I hardly slept between Tuesday and Wednesday, but I wasn't tired. The seven O'clock sun woke me up and got me started. I finished packing and went to get Mercy from Katie's house. Mercy was calm, thank goodness. I was not. On the ride to the airport I realized I had forgot Mercy's baby. I said, oh well, Katie will have to mail it out. At the airport I was feeling crazy on the inside having to give my puppy over to the JAL/ Misawa Airport workers. I've never traveled with a pet before. I made sure she was drugged up and feeling easy going. I just wish I could have been drugged up as well. I was talking with Anthony about how Mercy doesn't have a concept of distance or time the way we think about it, so all she knows is that she was stuck in a box all alone for a really long time. She doesn't know she's in a new country.
Anyway, that short flight was okay and we picked Mercy up with the luggage. We got tickets for the bus from Haneda to Narita and only had to pay a little extra for Mercy, although she took up two seats. The ride took at least an hour, so I took a nap. When we got to Narita we still had a long layover at the airport. We had to take Mercy to the quarantine station so they could look at her paperwork and give us a sticker. I thought I heard people talk about a pet area, but I didn't find one. I had to take Mercy on walks just outside the airport. At 5:30 we decided to get in line and get Mercy loaded up. Well. The people at Delta's counter were not helping. I was about to have a fit because they weren't about to take Mercy because they said we needed a health certificate issued within 10 days but our was issued 14 days previous. I let Anthony handle it and I just hung out with Mercy. They had to call the supervisor who made a call to the Hawaii Quarantine station to "verify" that Mercy was safe to travel. Steven (the guy from the Quarantine station) talked to Anthony and said these Delta employees were crazy for calling. Like it shouldn't have been a big deal. But I know that the Japanese are very by the book when it comes to work.
On flight DL638 we switched seats because some girl didn't know how to read the seat lettering. Then we had to move again because #4 came along and her friends needed her on the corner nearest them. Then I got stuck with the screen that didn't work. Anthony had to call the attendant. Three times. The first lady told me I needed to hit it harder. The second one walked off and never came back. Thank goodness I brought an activity that didn't require anything but a light to see by. Finally Anthony called the attendant again. And no one came. When lady #1 walked by Anthony grabbed her and I started to get irate. Anthony tried to cut me off like, "I got this," But I was pissed! And I felt bad for the lady sitting in front of me because I kept trying to "push harder" and I'm pretty sure the lady could feel me pushing the seat. Anthony asked if she could reset it and after she did it worked. Finally I could turn on my reading light and listen to music.
After 7 hours on the plane, we landed in Honolulu, HI. It was like Ground Hog's day, Wednesday all over again, 6AM. We had to deal with more crazy delta ladies at the airport to figure out where we needed to go to pick up Mercy. Now, I have always had a good time with Delta, so I'm going to hope that this was just a fluke.
We had to wait until 8AM to get Mercy from the Quarantine station (which is practically attached to the airport). Getting Mercy to Hawaii was really my only concern and since I did my research it was pretty easy. I just wish I had investigated more about the airport procedures. The people at the quarantine office were really nice and helpful.
We met Anthony's sponsor (person who helps ease the transition to the new base) and another person in Anthony's new work center. They drove us to where we thought we were supposed to check in. The receptionist was an idiot and we had to go to a different place, then when we got there they weren't helpful either. Then we had to drive to a third building. Once again I walked out to hang out with Mercy outside. At the end of it all we had to go back to the start where we were able to get a room that Mercy could stay in with us. Of course we couldn't check in for 3 hours, so we went on a tour of the base.
Its hard to remember everything on the first drive around, but it all looks pretty cool. The weather is beautiful and the peak of the day is best spent in the shade as far as I'm concerned. It is so weird going from two feet of snow to warm and sunny over night. We all have a little jet lag, but I think I have it least. Mercy has been falling asleep at the drop of a hat. Things are going slow right now but I know they'll pick up quickly soon. The worst part is over and it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.
Anyway, that short flight was okay and we picked Mercy up with the luggage. We got tickets for the bus from Haneda to Narita and only had to pay a little extra for Mercy, although she took up two seats. The ride took at least an hour, so I took a nap. When we got to Narita we still had a long layover at the airport. We had to take Mercy to the quarantine station so they could look at her paperwork and give us a sticker. I thought I heard people talk about a pet area, but I didn't find one. I had to take Mercy on walks just outside the airport. At 5:30 we decided to get in line and get Mercy loaded up. Well. The people at Delta's counter were not helping. I was about to have a fit because they weren't about to take Mercy because they said we needed a health certificate issued within 10 days but our was issued 14 days previous. I let Anthony handle it and I just hung out with Mercy. They had to call the supervisor who made a call to the Hawaii Quarantine station to "verify" that Mercy was safe to travel. Steven (the guy from the Quarantine station) talked to Anthony and said these Delta employees were crazy for calling. Like it shouldn't have been a big deal. But I know that the Japanese are very by the book when it comes to work.
On flight DL638 we switched seats because some girl didn't know how to read the seat lettering. Then we had to move again because #4 came along and her friends needed her on the corner nearest them. Then I got stuck with the screen that didn't work. Anthony had to call the attendant. Three times. The first lady told me I needed to hit it harder. The second one walked off and never came back. Thank goodness I brought an activity that didn't require anything but a light to see by. Finally Anthony called the attendant again. And no one came. When lady #1 walked by Anthony grabbed her and I started to get irate. Anthony tried to cut me off like, "I got this," But I was pissed! And I felt bad for the lady sitting in front of me because I kept trying to "push harder" and I'm pretty sure the lady could feel me pushing the seat. Anthony asked if she could reset it and after she did it worked. Finally I could turn on my reading light and listen to music.
After 7 hours on the plane, we landed in Honolulu, HI. It was like Ground Hog's day, Wednesday all over again, 6AM. We had to deal with more crazy delta ladies at the airport to figure out where we needed to go to pick up Mercy. Now, I have always had a good time with Delta, so I'm going to hope that this was just a fluke.
We had to wait until 8AM to get Mercy from the Quarantine station (which is practically attached to the airport). Getting Mercy to Hawaii was really my only concern and since I did my research it was pretty easy. I just wish I had investigated more about the airport procedures. The people at the quarantine office were really nice and helpful.
We met Anthony's sponsor (person who helps ease the transition to the new base) and another person in Anthony's new work center. They drove us to where we thought we were supposed to check in. The receptionist was an idiot and we had to go to a different place, then when we got there they weren't helpful either. Then we had to drive to a third building. Once again I walked out to hang out with Mercy outside. At the end of it all we had to go back to the start where we were able to get a room that Mercy could stay in with us. Of course we couldn't check in for 3 hours, so we went on a tour of the base.
Its hard to remember everything on the first drive around, but it all looks pretty cool. The weather is beautiful and the peak of the day is best spent in the shade as far as I'm concerned. It is so weird going from two feet of snow to warm and sunny over night. We all have a little jet lag, but I think I have it least. Mercy has been falling asleep at the drop of a hat. Things are going slow right now but I know they'll pick up quickly soon. The worst part is over and it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.
No comments:
Post a Comment