June 26, GEO+

Sophia

The day that wasn’t supposed to happen

Today we met in the lobby at 11 to load up our luggages and instruments. Then we had almost two hours to explore the area some more and find a destination for lunch. After the bus ride to the airport, we boarded our twelve-hour flight to Toronto. All was going to plan until an unexpected twist of fate- the second leg of our flight, from Toronto to New York, was cancelled!

We had nowhere to go and no idea of what was going on. Forced to go to customs, we were further scattered when told two different locations to claim our checked luggages and Tommy and Ms. Lanier went on a side quest to get Tommy a Canadian visa! Not all hope was lost…yet.

We sat in the luggage claim area: Some decided to take a group Power Nap; some (including me) decided to partake in an impromptu SSBU tourney; and some *cough* Alex Newman *cough* whipped out their clarinets and decided to play TikTok soundtracks on the middle of the airport floor. A passport went missing, more information was gathered, and we were eventually taken to a waiting area where we played hot potato with an “I maple leaf emoji 🍁Canada” pillow for a solid half-hour awaiting further instruction.

Then we proceeded to split up and go to various airport restaurants for dinner. We took a white van with suspiciously heavily-tinted windows to a local hotel and bunked out for the night without toiletries or clean clothes. I am writing this at 12:30 AM (by choice, many others are asleep) in my hotel room in a hoodie and sweatpants.

While today definitely did not go as planned, I was originally far more upset than I am now. The first day of GRACE was supposed to start tomorrow (or today since it’s 12:35 AM now) and I was super bummed out that I wouldn’t get to meet any of the new incoming fourth formers at orientation.

However, the older students who did GRACE comforted us and told us we wouldn’t miss much. I will also say that, despite how seemingly unproductive today was, I enjoyed the random little pockets of fun we were able to create in these undesirable circumstances, and am looking for a comfortable nights sleep in these *queen-sized* hotel beds. I think that tomorrow, when I get to GRACE, I will be far less jet lagged and far more ready than I would’ve been had we arrived today.

Even though today wasn’t much of a cultural GEO experience, it’s a bonding experience (and a hilarious story) for the GEO group. We’ve gotten far closer in these past two weeks, and each day has undoubtedly been packed with fun and excitement. Perhaps a few of us were even a little bit glad to have this final adventure capping off our wondrous Japan GEO…but the adventure’s not over yet! I will update tomorrow on how the trip continues ❤️

Sophia

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