Day 8 (and 9)- Stuck at the Airport
So I feel I should conclude our one week stay in the Dominican Republic. What should have been only Day 8 became Day 9 as well. It started with our ongoing mission of searching for the lost pair of Thomas’ sunglasses. His “Hollywood” glasses bought early in the week got lost during our banana boat ride and ever since then we had all been searching every store’s sunglasses collection for the “Hollywood” pair. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful…until a couple of hours before our flight was supposed to leave to Miami. Two hours before arriving at the airport, we wanted to make time by going shopping to MegaCentro, Thomas rationalized that this would reduce our waiting time at the airport and would increase the “excitement” were we to arrive while the plane was boarding. So we arrive at the airport ready to be boarded in less than an hour…and then the news comes: our flight had been delayed from 4:35pm to 6:00pm! So much for not waiting at the airport. Well, when we finally have our bags checked, we proceed to find our gate and looking at the departures screen, I notice that the flight had been delayed to 6:30. Resigning ourselves to waiting, we decide to have lunch. Then Thomas goes to check our departure time again, and returns with the news that our flight was now…7:10pm! So much for not waiting.
Well, we finally arrive in Miami at 9:20pm. By then, we had all missed our connections. After waiting for our baggage for a good 15 minutes, there is an announcement saying there were some technical difficulties and our baggage would not be coming our right away. I stood waiting for the bags for the first hour, and then Christian convinced me I should go sit down and wait. At 11pm our bags finally came out. 11pm! Now, we had to wait in line to reschedule our flight and to book hotel rooms, as we were staying the night in Miami. We waited in line for what felt like an hour and then got our new flights and hotel rooms. I would be staying at a nearby hotel while the guys would be staying at another, farther hotel. Before saying goodbye, we had some dinner with our $10 voucher from American Airlines. After waiting another 30 minutes for my shuttle, I finally got to the hotel, watched 10 minutes of Spiderman, then fell asleep. Day 9 involved flying from Miami to Houston, where I finally arrived at my dorm at 12pm and immediately fell asleep.
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As my last blog for this wonderful trip, I would like to make some final comments:
1) Thanks to all who sponsored this trip, it would not have been possible without you.
2) Thanks to Sarah and Thomas, who make an amazing team as chaperones.
3) Great job to the rest of the group for hard work, wonderful teamwork, and a great presentation.
4) Viva la Republica Dominicana!
