Eve began her amazing Swedish Rotary Exchange Student adventure yesterday. Today was her first day in Sweden.
Alan and I drove her to the airport for a 5:15pm departure. As a minor we had the option to pay an extra $150 for the “unaccompanied minor” program that includes many supports, including parents being allowed through security. We opted not to pay for that program, but the airline and airport on the phone a few weeks ago said frequently parents can go through security anyway with a minor, but it’s up to the discretion of the airport check-in agent. How’s that for stressful?! Her ticket was booked through KLM, but the first leg of the trip was run by Delta, so we weren’t sure where to check in. We started at the KLM desk who told us that parents could not go through at all (I almost cried!), but then noticed it was a Delta flight and sent us to their counter. The line at Delta was much longer, but we persevered and made our way to the counter. The woman there was more accomodating of my parental request. She asked which of us would be going to the gate and I was like “uh, both of us, please.” She turned to the agent next to her and asked if that was ok and he was like “sure, whatever.” I thanked them both profusely!
We made it through security with minimal trouble. They pulled Eve’s suitcase aside to check it because she had a weird high-tech looking reusable straw (thanks Joyce!) and a bag of metal stick pins (for Rotary). They TSA guy was confused by both, but figured it out and let her through. Thankfully!!
We got to the gate about 10 minutes before the started boarding. Perfect amount of time for a few pictures and an bathroom break. :) Then we said our goodbyes and she got on the plane. There were definitely tears on my end and probably on her’s as well.
The plane then sat at the gate for like 45 minutes before it finally pulled away. I don’t know what was going on all that time, but Alan and I sat at the window and made up stories to make ourselves laugh. There was another group that missed their multiple “final boarding” calls and only showed up after the gate was closed. The guy kept knocking on the door to the plane ramp, as though someone was standing on the other side, ready to open the door for him. It didn’t happen, but they made a scene so we figured that was probably the hold up. They didn’t get on the plane (I don’t think they ever reopen the door once it’s closed!) and finally it taxied to the runway and took to the air.
By this point Alan and I were very hungry and facing Boston traffic, so we decided to get dinner at the airport. :) Not the most thrity decision, but definitely made for a better ride home. Alan also need to get something from IKEA, so we swung by there first before heading north again.
I watched Eve’s flight on FlightAware, as though the love and support she was getting from me, Alan, and all the family was keeping that plane in the air!
She landed in Amsterdam around 12:30pm and I got a flood of texts that she had written during the flight! I’m glad I got them once her plan was safely on the ground.
She found her way to the next gate and had just a short wait before they boarded and departed. The second flight was just 1hr 20m. She was in the air. Later I saw a notification that the plane had landed so I started getting ready for bed. Then, much to my surprise and her frustration, I realized the plan had returned to Amsterdam! They found something wrong (she doesn’t know what) halfway through the flight and decided to turn around. The plan was in the air for 42 minutes before landing again in the same place. She was very frustrated and not feeling well at all.
Apparently they put everyone on a bus and “drove around for a long time,” stopping randomly and opening the door, then closing it and continuing to drive. She has no idea what was going on and said no one was making any announcements, in English or Dutch. The KLM app and the FlightAware website both said the flight had landed in Amsterdam and all is well. The flight app her host family was looking at said the flight had landed successfully in Sweden! Technology was no help and she was very frustrated and feeling bad.
Eventually they put her back on an plane and at 4am my time she took off again for Göteborg/Gothenburg. I set an alarm for one hour and took a power nap! LOL. At 5:30ish she texted again, on the ground in Sweden. She had some trouble figuring out which carrousel her luggage would be on, but eventually figured it out. At 6am my time I got a text from her host family that they had connected, so I sent hearts and zzzs to everyone and feel asleep!! (or at least tried to, the cat and dog made it difficult.)
She’s texted me a little a few times today. She’s feeling a little sad, a little lonely, and a lot nauseous, which I’m sure is stress related. She’ll be ok, I know. I am keeping the texting to a minimum at the beginning, to allow her time to make connections with her support people there.
She’ll be spending a few days with her Rotary Youth Coordinator while her host family gets their daughter off to Chile, then she has a week at a Rotary Orientation camp, then she’ll settle in with her host family and start school. Her host parents got her a new SIM card for her phone, and have taken care of getting tickets to a show for her and their teenage kids, and getting her a train pass to the orientation camp.
I’m sure many more Sweden stories will come, but I’m going to end this post with a HUGE shout out to my parents who went through this process in 1994 when I went to Sweden, without the ability to text with me or monitor my flights online. I don’t know how you did it, but I love you and so appreciate that you did! <3
