The Journey Begins

Original Post: September 25, 2018

“I’m sorry, but your flight doesn’t exist. Sometimes the airline messes up and puts people on flights that don’t even exist.” - The woman working at the United Airlines counter

I’m sure you’re familiar with the saying, ‘a mother’s instinct is always right.’ Although always is a strong word, I must admit it can be pretty accurate.

I arrived at the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport with three hours to spare, per my mom rushing me out the door in fear that something would deter my travel plans to leave for my study abroad trip to Ireland for the fall semester of my Junior year of college. Shocker: something did.

I confidently walked up to the United Airlines counter with my two suitcases and duffle bag; passport in hand. I joyfully told the woman working that I was booked for a flight to Chicago, and then on to Ireland, and that I simply needed my boarding pass and I would be on my way. Unfortunately, she informed me that my flight from Cincinnati to Chicago did not exist.

“What does that even mean?” I asked, nervously looking to my parents for assurance that I would still be going on my study abroad experience of a lifetime.

The woman then explained that although I had the flight itinerary from the airline - clearly stating the time and date of my flight - the airport had no record of there being a flight at that time to Chicago.

Thankfully, they had an earlier flight that I was to begin boarding a quick 45 minutes from the time I was about to cry to the woman working at the airline counter. I took my new boarding pass, said a very quick goodbye to my parents, and booked it through the security line to get to my gate.

Fast forward a few hours and I was in Chicago with my best friend and roommate from the University of Dayton (UD), as we were ready to finally begin our journey after a five month long summer. A group of around 10 students from UD were on our flight, so while we were anxiously waiting for the plane to board, we spoke with each other about the many excursions we had planned for the next three months.

It was time.

After a seven hour long flight of sitting next to the bathroom - not something I would recommend to travelers - we finally made it to Ireland! We arrived at the Dublin airport at 10AM (5AM EST).

Making it through customs and picking up our bags was smooth sailing. Waiting an hour for the airport shuttle to take us to campus was nothing. Getting to the bus station in the town of Maynooth and lugging two suitcases and a duffle bag down cobblestone streets; getting lost and spending another hour finding our way to campus; finally making it and realizing our key card was not activated to unlock our apartment - was a bit rough.

We went into town to celebrate that we (finally) made it to another country without the guidance of our parents. We ate lunch at a restaurant in Maynooth, less than a 10 minute walk from the door of our apartment. The town had coffee shops; restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner; a shopping center; an Aldi grocery store; a true Irish castle founded in the late 12th century - what more could we ask for?

We made it back to our home away from home and finished unpacking our life that was able to fit into just a few bags. And that was only day one.