Traveling to the U.S.

Forgive the terribly uncreative title, I've had very little sleep in the last three days.
This trip has probably been the worst I've ever had - travel wise. To really get a sense of how terrible it was, I have to break it down per flight and stop-off (and of there were many of both).

19th November:

9:45am flight DUD --> AKL: duration - 2 hours(ish)
Jack took me to the airport early in the morning, all seemed well, the sun was shining (I think, but hey let's just say it was for added effect), and I was early to the airport.
Stupid bitchy check in lady #1 - asked for my visa, I didn't have one (uh oh), she just said 'okay, I'll just send you up to Auckland because I'm too lazy to handle the paperwork and I'm too much of an idiot to tell you what you need to do.'
So maybe I added the last two points, but they're still very valid.
Bought a Cathy Reichs book and a Time magazine for reading material, wallet felt hungry afterward.

The flight was actually pretty good, I got an entire row to myself =D and barely felt the time because I was reading.
Arrived in Auckland at around 11:30am.
Got my luggage, and walked around a bit to get food. Planted my luggage down by a table in the corner and went to get some food.

Now the terrible things start happening, they get from bad to worse so hold on to your seats (don't really, that might hurt).
My lunch was a bland and limp plate of ravioli and a bottle of water. Yum...
Then I spent the next four hours reading, staring into space, staring at people... you know, the usual.
Around 4:30pm I decided to see if I could check in for my flight at 7:15... went downstairs and lined up at the check-in counters.

Stupid bitchy check-in lady #2 (heck, I think she was the same person as stupid bitchy check-in lady #1) - she was really unfriendly to me but all smiles to other people, so I was already not looking forward to conversing with her.
Handed her passport etc. she says "you can't go on the plane, you don't have a visa."
Well okay, thanks, I'll just be on my merry way now. No, you idiot, tell me what I have to do. So I ask politely "Okay, what's the protocol I have to follow."
She tells me to go to the service desk and pay $30 to fill out some form for esta as a visa-waiver and come back when I'm done.
Fine. I go over to the service desk and some nice Indian guy tells me I have enough time to do it myself so I don't have to pay anything (silver lining). I go buy a $2 pack of tissues and get some cash out. Fill out esta and go back to the check-in area.

Same stupid bitchy check-in lady: "Oh, you're back."
No shit sherlock, you told me to come back when I filled out the forms.
Then she goes, "do you have your itinerary?"
I hand it to her, she then tells me I need proof I'm leaving America within 90 days... she literally says "You can't go to America, I can't put you on that plane." And dismisses me.
Umm... *in shock* *doesn't know what to do and freaks out* *excess estrogen and various other hormones in system (because being a girl every certain time of the month sucks) kick in and I break down and start crying*
I went to the bathroom to try and compose myself.
It seemed to work until I went to the service desk to ask for help.
Low moment in life #(I've-lost-count): crying whilst asking the service counter for help.

They let me make calls to dad, I do so. He doesn't pick up the first time. Crap.
I freak out for another minute.
I call dad again, he picks up, through hiccups and tears I explain my dilemma.
Dad has already booked tickets to China - thank god. Service person gives me his email so dad can send my new itinerary.
I hang up.
Ten minutes pass. Still no itinerary.
Freak out for another minute.
Call dad again, he says it's sending - the attachments are big.
Service person receives itinirary, gives me a print out and says things will be okay. Hmm...

Go back to check out counter, still in state of disarray. Try to check in again through, can't control sobbing, more low points in life.
Man gets me a cup of water. Yay.
Stupid check-in lady #3 (she was nice though): tries and fails to enter my address 10 times. Eventually manages to finish checking in.
I take my pass and go wait to board.

7:15pm flight from AKL --> LAX: (approx. 11 hours)
I get to sit in a window seat beside an old asian couple.
Really uncomfortable flight with terrible food - as per expected. But other than that it went okay.

Arrive in L.A, go through customs, pick up luggage to transfer.
The luggage transfer in the terminal is broken. O_O Awesome. I was told to go to terminal 7. Okay, not difficult.
Go outside, see a person wearing a volunteer badge asking if I need help, I tell him I need to go to terminal 7 so he gives me directions. I thank him.
He asks me for money to give to feed starving children for thanksgiving, I give him all my cash which was about $7NZD and apologize coz that's all I had.
I go board the 'A' bus to connect flights. Everything seems fine.

Arrive at terminal 7, ask where to transfer luggage. Go to transfer luggage area, the lady asks for my passport. Fuck. I look through every crevice of my bags and realize I've lost it.
Panic.
Ask someone what I need to do, idiot tells me even to get on the next flight instead. Yeah... like that'll help. I get a reservation on the next flight.
Re-trace steps. Find same bus. Look for passport - nothing. Crap.
Head back to terminal 2, ask for help. Get airnz staff to look through security area. Nothing. Crap.
By now an hour has passed. The head person at airnz tells me I can fly without a passport to JFK, and tells me I have to hurry because I'm running out of time.
I go check-in my luggage, nice chocolate man helps me and it's all okay. I try to go through security, the woman there is stumped and doesn't know what to do with my NZ drivers liscence. Calls her boss. He comes, takes my ID and eftpos card and boarding pass away, comes back and clears it.
She lets me through.
I frantically fast-walk to the gates, only to realize idk what gate I'm boarding at.
Look around for a departures board, can't find flight, don't know time, freaking out that I missed my flight.
Ask a nice chocolate man in uniform what gate my flight is, he looks on the board, points to one and says gate 77 and points me in that direction.
I go to gate 77... the people there all have different boarding passes... I freak out a little bit more.
Go look at the departures board again, the flights keep shifting around but eventually I find mine and go the right gate - 73. Boarding time in ten minutes.
Realize my boarding pass looks different, even though it has the right info. Asks lady, she scans it and prints me a new one. Board plane.
Breathe. Empty seat beside me and then a guy wearing a tux and NB sneakers.
No food on the flight. Haven't eaten since breakfast on the previous flight. Starving. Tired. Pissed off.

Meet family. Dad yells at me for losing my passport (I mean YELLS... like he gets really really mad). After about 40 mins of getting lost and driving around NYC, we end up in Chinatown and eat. Thank god - FOOD! Cheap, delicious food too.
Drive back to CT. Unpack a little. Give Eddie his nightvision goggles, give mum and dad their gifts.
Shower. Sleep.


Yeah... so that's my ever so stressful and exciting trip :p thus far.
Mum woke me up at like 11:30 (5:30am NZ time) so I was groggy and unhappy, but she made me call the airport and customs and the embassy and the police about my passport.
We drove to the police station to file a case report and now I just have to apply for a new passport online. -sigh-

So what's happening with everyone else?

Lisa
xx