The Journey Home: 10 Years of Good Travel Karma Comes To A Screeching Halt

I don't even know where to begin with this post. Yesterday was pretty much travel hell. I'm serious. And let's think about this: I'm pretty much a "go-with-the-flow" kind of girl, and I can handle quite a bit without the drama. I understand that the airline industry is huge, and delays and lost baggage are just part of the deal. But yesterday, more went wrong than right, and I'd rather not step foot in an airport till I have to leave for Hawaii on the 2nd. Let me break down the day by numbers to try and give you an understanding of what it was like...

5 

am, the time I woke up in Rome

6

am, the time I boarded my shuttle to the airport

7 

am, the time the security gate opened at FCO

820 

am, the time my flight SHOULD have departed

930 

am, the time my flight actually departed
4 

the length of my flight from Rome to London, in hours

12:15

pm, the time my flight from London should have departed

12:25 

pm, the time my flight landed in London

1:15

pm, the time my flight from London to Dallas had been pushed back to (phew!)

2:30 

pm, the ACTUAL time that fight left London

9

the length of my flight from London to Dallas in hours

6:05 

pm, the time my flight from Dallas to Portland took off

6:15 

pm, the time my flight landed in Dallas

1

the number of bags BA lost. 

1 

the number of bags I packed for the WHOLE SUMMER

8:00 

pm, the time of my new flight to Portland

4 

the length of my flight to Portland, in hours

10:30 

pm, the time I landed in Portland

30 

the number of hours I had been awake, minus 2 hours that I slept on the fight from Dallas to Portland

17 

the number of hours spent in flight

2 

the number of hours I spent just sitting on a plane, waiting for a leak in the landing gear to be fixed, or for a gate to open

150

the amount of money that I talked American Airlines into reimbursing me for so I can buy some necessitites, like underwear

36

the number of hours it could take for my bag to clear customs in Dallas, if not more

This morning, as I was speaking to a woman over the phone about my lost luggage and being compensated, I had to prove to her that Portland was not my home. Her argument: since my final destination with American Airlines is Portland, than that must be my home. I explained that no, Houston is my home, and I do not have a single change of clothes here in Portland. She then started to interrogate me on how I could pack for a month of travel in one carry on. So I, not so calmly, explained to her that she could check the billing address of the card that I used to purchase the tickets and see that it is in Houston, and that yes, I was living out of a carry-on sized luggage for nearly a month. I am a teacher, and I have the summers off. I had an opportunity to go to Europe, Portland, Hawaii and Portland again, and I am doing so. Just because I have not booked my flight home does NOT mean that this is home. She then had to run that story by her supervisor, which could still be denied. Really, AA? Up until this fiasco, I had to problems with your airline. But if you really try to state that Portland is my home just because I have no flight THROUGH YOU to Houston, then you have just lost a customer.
Hmpf!

But here I am in Portland, and I'm so happy to be HERE! (I won't use the word home, lest AA is reading...) I'm staying with my dad in Vancouver, and he is giving me use of the Volvo, a bed, and a key to the house! Sweet! I have a lot of catching up to do over the next few days, and I can't wait to see friends and family. I'm getting pretty amped for Hawaii, but my trip to Europe was the absolute best!!!!!!!! Here are some photos. As always, I wish I had taken more.

Appropriately Inappropriate

The HIV/AIDS paper seems to be a never-ending pain in my rear end. We keep going over the requirements, the expectations, and the resources that they can use. I've been asked what a hook is over and over and over again. But this is not the part of this project that I will remember. What I will remember is how HIV/AIDS will prompt 14 and 15 year old children to ask many, MANY questions about sex. Here are questions/statements that I've heard in my class over the past two weeks:

Female student, while reading a pamphlet found in the commons near the counselor's corner about STIs and HIV: "Miss, what is petroleum jelly?" Me: "It's the stuff that they use when a woman gets an ultrasound on her belly." "Why are they talking about it in this pamphlet? Why is it bad for condoms?" "It's bad because it can break down rubber and make the condom ineffective." "But why are they using it? What's it for?" "It's a lubricant." Another student chimes in: "It's lube. Like in Superbad." I turn red and tell them that the conversation is now over.

Student writing a paper on how the distribution of condoms will be the most effective way to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa: "How much do condoms cost?" My answer: "I don't know." "Can we google it?" Students already at the computer: "According to Google, they are $3.00 for 3 at Rite Aid." Another student: "But let's look at Trojans. They're the best, right Miss? They have all of the commercials." Good job Trojan. You've got them eating out of your hands. Poor Durex.

A male student definitely referred to condoms as 'rubbers'.

Question "Miss, what is ejaculation?"
Answer "It's what comes out of a man during sex." (Or did I say when he climaxes... oh Lord)

Question "Does all kinds of birth control stop HIV/AIDS?"
Answer "No, it has to be a physical barrier, like a condom. Oral contraceptives don't stop STDs."

Question: "Is it the sperm that has the HIV?"
Answer: "I'm not sure because there are other fluids that come out so it might be in there."

So there, I've probably told these kids more about sex than many other adults. But you know what? I'm glad they're asking these questions. The last thing I want is for a kid to think that just because she's on the pill that she can't get an STD.  I'd like to stay naive about the whole situation and hope that none of them are having sex. I really wish I could just sit them down and say "Wait. Don't do it. These high school boys/girls aren't going to be worth it. Just wait till you're older and you know yourself better and you're more mature and it's someone you REALLY like. Please just wait." Probably a conversation I can have with my advisory girls since they are my advisory girls. I'll have to work that in somewhere.

On a lighter note: G Love this Saturday. Sweet. I've never seen them but I've heard they're great live. And the Super Bowl - we can't forget that, especially since I'm in the South and the Saints are pretty much the most important thing right now. And I may or may not have mentioned how much I love the Maple Leaf Pub, with their $1 mimosas on Sundays and now Trivia and $14 Steak, potato and you-call-it on Thursdays, but I'm mentioning it now. It love this place. And they have darts and board games. All they need now is shuffle board and I'd probably never leave.