Delta Airlines, the worst airline in the world. (The trip, part 1)

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So like I said in the first entry, flying's not really my thing. But I came prepared. I had books, I had magazines, I had an mp3, I had earplugs, I had an eyemask, a good mood, IT COULD NOT GO WRONG.
Yeah... I forgot I was flying with delta airlines.

Still in Zaventem, boarding started at the exact planned time.. But the plane didn't take off for another hour. An obviously irritated pilot explained us that there was something wrong with the bagage, and when that was fixed there was a "maintenance problem". Two words I do not want to hear about a plane I'm going to be stuck in for 10 hours.
But things were about to look up.. The seat next to me was empty, and it would stay that way for the whole flight. Comfy-factor just went up with 100 points! I wrapped myself in the blanket, eyemask on, earplugs in, and sleep. Or not.. Because the food came. What you have to know is that I have a secret love for plane-food.. But not this time. The chicken was hooorrible. ugh ugh ugh. (I didn't know about the pizza I would get right before landing, so I was not very pleased)
Anyway. I filled the flight with sleeping, reading "Catch me if you can", the crappy gossip magazines, and worrying if I would catch the connection-flight. If I had only knew...
The movies were quite crappy, until the final one.. The Social Network ("I'm the CEO, punk!" is not half as cool as "I'm the CEO, bitch!")! Andrew Garfield & Jesse Eisenberg are the ideal partners for an awefull landing.

So we landed in Atlanta, but I was half an hour late. Since originaly I only had 1 hour 30 minutes to make the transfer, I know it was a lost cause. Security & customs took me an hour, and then I found the Delta Rebooking Stand. Very first thought? If your airline needs a Rebooking Stand, and you're the only one the entire airport, you are doing something wrong. A little lost, very close to the edge of crying (thinking about spending a night at Atlanta airport will do that to you after a 10 hour flight.), I went to stand in line with the other lost people. The little chinse lady that helped me, told me she'd put me on the waiting list for the 6 pm flight, and if that didn't work, I'd have a flight at 11 pm. My bag did end up on that flight, but I didn't, because at that exact moment, her computer beeped & said my original flight, you know, the one I just missed, was delayed. I was happy, until the second part of her sentence got to me. The flight wasn't "just" delayed.. It was delayed by 3 hours. I thanked her anyway, got my new ticket, and went to find my gate. Gate D26. Okay, that sounds good, I can find D.

I followed the arrows, and before I knew it I was standing in a metrostation. Confused to the bone I looked at the signs around me. Did I take the wrong way? Was I going into Atlanta-city?... No. This was the way to the gates. Because Atlanta is the biggest airport in the world, you do not just walk into the gates (haha, "One does not simply WALK into gate 26!"), you take the subway there. I went to the gate, bought some water & Entertainment Weekly and sat down. In front of me was a man, I think about 50 years old, who translated the blurry, barely understandable things the crew was telling us through the speakers. He said he took the flight Atlanta-Montgomery nearly 2 times a week, and it only went "right" about 2 times a month. I sighed & looked at the picture of darren criss in my magazine. COURAGE.

In the next 5 minutes, the flight got delayed another hour, and the gate changed. The man told me that if things went "normal", I would probably change gates another 2 times. oh my. So I took my bags, and went back to the subway-thing. There, I finally heard dutch. Maria (my international advisor) had told me I would be on the same flight with 3 people from Holland, so I found them! I asked "Are you going to Troy University?" and YES! They were. So that's where i met Indra, Sean & Stephanie, the 3 dutch people who are in the room with me right now.

Okay, so we get to the gate, an hour later we board, and we're on the plane. On the teeny-tiny plane with one of the nicest stewardesses ever. (okay, Evelyn, I knoow, it's cabin crew.) The flight didn't get permission for lift off for another hour. So we were stuck, on that teeny-tiny plane. But she brought us some water & told us some jokes through the intercom and you just noticed how people started to have an "aaah, whatever"-attitude. No fussy, enraged americans here. Everybody was just exhausted, after a long day of flying around the world, so we slept. Well, other people slept. I looked at the window and saw a huge storm coming. The storm we would wind up in from the moment of lift off til we touched ground in Montgomery.
The lightning was actually quite amazing to see. But the fun stopped when I saw the same lake pass by for the 3rd time & the pilot announced we only had enough fuel for another 45 miles. Yaykes.

But we touched ground. And since we already went through customs in Atlanta, that could skipped. Straight to bagageclaim it was! But off course, if it could go wrong, it would. So my second bag did not come up the band. Lesigh. I looked at Indra & we just started laughing. Near hysterical laughing. It had just gotten to the point where it started getting hilarious instead of sad. I went to the stand, I described my bag, they told me it would be on the 11 pm flight, I said okay, thanked the man, and rushed to the Troy University bus. Obviously it was meant to take the sportsteams to their contests (TROJAN PRIDE, said the front.), and it was freezing with AC, but it would take us "home". On the highway there, a churchsign asked me "what road are you on?".. All I thought was "the right one, now shush".

We got here in Pace Hall, met Lou, an amazingly nice woman, she gave us our keys, we got in our rooms. The rooms are small and incredibly basic, but I can work with it 😊 Put up the pictures, and went downstairs again. Lou told us she'd take us to walmart after the final student of that night arrived, which would be around half past 12 pm. Indra looked questioning & said: But, isn't it going to be closed by then? Lou laughed... Walmart & closing. Does not compute 😊

AND IT WAS AMAZING BUT NOW I HAVE TO GO.

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