You know, when I wrote that last blog entry, I thought to myself, "I probably shouldn't say that the trip preparations were 'Easy' because I might jinx it." But then I thought to myself, "George, you're a man of logic and reason, you shouldn't let foolish superstitions dictate your actions."
Well,.... jinx! :-P
Things got off to a good start. All the kids arrived on time, and we had our bags quickly organized and lined up like ducks in a row. Patty interviewed the kids on video to get their pre-trip thoughts and emotions. Then we went over a few last minute details and the parents made their good-byes. We were ready to go!
Here's the students and their families:
Jean
Jane
Lin
Fern
Erng
First in line! Whoot!
So we were all set and ready to leave Thailand for our great American adventure. The Japan Airlines staff opened their counters and the kids eagerly got out their passports. But the airline staff made no move to call us forward. They just sat at their desks. We waited for a while until a woman came to tell us the flight might be delayed. Since we only had a two-hour layover in Japan and their passport control is notoriously slow, I sat the kids down and talked to them about the possibility that we might need to run through Narita airport to make our connecting flight, so sightseeing tours of Japanese airports might not be possible today.
Then some staff came out with hurriedly printed posters to announce the flight delay time. "Ten o'clock", I read. Oh well... that's not so bad... "PM" Huh? Wait, what?
Yep, you heard that right. Our flight was delayed FOURTEEN HOURS! Guess we won't be making our connecting flight :-P. So now we're sitting here in wonderful Suvarnabhumi Airport on Hour 13 of our (hopefully only) 54 hour odyssey to America, and let me tell you, after the first ten hours or so, the cold floors and overpriced restaurants still haven't lost their native charm!
America, here we come! Er... not quite. :-P
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