Ticket to Gainesville

My ticket to Gainsville/FL/USA came in many parts...the UFL admit, the visa and ofcourse the Delta Airlines flight ticket. So it was on 20 Dec at 8.00 p.m. IST tht I set out on the long journey from home.

We'd booked a Qualis to carry my three huge bags and me, mom and dad. We reached Mumbai's international airport at abt 9.00 p.m. IST and I'd a pleasant surprise waiting for me. Amu and Sumit had come to see me off!! Tht felt reallyyy gr8! Check in was a breeze with uncle being in airport security. Infact it happened so fast tht I doubt I can recount what it consisted of.

I took a trolley and wheeled in my bags...passport and flight e-ticket in hand. At the check-in counter they asked me sme questions like "is there any liquid in ur bags", "did u pack them urself", "any electronic/electric items?", etc. and all. Answered them all then got 3 boarding passes - one frm mumbai to JFK/NY, the other to reboard at NY after customs and immigration for onward flight to Atlanta and third for Atlanta to Gainesville. Checked in baggage without any extra charge...Delta was in holiday spirit and kind towards students :)

A quick meet and a round of hugs with parents...handshakes with sumit and amu and a heavy goodbye to everyone and i was back inside filling the immigration form. Yea u need to do it in India too! Submitted it at the immigration counter and got a red stamp on my passport for it.

Then came the very trying task of finding Deepika and Vineesha, my travel mates. They'd already checked in since Uncle to the rescue again...after extensive searching he found them at the immigration counter and we finally met in person. The security check for our flight hadn't opened yet so we'd to wait in the lounge. Had a paneer sandwich and some iced tea while we waited...the last meal paid for in Rupees for a long time!

Security check opened at abt 11.30 p.m. IST and we wer let in after frisking and scanning of cabin bags. Once in there was a wait again till abt 12.45 wen we wer allowed to proceed to the aircraft. Here again Delta personnel screened us for liquids, gels, etc. We'd to even take off our shoes, belts and jackets to be frisked!!! Took off half an hr late at 1.30 a.m. IST.

The 14 hour journey in the aircraft was tiring to say the least. Service was OK...either good nor bad. Had dinner, light meal and breakfast on time, could order juice, cookies, tea, coffee on demand. Slept fitfully in the flight for the seat didn't go too far back. Were provided with pillow and blanket for the flight, also headphones for the TV set at the back of the seat before us and toothbrush, toothpaste. Best part abt the TV set was it allowed us to track the current destination of the flight and gave the time to reach destination.

Landed at JFK at 6.50 a.m. US time referred to as EST here. We wer given priority for immigration since we'd to catch the same flight to Atlanta. Immigration was simple no hassles, I-20 stamped, fingerprints taken, photo taken and passport stamped too. Got the I94 form and we wer done with immigration. In customs form we listed total value of goods with us to less than $500 and customs were done in a flash. The trolley at JFK however cost $3!!! Another thing to miss frm back home as Mumbai airport has free trolleys!

Another round of strict frisking with removing belts,shoes, jacket, etc. Thankfully this time no opening of bags. And we were back in the flight to go to Atlanta. The take off was thankfully quick and the flight was even quicker! We reached Atlanta at 11.30 a.m. EST. Took the train to Concourse D from Concourse E...talk abt hugee airports!! Felt like travelling from Borivali to Kandivali or rather from Rajiv Chowk to Chandni Chowk since the train at Atlanta was like the metro. Spent a longg time at the airport doing nothing. Had a bad headache by then so had to skip reading the book I'd picked. Wasted 2 $...one on coffee and one on phone call...coffee turned out yuck and phone didn't get thru tho the machine swallowed our quarters!!

Then the flight to Gainesville, delayed but not cancelled, left at 3.15 p.m. IST. Such a small plane with hardly any room to sit! I can't describe much abt it bcos I slept for the entire hour of the flight. Gainesville Regional Airport...reached here at 4.30 p.m. IST. From the hugeness of Atlanta's Hartsfield Jackson to the smallness of GNV Regional. No trolleys to waste 3$ on here :) Dragged our baggage out ourselves!

Surprises dont end!! Nobody atallll to receive us!! Some waiting, again searching for change, more waiting, more puzzling over local phones and finally few frantic calls to contacts here. Then there came the ISA ppl to pick us up. Crammed suitcases in cars and we wer off to our apartments.

Regency Oaks is a beauuuutifulll place and loved it the moment we arrived. Roomies were those arrived in fall so were very helpful and nice. Dropped bags in a corner, had a shower, changed and chatted home on GTalk. Exhausted from the long journey I slept and how!! from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.!! Thankfully no sickness except bodyache and no jetlag!

Watch this space for more adventures in Gainesville...till then Toodles!!