag in the overhead bin. It fit in! So with the extra space on my empty row, I had a lovely flight from Wichita to Dallas. Once I landed and got clearance to turn my phone back on, I went ahead and rung my hotel to let them know and to sent the shuttle my way. She asked if I had any checked bags to retrieve and I said yes. She informed me to call again when I had successfully collected all my bags. 

I made my way off the plane and to the baggage carousels. The lady behind the American Airlines desk informed me that I was at the correct place to collect my luggage. So I took and waited.....I waited for a whole hour. After which, I decided to check back in with the same lady. I waited for a gentleman who was yelling and screaming at her. He was upset that his luggage was delayed and won’t arrive until midnight. Once it was my turn, I knew had to be sweet as pie to this lady (1. Because that gentleman had just finished screaming at her and 2. Because she a person just trying to do her job and help and finally 3. Because you catch more flies with honey than vinegar). 

I gave her my luggage numbers and she informed me that my luggage must have been misplaced and as I was about to start filling out the paperwork for lost luggage, she informs me that my luggage is getting ready to go on my flight for Miami that leaves in the morning. So basically I waited at the luggage carousel for an hour...just for the fun of it. Being relieved that my luggage was not lost, I called my hotel again and waited for my shuttle to arrive. It took me to my hotel and I finally got to lay my head down on a pillow at 11:30pm. I was dog tired, I’ll tell you what! But I melted into the bed and slept like a baby if a baby sleeps with a fort of pillows around them.

 

3900 Feet In The Air

Okay so I'm on the flight to Miami, FL! 
We will touch down at about midnight and it's about 10 pm now. So only 2 hours left :)
So while we were at the Dallas airport, we went exploring!  My little sister and I rode on these trams that took you from one terminal to the next. It wasn't until we got off this really fast tram that we noticed that there was no driver!!!!!
Then when my mom watched our bags while we went to go by some postcards, this sketchy character came over to our corner and shoved a big bag duffle bag two seats away from her. He then took off and never came back!
So we went up to the TSA and told them and they tries to just blow it off but mom told them to go and check it out! So because she used her mommy voice, they headed over to check it out.
The guy finally came back. We  didn't stick around to see them check his bags. 
But nothing bad happened that we know of. So that's a lesson for everyone! Be aware of your surroundings!
Stay safe all of you!

Until we speak again, ta-ta!