Category: Before Arriving

The Flight Out

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Let me tell you, this one might be a doozie. But probably mostly because I was ditzy. But first, please enjoy my basic plane-wing photo (but really the sky was so pretty):

Also, please note that my flight was at 6:25pm.

3:15pm

I was dropped off at the international terminal at the O’Hare International airport in Chicago. We didn’t see the United check in sign outside, but I had my boarding pass on my phone and saw a couple United flights on the screen inside, so I figured we just missed it and proceeded to the ever-dreaded TSA line (to clarify later-facts, international terminal does not offer Pre Check, you just don’t have to take your shoes and coat off nor go through the big scanner).

4:00pm

I get through security. So the next step was to find my gate, C11. Well, all the gate numbers started in M. That’s not right. So I start looking around for someone who can tell me why my international flight’s gate number did not seem to be here in the international terminal. Easier said than done.

I go up to the first person I see at a desk at a gate and ask why my number was a C. Desk people always know what’s up, right? Well not this one. She had no idea as I was not flying on her airline and told me to go to M11. Uhhh probably not going be the solution here as that flight is not going to London. Thus, I came to the conclusion that I was at the wrong terminal.

So I peek at a map and see that my gate number is at Terminal 1 and I am at 5. I find the exit and some nice security guards inform me that United, in fact, has international flights that go out of a domestic terminal.

Great, how do I get there? Take a tram. Easy. Just kidding, tram is closed for construction. So there’s a nice long bus line to get there.

4:18pm

I hop in line and ask the girl in front of me if this is the bus shuttle to terminal 1. She says yeah and the guy in front of me starts asking me about my flight (I am sure I looked very disheveled at this point). He assures me that this bus will get me there and that I will make my flight on time. This is where I want to give a shout out to Customs Dad. Since this nice man worked in customs, he knew the ins and outs of the airport. So thanks for keeping me from freaking out and crying in the airport and I hope I see you when I go through customs in December!

4:55pm

I get to my gate (thank you TSA Pre Check). Yes, in under an hour, I got from inside the completely wrong terminal to the right terminal (a 10-minute drive away), and to my gate. Did I mention I got food and went to the bathroom in that time as well? I guess you could call me an airport master. Or just really fortunate. Probably the latter. If I was a master, I would have gone to the right terminal in the first place. Customs Dad is a master.

Lessons from my experience:1) always check your boarding pass for a terminal number, even if it is international and 2) get TSA Pre Check (or according to Customs Dad, Global Entry is even better).

6:25pm (yes I am at this point on the flight)

Good news: I think this is the best international flight I’ve ever had. When I got on the seat next to me was empty, and was never filled. I repeat, I had an empty seat next to me on a flight. CRAZY RIGHT? Then, they give you pretty large glasses of complimentary wine. The food wasn’t bad and our pilot managed to cut 35 minutes off of our arrival time. Overall, United redeemed itself for flying me out from the terminal that does not make sense. Given that my flight was only $230, I would highly recommend flying internationally with them. Easily the best international (out of three) that I have ever been on.

Goodbyes

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A couple weeks before I left, my boyfriend sent me a long text at 2am. It said pretty much everything I knew but he had never told me. He was going to miss me, but was excited for and supportive of me. He knew how much this semester would mean to me. He would FaceTime me as much as possible. The next day, he told me “I’m a pretty lucky guy to have you around,” A couple days later, he decided he was going to visit me during my semester in France. I’m trying to keep this as un-mushy as possible, but he’s a pretty cool guy.

Two nights before I left, I had gotten home from a four-day music festival in Chicago. As soon as I got home, my boyfriend wanted to facetime me. Then my best friend texted me telling me she needed me to call her. When I mentioned this to my mom the next morning, she said “What’s she going to do for the next five months when she can’t call you?” I assured my mom that she could still call me in Europe. Such distance did not stop us from being ever-available for each other last summer, so why would it now?

The day before I left, I picked my dad up from work. It was my last night home, and he, having studied abroad in college also, shared my excitement for the months to come. He got into the car and immediately explained to me my best options if I missed my flight or if it got delayed. That’s when I realized that this would be the longest I have ever been away from my family. I think that should have scared me a little, but my dad’s excitement told me “hey I know you’ll have a great time and I have confidence in you.”

The day I left, the aforementioned best friend came over to say goodbye and was so excited for me to leave. But what really brought me joy was how jazzed she was to tell my mom about her plans for the upcoming semester to run her first half-marathon. My mom assured her that she would go watch and cheer her on. So that’s how I knew that my best friend had become like a sister to me and that my parents were going to be there for her in my absence.

The airport from which I left gave me the goodbye that struck me the most. My mom drove me to the airport. For background, over the past months through my planning, she always expressed how careful I had to be as I would be traveling by myself for a couple weeks. She was my constant reminder that I needed to keep my safety in mind when traveling. Despite this, when she started crying and hugged me goodbye, she said “I’m going to miss you.” There was no more ‘be safe’s’ left to say. She knew I knew that and like my dad, she has confidence in me. She was going to simply miss my relationship being near.

Hey dad, I am ever grateful your confidence.

Hey boyfriend, I’m a pretty lucky girl too.

Hey best friend, I might be across an ocean, but I’m still here for you.

Hey mom, I’m going to miss you too.

And I am so thankful for all of you and so many more of the amazing people who are supporting and excited for me. And I want to thank each and every one of you for the special goodbye I got to have with you over the last couple weeks. I’ll see you all in five months!

Preparation

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*I meant to post this several weeks ago, but didn’t get around to it until I already arrived in Europe. Oops…I’ll do better in the future

Today, my best friend asked me “How many days until you leave?” After counting on my calendar, I tell her 23. 23. That’s less than a month until I leave to live in another country for four months; to fly internationally by myself for the first time; to live out of a small carry on for a month; and to go to school where I will not know a single person.

While that all is still sinking in for me, I can’t help but think about all of the work that has gone into being able to only think about these things. Now, I don’t have to worry about any application fees (except tuition, but we can ignore that for now), getting into my school in France, my courses not transferring back to La Crosse, my visa, nor the countless other things that stressed me out indefinitely over the last four months. So, if you are considering going abroad at some point in the future, don’t let these things stress you out. Instead, take my tips!

  • Find someone who has studied abroad in your program, region or country to answer your questions.
  • Be ready to shell out a lot for your program. I dropped about $2,000 in application fees, flights, trains, and visa fees ahead of time.
  • Speaking of visas, know your required documents for your appointment and make your appointment as early as you can. Also, make your appointment as early in the day as possible. When the people in front of you aren’t prepared their appointments take longer which pushes later appointments back. This is especially important if you’re going in the summer (busy season). ***if you need any help with French visa process, let me know***
  • Track your flights early. If you have time to travel beforehand, you can see a couple different countries by being flexible with where you fly into.
  • Get TSA Pre-Check or Global Entry. They make getting to your flight on time so much less painful.
  • Make hostel and train reservations ahead of time, especially if you’re travelling in summer because they fill up fast then.
  • Get some quality luggage and travel with only a carry-on and personal item if you’re able.
  • Don’t be afraid to travel alone (if you are confident you can get around)

Honestly, you are in charge of your own experience. The more preparation you have and research you’ve done, the better you are going to feel going into a study abroad experience.