Today was quite a day to live through. It started out simply enough. I ate breakfast, said my farewells, and was dropped off at the airport around 10:45am. I ran into Liz, MK, Patrick, and Jordan right away at the airport so we went through the baggage check together and settled down to wait for our flight. I went on some ventures with Liz, Patrick, and Jordan to get food. On one occasion we crossed paths with the sems on their way to their Atlanta flight. Oh! Need I mention "someone" had a torch lighter confiscated and another "someone" had a pocket knife mailed home and yet another "someone" brought a gallon of liquids. But we made it through all of that.
Throughout the remainder of our three hour wait the rest of the crew showed up (12 of us total). We finally boarded out plane and prepared for take off. We boarded the plane at 1:15pm and were supposed to take off at 1:45pm. Fifteen minutes passed. We tried to entertain ourselves. Then another fifteen. We start to look at each other and sign. Then another fifteen. We're starting to get a little nervous and/or annoyed. Another fifteen minutes pass. We only have a one hour layover between this and the next flight, and we still haven't taken off. Patience is not my virtue.
Our plane starts to back up from the dock. (Interior excitement!) On the runway we move forward for half a second, then stop. One of the shortest moments of excitement of my life. The speaker turn on and an announcement is made, "We are sorry for the inconvenience, but due to a problem with the engine we have to cancel this flight. We will be returning to the dock shortly."
You can imagine our expressions. Anxieties confirmed. So now we're all rather frustrated. I had pictured having problems with a short layover between flights but I hadn't considered the possibility of not taking off in the first place! (Oh well. We all have our firsts.)
All annoyed and confused passengers leave the plane. We have already decided that Alex should solve our problems... just because someone needs to take the burden, right? :) He's a good sport. Alex and Lizzy get in line to talk to security. They return to tell us that we have two options. Four of us can get on a ride to Philly in a few hours while the rest of us wait until tomorrow to board or we can just all wait until tomorrow to fly out. Ouch. The one upside was that we were planning on having a sleepover at the Thibaults. (Surprise, Mrs. Thibault! :) )
We all agreed that, as Kyle Loecker says, "No olive gets left behind," so we are just settling into our one-day-delay plan when...
Our group is called over to a desk where to hard-working women go through the system for an hour finding us all flights. At first they tell us they will have to split us up onto separate flights. They first send four of us to one flight. Then they give two more people a flight. Then another pair of two. Another. Another. We're down to Michael and me. When we are finally given our tickets we are delightfully surprised to learn that we will be flying with other members of our Bernardi crew. Once in line we realize we are ALL on the same flight!!! Who knows how they managed that, but God bless those women who put up with annoying computers and delayed flights on a daily basis! (A job I could not do)
We get onto our flight and the great part about it was that I made a friend! I sat by a man named Carmen who was on a return flight from visiting his daughter and newborn granddaughter in Minnesota. We chatted it up for a lot of the ride, and I learned that we was born in Sicily and spent his first six years in Sicily before coming to America. He shared how he's a musician and plays trumpet in a number of bands. He even write music and has received music evaluations from Stevie Wonder. He has connections. No biggy.
So here's the funny part. (Well, the next funny part.) When we finally get off in Philly we soon run into Liz F. and Danielle and learn that the flight we were initially going to take from Philly to Rome hasn't even taken off yet. So we didn't need to make so many changes of flights... Anyhow, now all of our baggage is being sent to from Philly to London before London to Rome and accommodations have been made, so we stick with the new plan.
We board pretty soon, and the plane feels kind of like a private jet because it is so close to empty. I got a whole four seats in a row to myself :) -- a bit spoiled maybe. I didn't mind. I started to watch The Maze Runner, then switched to some of Mr. Holmes, then finally settled on Bing Crosby's High Society (which I didn't have time to finish before breakfast was served). Amidst everything I try once or twice to lay out and take a snooze, but my body always decides that when it should sleep is never when it will sleep. For a while I play some of the airplanes crossword puzzles with Liz. Dinner. Breakfast. Yada yada. It was a pretty nice flight: delayed an hour, but compared to our past experiences that's nothing. Besides, we will have a three to four hour layover in London coming up.
Are you still reading this??? WOW! YOU ROCK! To sum things up here rather quickly... we land in London and have our baggage checked. I go through a period of dehydration due to being forced to pour out my water at customs, a lack of drinking fountains, and the fact that their sinks all have hot water. After searching the airport with Patrick and then with Liz M. I'm all the more parched. Finally Lizzy and I decide to go see if any of the shops will accept Euros. Boy oh boy! They do! So I get my hydration.
Flight #4. So we are a mix of a crabby and overly-enthusiastic bunch. We finally board our plane from London to Rome (knowing that we could have been in Rome hours ago if things had gone as originally planned). I guess the engine of our flight #4 plane also broke down, but British Airlines was smart enough to discover this before we boarded the plane and they quickly got us a very nice substitute plane. We just had to wait until another plane missed it's takeoff so that we could take it's place.
By now I actually am exhausted. I can't think clearly to stay upright well; I'm starting to feel sick; I need sleep. I snoozed on this last flight as much as I could. The feeling of arriving in London was one awesome thing, because it's my first time landing in Europe, but landing in Rome was even awesomer! We were so ready to be done.
At this point it is maybe around 6:00, Rome time? Exhausted. Sleep deprived. Filled with mixed emotions of joy and grumpiness. We get to the baggage check. Things went pretty well for me, but three girls had their luggage so missing :( Tasha got hers, and we're waiting on the other two still.
Ready to get out, MK, Cassie, Michael, and I head off to find a couple of taxis. To my AMAZEMENT, two beautiful girls are standing outside, smiling, and jumping up and down with a sign that says St. Thomas...
Yes. Liz F. and Danielle never made the ride to Bernardi. They have been at the airport for five hours waiting for a ride that they initially thought they had before discovering the truth and deciding to wait for the rest of us at that point.
Basically, I want to pronounce Liz F. and Danielle my role models, because how on earth do you smile so beautifully after a five hour wait in a room at the airport! (Repeat: Patience is not my virtue. I could not even imagine...)
I'll sum it up quickly here. MK, Liz F., and Danielle get a ride with a lady, and Cassie, Michael, and I take the other taxi. It's as we're getting in that I realize I forgot my carry on and can't get a hold of the fellow Bernardians who I left it with... nervous times.
Before I go, I MUST give a shoutout to Jesus Christ who made it so that --> even though I absentmindedly left my carry on with my laptop at the airport when I headed off to Bernardi, made sure that my friends brought the carry on to me later that night even though we couldn't get a hold of them in the mean time.
Quick closing. We arrived at Bernardi, rejoiced in being welcomed by Thanos, Ryan, Kyle, etc. Thanos helped me try to get a hold of the Bernardians back at the airport without success (but thank you for trying!!! Big time!) We see our rooms and head to Vespers and Mass. A few Bernardian arrivals come in at the beginning of Mass. Partway through Mass the remainder of the Bernardians come in. Mass is following by a delicious and delightful FIRST BERNARDI FAMILY DINNER at which I got to sit by Deacon Joe and John McFaddon. I also got to meet Fr. Carola and Fr. William (or was it Williams? I'll know soon.)
In summary, I have the best Bernardi family ever! I love you all! I am blessed by your presence in my life! And so begins my first experience of community living...
THANK YOU, EVERYONE! BERNARDI ROCKS!!!
