Trek Home...

I think I am up to date Kai and I were scheduled to fly back to the US on December 20 since we figured he would finish finals on the 17th, and we could relax for a few days before going back. We also booked our tickets for the 20th because I figured if for some reason we got delayed, we wouldn't miss Christmas.

Long story short, it snowed on the 18th and the airport shut down...then it stayed closed on the 19th. Since it hadn't snowed for 2 days, I was feeling optimistic about getting out, but as it got closer, I started getting worried. Since no flights were coming in or going out, people were stranded at the airport. The news reports kept saying if your flight is not confirmed, do NOT come to the airport. The night before, we checked our flight status and it still showed scheduled, so the next morning, me and Kai packed up the rest of our stuff, checked out of our flat, and made the trek to the airport, which is not the easiest when you are lugging 4 1/2 months worth of stuff! When we got there, we were shocked...there were people EVERYWHERE! Airport workers were handing out bottled water and snacks, and there were kids playing on blankets, people sleeping under those foil emergency blankets...basically, it looked like a refugee camp.

We talked to someone who said our flight was cancelled, and that we would need to reschedule. After waiting in a long line and being told the airport workers couldn't do anything for us, we lugged all of our stuff back to Pepperdine (since we had nowhere to go). I called and the lady told me the soonest we could get back to SLC would be Christmas Day at 11:59pm. When I heard that I was a little shocked...I figured maybe 1 or 2 days max, but 4 days?! After trying to play the status card (yes, I was THAT person) and realizing it wouldn't do me any good, I gave up.

Luckily, we weren't the only ones stranded, so it wasn't horrible. We all just crashed on the couches in the student lounges and hung out. I kept checking the website for any flight availability and of course, right when everyone was leaving for dinner, I saw 3 seats open up on an earlier flight. Part of me didn't believe it, but I decided to check anyway, so everyone went ahead to dinner and I called the airline. Thankfully, I got through to an agent quickly and she was able to book the tickets! I was sooo happy! The lady told me that I was lucky I got through when I did because when she saw it, there were only 2 seats left, which we got.

Anyways, when our day came and we left super early to make sure nothing would make us miss our flight. We got to the airport, went through security, and had time to spare, so we went to the club lounge, which was awesome (Thank you EY for paying for my membership). We walked in and they had a huge breakfast buffet, so we decided I would go first while Kai watched our stuff, and then he would go. I got my food, came back, and then Kai left. I tried to wait til he got back to eat, but after a while, I got too hungry and ate. Of course, he didn't come back for a while, and I couldn't see him anywhere...then, I heard his voice, say, "No!!!" I turned around, and Kai is sitting at the little gaming station playing some videogame...with a bunch of little kids! Yup, I married a child :)

I hadn't been keeping track of time, so we left the lounge later than we should've and we headed to our gate. By the time we got to the gate, we were one of the last people on the plane. When we got to our seats, there were 2 ladies in them, so I asked them if they were in the right seats, and they were. I walked back to the front, asked the stewardess, and they took my ticket. Apparently, there were a handful of people who had their seats double booked. After a while, the lady came back to hand out boarding passes, and when she gave me mine and Kai's, she said, "We upgraded you." I was excited, especially when I realized that they had upgraded both Kai and I to Business Elite! We sat down in our seats and couldn't believe our luck. Then Kai said he thought when the lady handed me the boarding passes, they were upgrading me only, and he would be in the back! Sooooo....me and Kai flew home in style!

It was my first time flying business internationally and it was soooo nice! Me and Kai totally felt out of place among the richy richies around us. They handed out menu's that had appetizers, main dishes, snacks, etc. So when they came around to take our orders, Kai started asking for one appetizer and the flight attendant told him, "oh, I just need your main course order...we'll bring you all the appetizers". Yup, it was nice. We LOVED it and it made the long ride soooo much better!

After a looonggg day, we finally made it home and it was soooo nice to see my family! Seriously, it was pretty much a Christmas miracle that I made it home for Christmas!!!