Just to let anyone out there who may be worried know, I’m alive and well on this side of the earth. It’s been a busy few days since my last post, but ultimately very rewarding and has me excited for the coming year(s).
It all started shortly after my last post, when I was at the Toronto Airport and I hear the ominous words come over the loudspeaker “Attention everyone, American Airlines Flight 4112 to Chicago has been canceled”. Needless to say, I wasn’t too thrilled about that.
I ran to the counter to see what they could do for me. I NEEDED to make that connection in order to catch the flight to Seoul and then to Guangzhou.
They tried to reroute me first via Charlotte, but could not guarantee that I could make the connection from Charlotte to Chicago. After having been stuck in Charlotte once before on flight problems, I didn’t want to take that chance. So I called their 1-800 number, and they told me that they could redo it all and have me connect in JFK and then onward. Sure, I wouldn’t share a flight with Elvina across the Pacific, but hey, it’s better than nothing I do suppose. I go to tell this to the people at the American Airlines counter, and they tell me that it was impossible for me to book that. They could only redo the North American portion of my journey, and I would need to contact the airline to redo the Asian portion of it. Sadly, that didn’t seem to be too much of an option.
I end up having to call the School Director to tell him my situation. He then gets in touch with the travel agent, and I get rebooked on a flight for a day later. This time, eliminating the Chicago portion of the journey, putting me on a flight direct to Seoul, and then onwards after that. I do sort of beg the question, “Why couldn’t that have been done before hand?” but nonetheless, on I went. And lucky for me, my good friend Ryan lives very close to the airport, so I got to spend an extra day with him and everyone wins.
Since my fashionably late arrival, things have been incredibly smooth for me. I genuinely feel like I am very well taken care of. The school has gone out of its way to help me feel settled, both personally and professionally. I have yet to feel rushed, and really have nothing but positive things to say about the process. I have actually found myself yearning for some hustle and bustle, and sort of want to start working again soon. I may regret saying that later on, but for now I’m pretty eager. And I suppose that’s a good sign.
In two days the returning teachers come, and a week after that the kids show up and the real fun begins. I’ll try to keep you in the loop…
Until next time,
G
I don’t know what’s up with Chicago flights and getting delayed