Having successfully survived three weeks of living in America I thought I would pen a story of my journey from Sydney Australia to America.
So as I sat in the first gate, spring loaded to launch into my American Adventure I suddenly realised how crazy this whole thing was. A crazy sequence of events set up in just the right order has now got me on a 20 hour flight to the US to play Soccer for Medaille College (Pronounced Med-die, or so I am told). The string of events includes an invitation, an interview, a phone call, a stunning goal and payment for a ticket to Buffalo, New York.
I survived the first gauntlet of my adventure (Sydney to Los Angeles) relying on new release movies and the new Harry Potter Book/Script (now completely read) to keep me sane. The Air-con on that flight was sub zero and it set the precedent for rest of my flying for the day. So there I was in a refrigerated lunatic asylum, surrounded by all sorts of crazy people. Screams of children reverberated around the plane and the heavy breathing of the person behind me soon became a metronome which I used to count the seconds away.
Before landing in Los Angeles the pilot spoke over the PA,
“So we are arriving in Los Angeles, if Los Angeles isn’t your intended destination then you are on the wrong plane.”
Classic pilot humour that is.
From here the flights and connection process became a comedy of errors.
I had about an hour to get from my first plane to the second. So, just when I needed it to arrive quickly, my baggage arrived 20 minutes into my precious hour time limit. I then had to recheck it in.
By the time I had fought off the hordes of airline customers to the check in bay another 15 minutes had elapsed. My feeble brain power had no chance of calculating the remaining time. I was stopped at customs. I had forgotten to get a crucial piece of paperwork out of the scanner. I thought I was in mega trouble.
However the customs officer said;
“I think you are legit, OK cool man go on through.”
However the joy of getting through customs was short lived. My next gate was about 5 country miles from where I currently was, my brain began to whir.
“So like 20 minus 15 or was that add 15? Do we take the added 20 and 15 from the 60? Where did the 60 come from? Do you reckon that big arch shaped building in the car park looks exactly like the one from that video game I play? Oh heck it is the same building! Um all that together means there isn’t much time left… Probably should run.”
So I ran to the gate and barely made it in time. Thus I achieved a safe flight to Washington DC.
Finally the hour trip from Washington DC to Buffalo was at hand. the flight was over in short order and I was approached by Coach and three of my teammates who had come to pick me up.
“Are you DJ?”
“What?”
“Dominic Jones?”
“Oh yeah that’s me”
“Well you are DJ now”
However, my luggage had decided to stay behind in Washington DC to consult Obama on matters of state. So that night was spent on a bare mattress wrapped in my trusty leather jacket.
A bit of adversity makes traveling exciting. Bring it on America.
Disclaimer: I do not apologise for spelling in the Australian fashion.
