I had managed to seamlessly stay awake until my shuttle to the San Diego Airport arrived, I was prepared with food for my day´s travel, and the flights were on time. I immediately passed out between San Diego and Denver. Between Denver and Chicago I stayed awake, preparing to sleep the entire eight hours between O´Hare and Frankfurt.
Arrival in O'Hare was on time, if not early, and I had a neat 2.5 hours to sort my things, check in, grab some food, and prep for my flight over the Atlantic. Between terminals, I ran into my cousin, Akiva, who lives in London but was home in Chicago for Passover. He'd been stranded for a week between a combination of visa issues (which I could relate to) and volcano issues (which I soon could relate to). We ironically discussed how lucky we were to beat the volcano.
To that point, all signs were that I was going to cross the ocean, and Europe, no issues. AirIndia had said - despite their shoddy customer service - that the flight was a go.
When I finally arrived at the AirIndia ticketing/check-in counter, I noticed that the Departures board listed my flight as leaving at 1:00am, seven hours later than the original 4:05pm departure. That's OK, I thought, at least I'm going.
But once at the ticketing counter I was quickly told that the flight was canceled, given a photocopied letter listing the flights canceled for the day which was to help me get my refund, and a "good luck." AirIndia gave me no direction and no help in finding where/what/how to do anything from the cancellation forward.
I spent the next two hours frantically trying to figure things out. Should I try and latch on with another airlines? Lufthansa was taking other customers. Can I even do that? No, AirIndia would not release my ticket. Will Orbitz refund me? Yes. How much of my multiple carriers airfare will AirIndia refund me? TBD, with a 45 day average notice time. Should I fly to an unaffected European city? That day flights were costing upwards of $1500. Do I stay in Chicago? Go to New York? Philadelphia? DC? Ahhhhhhh!
I was beginning to lose my cool, patience, and head - I was on two one-hour naps rest and a bagel for sustenance. I was lost and with a shattered plan. I shot Jared, my buddy in Israel, an email to update him:
Flight to Germany was cancelled. Everythings changing. This is an adventure man!
As I punched the last sentence in, "This is an adventure man!" and tacked on the exclamation point, something changed. I immediately realized, it didn't matter if I wound up in Germany, India, New York, or Skokie, this was an adventure. Exactly what I'd signed up for.
So I talked, one last time, to AirIndia and they told me to call them Friday after noon for an update on their services to Frankfurt (I would eventually not even bother to make that call). I took the supervisors name and number, called my aunt and uncle for local housing, grabbed some McDonald's and I was off. Continuing my adventure, eagerly anticipating what would happen next.
What happened next? I spent six days in Chicago with my orthodox Jewish Aunt and Uncle; hung with my friend Matt who was in Chicago visiting my friend - his girlfriend - Katherine; visited with a work friend and discussed a possible job opportunity in San Francisco; and had an all around amazing time. Not to mention I made plans to visit Mara and Adrienne in DC then bus to NYC and Leah. I picked NYC as my final stop hoping the airfares would be cheaper from there and to give them time to lower. Not to mention the dissipation of volcanic ash.
I suppose it was karmic that I was stuck in the middle of an international flight crisis caused by a volcanic eruption. I was lucky to see a cloudless Arenal, Costa Rica's active volcano. It is covered in clouds some 75% of the year and on the one day that I visited, it was cloudless. I also saw lava flowing down the side of the volcano. I'd make that trade seven days a week and twice on Sunday.
My time in Chicago was amazing. I was "supposed" to be in Germany, right? I would soon come to discover that it was wrong. I was supposed to be exactly where I was; if for no other reason than I cannot think of another household where I could successfully borrow clothes that would fit me (all of my cousins are 6'3" or taller). Perfect.
But truthfully things unfolded perfectly in Chicago. Outside of the clothes miracle, I had an incredible opportunity to spend time with my cousins and learn and come to build a deeper understanding and respect for their religious beliefs. I had a great afternoon walking downtown Chicago with my cousin Shalom laying T'Fillin for various businessmen in the area. It was an incredible experience seeing these men, not orthodox, embrace and learn about their religion. It was also great to see my seventeen year old cousin in action. He's a charismatic and intelligent kid with an innate ability to brighten a day.
Seeing Matt in Chicago was another added treat; contributing to my realization that I was exactly where I was "supposed" to be. I hope I didn't over-stay any welcomes from Matt and Katherine (Matherine) but I certainly had a great time with them. Good friends.
From Chi-town I Southwested over to DC. Mara - the ever eloquent Angel that she is - exclaimed upon seeing me, "Oh my god. You're disgusting. I cannot look at you." She was likely referencing my face which had not been shaved since March 14. I somewhat wanted to, and was soon mandated to, get a haircut. My raging beard, queer travel pants, and running shoes stood out in stark contrast to the clean cut, popped collars, and Sperry Topsiders galore of Yuppi-ville, aka Georgetown.
Always a treat to see those DC, Lulu Lemon Clowns.
I bussed to New York, passing the smooth four hours with a new acquaintance, Laura, who was a Lulu Lemonite and friend of Mara's. It was nice to make a new friend and brought me back into the realization that I was in the middle of my big adventure.
Leah and I took in a comedy show my one night in The City and I took in Brooklyn my one day there. New York is certainly it's own, unique beast and always worth a visit.
And then finally, on Friday, April 30, I was on a flight to Frankfurt, Germany. The seat was small, miserably so, but I was on it and the adventure continued. On the theme of broken plans, I expected to sleep much of the flight; but with my knees into my chest and the uber-German reclining his chair in front of me, I instead passively watched romantic comedies and sit-coms for seven hours. No sleep.
If you read the sub-title to this blog, etched into the Arizona sunset, you'll realize that I specify no locations. Just that I'm on the move. Well I'm movin'. And if it sounds like a good idea to go over there, I'll check it out. And if something sounds fun, I'll go that way. And if a volcano blows up, I'll go this way.
Maybe my plan, in that context, is indeed going perfectly?
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