STRANGER THINGS 2

My previous post ended in the beginning of my travels, as I am sure you recall my plane hadn’t even taken off yet and there were already so much drama and strange things that took place. I know most people go through something like this at least once in their life, but this was the first time I did and in sharing this journey with you I hope you can relate and or just be entertained by all the events in my travels.

After a fairly good rest I woke up the next morning (15 May) ready for action. My agent phoned me not long after saying that they will be looking for earlier flights. She has let the client know and everyone is trying to change schedules and look for flights to get me there as soon as possible. I was asked to be ready to go whenever they contacted me with a new flight. A flight was booked, flying from Johannesburg to Frankfurt. My boyfriend rushed from work to pick me up and take me to the airport once again. (He’s a gem). This time around I actually made it into the air and soon I was in Johannesburg boarding my flight to Frankfurt.

The flight went smoothly and we arrived in Frankfurt on time, around 6am Wednesday 16 May. I was feeling tired as one never gets good enough rest on the plane but I felt calm. I had about 2 hours before my next flight was boarding so I could try freshen up a bit and head through security and get to my gate with plenty of time to spare. Time drew nearer to my boarding time and I was making sure to check my ticket for all my info. I received all my flight tickets in the beginning of my trip in Cape Town and the tickets had all the boarding gates and seat numbers on them. When my boarding time came some people at the gate starting heading slowly toward the desk, but the lady behind the desk didn’t seem in a rush to start checking anyone in, so I thought maybe there is just a slight delay. A few minutes went past and I saw there is still no movement so I decided to go find one of those flight signs with all the flight details on. My heart dropped when I realized I was at the completely wrong gate. The gate was obviously changed at some point and I didn’t get the message. Now, not only did my flight already start boarding, I had no clue where or how far away this other gate was. I rushed to the desk where I was waiting earlier and asked the lady if she could help me to find my gate. She quickly phoned the gate where I was supposed to be but the gate was already closing and I would not make it on time. My heart dropped into my feet. I couldn’t believe this to be true. The women printed me another ticket for another flight to Marseille but this was only at 4pm that afternoon. I knew this wasn’t going to work as the client had already moved their schedule around for me once so I asked for the closest service center or something so I can at least try do something to solve this mess.

At this point I was pretty sure the client had already banned me from any other future jobs I might’ve been an option for and I felt as though my agency in London will never want to take this type of risk with me again. I really didn’t want to cry at this stage but the tears were boiling over, I felt pretty silly and helpless.

The client phoned me saying that they will be looking for other flights and I should see if I can do the same as it might be easier from the airport. I got to the service center and explained to the man behind the counter that I have missed my flight and need to get to Marseille as soon as possible. He kept on giving me flights that only left the afternoon and they were all with the same airline, so I asked if he can’t look at other airlines, he then told me I would need go to Terminal B for that because they can only do Lufthansa flights from Terminal A, where we were.

Let me explain. If you have ever been to Frankfurt airport you would know that the airport is divided in 2 terminals that is a 5 min train ride apart. Terminal A is for Lufthansa flights only and Terminal B is for all the other airlines.

In that moment the client phoned me again and said they might have a flight for me with a different airline but I will need to buy the ticket at the counter because the website isn’t allowing them because of slow internet or something. So I rushed off to figure out where this 2^nd Terminal could be. I asked about 3 people to direct me and only the last lady actually helped me to find it. She walked with me the entire way to the train stop. I am sure she could sense my desperation and could definitely tell I am not from there. As I entered I ran down the stairs in Terminal B having no clue where I am going, finally seeing a sign that says “Last minute tickets” I got to the counter and asked the guy to look for the specific flight the client gave me, I was too late. So I asked him to look for any other flights if not directly to Marseille, for connection flights. It seemed like this guy had all the time in the world, either he was just really slow or the server was slow or he didn’t know what he was doing but it felt like he took FOREVER! (Shame he was actually a really nice guy, bless his heart) He ended up giving me a couple of flights but once again all only getting to Marseille late afternoon/evening. I messaged the client to inform her and she eventually expressed that maybe we should just stick to the 4pm flight Lufthansa gave from the beginning.

I headed back to Terminal A going through security again. Just as I got through the client phones me again saying they have found a flight with Air France connecting in Amsterdam and leaving to Marseille. The flight was leaving in less than an hour so I needed to rush to the Air France counter (Terminal B) to buy a ticket because once again she couldn’t do it from her side. So I started running, hoping to remember the way back to the train. Getting to terminal B, I rushed down the stairs once again, I ran passed the ‘last minute ticket’ counters but couldn’t find the bloody Air France counter, finally asking someone and they directed me to the opposite side of the terminal (I didn’t even know the terminal stretched that direction). Anyway, I got to the counter and had to repeat my whole story. The lady started typing and searching away on her computer, once again she started giving me different flights that I asked for and (once again) I was too late. I asked again for her to look at any other connection flights to Marseille but nothing came up. I let the client know and once again she told me to just rather catch the 4pm flight.

Heading back to Terminal A for a second time, my adrenaline hadn’t stopped pumping since 8am and it was now around 11am. It was the first time I felt I could just take a breath. I started pondering on the reasons why these things happen even in the times you feel you have tried to do everything you can in the right way. We don’t always understand why things turn out against us and I certainly didn’t at that moment. To be completely honest I felt like Frankfurt was God-less city that day and if not then God has left me there in Frankfurt airport to fend for myself. Although I know this isn’t true my heart felt sunk and I felt like I have failed even though most of this mishaps were out of my control. The story isn’t done just yet, there is more irony and frustration to come but I will have to share it in my next post. Coming soon.