Day 12 - Return to U.S.A.

Aug. 19, 2007

By Angie Pisut, So, M/F, Huber Heights, Ohio

Our wake up call was at 7:15 a.m. and everyone began to anxiously shower and pack their belongings for the long trip home. Before packing the bus, we ate our last breakfast over seas which consisted of the usual fresh bread, jam, orange juice, and coffee. Once all the luggage was loaded onto our bus, we left our hotel and headed to the Milan airport.

Soon we were all unloading the same bags and making our way to check in for the 12:35 flight from Milan to Madrid. While in line we had to say good-bye to our terrific tour guides, Ivanna, Geoff, and Thomas. We were very fortunate to have these three guides who did everything they were capable of to make our trip special. Without them, our adventure would not have been the same.

The first flight went smoothly and before we knew it we were in Madrid, Spain patiently awaiting our second flight. One down, two more to go! This flight had a little delay along with an unusually long boarding time due to the large plane size which put us a little behind schedule.

We landed in JFK around 8:00 pm (which felt like 2:00 am to all of us). Our last flight was supposed to depart at 9:40 pm which meant, once we actually got off the plane, we had a little over an hour to rush through customs, baggage claim, check in our bags to Columbus, and get to our gate before the final call. However, once a bunch of us made it to gate 18 our stress was relieved when some of the girls who were first off the plane informed us that our flight was delayed and not going to depart until 10:50 pm.

Excitement encroached us all once we finally boarded the plane, although we did not leave the airport until midnight due to many different circumstances. Finally our plane touched down in Columbus, Ohio at 1:19 am. Home at last!

Although most were sorry our amazing trip had finally come to an end, at the same time everyone was glad to be home. We learned alot, had a once in a lifetime experience, saw numerous breathtaking views, met people we will never forget, and most importantly grew together as a team.