The many obstacles to FINALLY GETTING HERE!

Getting here was a giant ordeal of an adventure.  Monday morning I woke up and called the consulate about me visa.  For those of you who don’t know I have had a lot of issues getting it none of which have been my fault.  They told me they still had and I just cracked since in the previous call on Friday they told me it would be here in time for me to leave.  I have held it together throughout all of my visa problems but when they told me it wouldn’t be here in time, it was just too much to handle.  But after a lot of pulling myself together and losing it again with my fellow YAV’s hugs I finally took action on the 4^th suggestion of “Maybe someone can just go get it since its in NYC nearby?”  I ended up  being the one to go.

I hitched a ride to Newark airport in Jersey and I was going to take a train to NYC to retrieve my visa.  However halfway to the airport I called MTA and was told the trains to and from the airport were shut down from Irene.  This put me on the bussing system.  When I went to try to figure it out, it was the most confusing system I’ve ever seen.  So clearly I asked a guy standing next to me who seemed to know what was going on to help me.  He ended up being the nicest guy ever.  His name was Fernando and he worked in the airport.  He told me another train system in Jersey was working that would take me into the city. He accompanied me to the train station and onto the first train with me.  He also mapped out my way to get home again after leaving New York.

 Fernando on the final train before we parted ways

So after a bus, 2 trains, the subway, and am 8 block walk I finally got my passport back with my Visa in it.  Then I got lost trying to get back to the train.  And after like 12 blocks of walking, the subway, and 2 trains I was back at the bus station without Fernando trying to find the right bus.  I ended up finding it only to find a 2 hour line to get back to the airport since the trains were down.  I didn’t have 2 hours because my flight was approaching.  Luckily I ended up behind a pilot who I heard asking people if they were going to the airport and moving forward when they said no because and express bus was coming in 5 mins.  So luckily I made it to the airport with my visa on time. Flight left on time and even arrived in Belfast earlier then it was scheduled to land.