I woke up at about 10:00 a.m. and I feel much better rested now. I then began to update my blog and was kept busy at that the next couple of hrs. I had no food because I had finished off my trail mix and shredded wheat the previous night (early morning actually) affter returning to my hotel room. (It was when I was feeling weak and bewildered and probably overwhelmed.) When those emotions combine, all rules to not eat late at night go out the window! I felt much better after I ate that snack and was not too hungry when I woke up. I held off awhile as I got much work done on the computer. I was taking my time because when I left to find some food, I also was going to find terminal one, which I would depart from later. After I could wait no longer, I got up and pledged to finish the blog later. I got ready for the day in the same great travel outfit I wore the day before by first ironing my nylon cardigan (at a low level of heat, Mom!). I felt exhilarated and ready to take on the world after a wonderful shower the night before, a comfortable bed to sleep in, horizontally, (despite the 6:00 a.m. wake-up call!), and the ability to connect to the internet - and I even got to message my aunt, Billie! I left the room with my necessaries: passport, camera, visa, flight itinerary, some U.S. dollars, and my rosary bracelet. (Not to mention my handy-dandy map of the terminals - in case I got really desperate I could find a bathroom stall and map out a route to take!) I got some great pictures of the airport, but they can never tell the whole experience.
I kept getting told that terminal one was at the very end so I decided to stay on the same floor and just see if terminal one would appear to me. In the meantime, I kept myself occupied as I decided what to eat. I compared prices of various items becasue things were quite pricey here. I would say more than a US supermarket or grocery store, but about the same as a US airport. I wanted to avoid breaking my twenty if possible and using my debit if possible, at least until I transferred more money to my checking account. (It is advisable to keep under 500 us dollars on a visa card in case of card misplacement or theft.) I found a banana for 3 Dhs. or 86 cents in US currency and purchased that for starters. I then asked for my change back because they weren't going to give it back b/c they didn't have any US coins, but I got some Dhs. coins, so that was cool! I ended up getting another banana later on because of the great price and I received 2 more Durham coins. Woo-hoo! A total of 28 cents in 4 Durham coins! I got another bag of food at the supermarket places and finally located terminal 1. I thought to ask where I could get my boarding passs because I, at the time, only had a printout of the flight itinerary. Because I was changing airways, once again, I had to get the boarding pass from the respective airway I was going to be traveling with next. I decided to het it while I was there after I found the transfer gate. I then discovered that I was too early to get my boarding pass, b/c they only let you get it 3 hrs. before take-off time. I would have liked to have my boarding pass, so I would feel more secure and be able to locate my gate in my time off, but I marched away quite content with myself for figuring out the airport and mapping out the exact route I would need to take later. I then returned to my room, because I had no concept of the time while roaming the airport, and I did a little more on the net in my room. (Like tried to send a Happy Dad's day message to Dad via Anna, which I later found out he didn't yet receive!) I also connected with Claire, another WFP intern already at ICRISAT in India. After my successful accomplishments of the day, I decided it would be a good idea to take a catnap before the large night ahead of me. (It made more sense to me to sleep on the comfortable bed in a locked room than in the terminal at my gate!) I called to make my check-out time a little later, and also called for another wake-up call. I organized a bit before I went to bed so I would be able to wake up and leave. Luckily, I did because I woke up at 8:00 PM!!!! and I was supposed to receive my wake-up call at 7:30 PM!!!! I frantically gathered my things, double-checked my room, and bid my sweet suite goodbye. I checked out, receiving more curious glances from the international businessmen checking in, and headed on a mission to "Catch that plane!" I made record time down the airport to terminal one where I hastily arrived at the transfer desk after skipping the security check by telling them I was scheduled to depart in 2 hrs. and had no boarding pass. The lines at the transfer desk were unbearably long and my adrenaline rush intensified. However, by the grace of God, AGAIN!, nearly the only line with downwards of 20 people in it was the one for my airway. Upon my time at the counter, I dutifully handed the man my passport and flight itinerary I received in Frankfurt. To my dismay, he asked me for more documents. These were the only documents I had for him! After explaining the situation to him, and telling him I received my last boarding pass with those documents alone, I waited. He made some phone calls, did some computer work, and then began to give the person on the phone the passport no. and info. I breathed a sigh of relief as I felt that all would be ok now, until I heard him say, "Indian". Not, "India" but "Indian".
My first instinct was to say, "No, I am actually American!" But then I glanced next to me and saw a man who looked of Indian nationality, and I realized the man was not even working on my boarding pass. I was being shuffled aside and put on hold - held in limbo. After finishing with the other client, the man came back to me and told me I did not and never did have a seat on this plane because it was overbooked. He said I only had requested a seat and it was never confirmed, so I now had no seat. I was in utter shock. Dis - bel - ief! I explained how my flight had been changed and asked if there was some mistake or what. He said the word, "Standby" and I knew things were not going to be good. I had heard horror stories of being on standby. My only other option was to find Emirates, or United, or get in touch with Lufthansa and find out how and why someone made this mistake with my flight. I knew that I had no idea where or how I would accomplish this though, and that if I left this line, I would be stuck in Dubai for another night because even a rebooking could not get me out of there in the next few hours. I had been in Dubai for 22 hours, and regardless of how nice the hotel was, I was ready to get to India and begin my internship. Enough pampering for me. I did not want to have to cancel on my driver from ICRISAT again (I later found out that he was there waiting for me for hrs. the night that I didn't arrive despite the email that Lisa sent about my delay). I also was receiving a few too many looks from the nearby men, especially when I would pull out my laptop in frantic attempts to find Lisa's no. I chose to stay on the dreaded standby (the lesser of 2 evils) and was told to come back in 20-25 minutes and they would tell me then if I had a place on the plane. I needed to contact Lisa about this 180 degree turn in my plans, but the nearby phones would not take a credit card. I also had another problem. Lisa's no. was on the back of the piece of paper I handed to the man that he needed to keep if I chose to stay on standby. This is why I was frantically searching for Lisa's no. in my word documents. I had it there - thankfully - and I attempted to use skype. Fail. I sent her an email instead with the subject line, "help!". (Poor Lisa! She did not sleep so well the nights that I was traveling here.) I told her my situation and told her if I did not get on the flight, which wasn't looking too positive, I would simply try to get the best rebooking possible and head to the room for unaccompanied minors. She was shocked by this sick twist of events also!
The man approached me and gave me my passport and flight info. back, which I took as a very bad sign. I asked him what my chances were, and he said, "Not good." There were 4 unclaimed seats left though, which left me praying. I told him I was only 17 yrs. old and alone, and had been in this airport for umpteen hours. He said to just keep waiting. I did hear him on the phone though, saying this is a little girl, 16 yrs. old and a woman, try to get her on if you possibly can. I obviously really wanted on the airplane, but I wanted also to just know if I would be on the airplane and I hoped they were not just keeping me in limbo to break the news gently. I needed to know so I could get booked for the next flight asap. I went up to the desk at the time he told me and I found out. . . he got me on the flight. HE GOT ME ON THE FLIGHT! I was in disbelief once again as I tried to snap to my senses and convey as much appreciation and relief as possible without jumping over the counter and giving him a bear hug. I then got in the line to get out of there! It was dreadfully long and taking forever to go through security. I asked a businessman next to me if he thought I had to go through security if I thought I would miss my flight. He looked at my ticket and told me they were boarding at the time I thought they were leaving so I would have no problem making my flight. I felt slightly relieved but still unpatient. We began chatting and I asked him if he could point me in the direction of where my gate would be. He helped me with that also and then asked me where I was headed. He did a double-take when I said, "Hyderabad". I explained what I was doing and he was very impressed. He was, I found out, and even more impressive man himself. His name is David Phoely (probably wrong spelling of last name!) and his life experience has been amazing. He has worked as a diplomat for many yrs. and used to work as the war correspondent in some form. He now is with the U.S. State Department in Homeland Security. He is the correspondent to the Middle East, hence, his presence in the Dubai airport, Africa, and another area also. In the past he worked with BBC and NBC through his career also. He was envious of my youth, my opportunity, and was pleased to hear I was headed to Wesleyan in the fall. He was very kind and even walked me partway to my gate, all the while encouraging me to consider the foreign service. He talked about living "a life of significance", and the things he said were pretty cool. Oh yeah, I forgot, he worked for the UN too!) It was just another awesome contact I met on this trip. He was cool to meet and get to know. I bid him goodbye and checked in for my flight - at last this one headed to Hyderabad, India! I asked where I should go and they told me downstairs. There was a bus outside we went onto, and the warm air of Dubai welcomed me kindly to the peaceful night, just in time for me to leave. I sat on that bus, accompanied entirely by Indian men, praying my rosary bead bracelet. At last, one Muslim woman arrived with her 3 small adorable children and her husband. I was happy to have at least on other female on the bus. I was also hoping I was on the right bus, and tried to not let my imagination run wild! It seemed hard to believe I could be so close to boarding the correct plane. . . to India! I found my seat next to a man and he ended up being very nice also. We were due to receive a meal, so I eagerly awaited that although we were losing 3 hrs. and it was the middle of the night. (It was suppertime in the US!) I chose to forego sleep and enjoy the meal. I received my customs wksheet and diligently worked to complete that. This is where my frequent flier seat partner came in handy. He is an Indian resident originally, but now is a Dubai resident as well and lives there. They have homes in both places and he was going to be in India for 10 days. He gave me his business card and told me to call if I needed anything in India. He had great respect for his elders (his parents) and at one point his dad bent down to untie his sandals. My seatmate leaped up and untied the sandals off of his dad's feet. I thanked him upon landing, another angel on my path, and then went through customs and waited to see if my bags were on the plane. (I was not too optimistic!) The weren't so I attempted to file a claim pertaining to my bags, all the while being worried about my driver. I was finally in Hyderabad, India and didn't want to be stuck here without a driver! After a looooong reporting process, I was told I would need to return later that day to pick up the bags. I did not know if that would be possible (because that would mean another trip from Patancheru to Hyderabad for an ICRISAT driver) but I just said ok and took down the number.
My plane got in at 3:30 a.m. and it was 6:30 a.m. before we got to the ICRISAT campus. The ride there gave me this insight: Poverty is not solely a conceptual matter to be debated in intellectual circles, but a real, living, breathing, and deplorable way of existence. It was hard for me to come to understand that people lived in the homes they did, because they were not really homes at all. I was in shock at viewing this level of poverty for the 1st time. I checked in to ICRISAT and registered my laptop so I could take it with me when I left campus in August.
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