Aer Lingus

I know I just posted all about how I graduated college, but SURPRISE

I'm studying abroad one more time.

Just for a few weeks.

In Ireland.

Ready to hear about my adventure getting here?

I got dropped off at the Salt Lake Airport and there was no line, every single worker was so helpful, and I breezed through security no problem in like 15 minutes.

I had plenty of prime people watching time as I sat in my terminal for over an hour.

I thought I was creeping, but apparently this guy was creeping me...

My flight to Chicago was splendid.

I was next to a man whom I exchanged a nice greeting with, but then he left me to my reading.

And I left him to his. 

This was his reading material:

Super interesting, yeah? Haha.

When I landed in the Chicago O'Hare Airport everything suddenly changed.

I had one hour to get to my next gate.

Unfortunately, I had no idea where to go.

Being the smart person I am I looked at my boarding pass that had been printed earlier.

This is what it read.

Gate: Not Yet Assigned

WORST THING EVER.

No, not the worst. 

The worst was when I looked at the screen that had all of the departures listed and the one to Dublin was labeled T5.

Every single other flight on the whole board was an A, B, or C.

What the heck did T5 mean? 

There were ZERO other flights that had a T in their gate assignment.

So I worked up some courage and asked a worker lady.

She said it was in Terminal 5 and I would need to head out of that building and find the Airport Transit to get there.

Are you serious? At this point I have approximately 35 minutes until the plane takes off and no idea where I'm going.

Thank goodness for a good friend who recommended for me to say a prayer.

I prayed and then started following the signs to Terminal 5. They were awful. I ended up underground for a while, in hallways way off the beaten path. I felt so lost. Thanks to divine inspiration literally prompting me to take the most unexpected turns I was eventually led to the Airport Transit. I probably took the most difficult way, but whatever. I made it.

As I was riding the train to Terminal 5 I overheard two girls freaking out about how they were late for their flight. They took off booking it as soon as we got to the Terminal. I caught up with them real quick because I'm such a speed walker and they didn't know where they were going, then I heard them asking a worker about their flight to DUBLIN.

Oh shoot. That was my flight too.

I chimed right in and told them I was on that flight.

Their response: "The one that leaves in like 10 minutes? Why are you so calm? RUN WITH US!"

And they proceeded to grab my arm and drag me along with them. 

Just like in the movies.

We got to the security line, because yes by switching terminals we had to go through the security process again, and it was a mile long.

Not literally a mile, but really long.

At this point, I was a bit panicked. Not nearly as much as the two girls who adopted me though. They marched right to the from of the line in the "first class" section and demanded to be let through because our flight was leaving. They were super bold and I was mostly just grateful I could hide behind them and reap the benefits. 

Some worker from the Aer Lingus Airlines came over, listened to our predicament and let us through. We cruised past everyone in the security line and looked way official doing it. Then to my pleasant surprise, this fancy Aer Lingus employee had a cart waiting for all of us to zip over to the gate from security. 

Sure I was the last person to board the plane, but I boarded it. 

AND I got to ride on one of those fancy motor carts. 

God hears prayers.

Good things can come from bad situations.

Now I'm in Dublin, happy as can be.
Oh and my jet lag is hardly a problem at all because I had an empty seat next to me on the flight and got to stretch right out for a long nap.