Monday- phew!

Bonsoir!

Today has been a long but exciting day for all! Upon checking into our rooms, we had a bit of free time to explore our surroundings! Naturally, we tracked our way by using each of the Starbucks as landmarks. I must say, it worked quite well-- we were never lost! 

Earlier in the day we had a representative from CEPA Europe, the study abroad organization, show us around to all of the essentials (i.e. ATMs, the pharmacy, grocery stores, the train station, chocolate shops, etc.). We were also still able to make it to our World Health Organization conversations! We have been super fortunate that all of our hosts have been so accomidating, especially after our 24 hour delay. 

Throughout the day we had opportunities to practice our public transportation/navigation skills. Needless to say, we all made it back this evening! You all should be especially impressed considering we have been awake since who knows when. It has been at least 24 hours since we last slept but our brains are too scrambled to do the math...
As a result, our curfew for the night is 8:00pm, but most of us have gone to bed long before then. After our long slumber, we will be back at it for a trip to the United Nations tomorrow morning!

Bonne Nuit from Geneva!

Jenny

ICW Blogger 

We have arrived!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, we have finally arrived in Switzerland!!! We are still waiting on the word as far as our schedule readjustment, but we are happy to be here!

Finally!

We are boarding our international flight to Geneva! We will arrive at approximately 6:30am Swiss time. We will update you when we arrive! Au revior!

Update: "A plastic bracket broke off and we are trying to figure it out. Hopefully this will be resolved soon." Who knows what that means! Sooo... just kidding! Delayed again and we are still in America... goodness gracious! 

Update #2: The problem was solved! We will only be slightly behind! Hooray!

The Virginia Adventure Continues

Last night, though exhausted by travel and pretty bummed, we all kept our spirits up. 9 of us chipped in together and bought 5 pizzas and a large box of breadsticks... The only evidence after thirty or so minutes was 3 small slices of pizza. The weary and now stuffed travelers retreated to our own rooms and fell asleep on the fluffy beds. That sleep was delightful. 

This morning, we arose delightfully rested and ready to travel another day. Many of us soon headed down to the resort's breakfast buffet. 

Wow. What a spread. Lansdowne Resort in Virginia fed us quite well. Bacon, sausage, various casseroles, fruit, grits, waffles, omelets, smoked salmon, juices, smoothies, the list goes on. We shared pictures through our group chat and I wanted to share some here!

We are spending the day at the resort before finally continuing on to Geneva tonight at 5:30!

Alyssa

ICW Blogger

To the Resort!

Update: We are staying the night at a local resort and leaving tomorrow afternoon/evening for Geneva, all of us together on one flight. We will arrive in Geneva early Monday and are hoping to work with Red Cross and WHO to still fit everything in. 

We're trying to keep a good perspective~ we fully intend to make some awesome memories!

Goodnight everyone,

Alyssa

A Sprint Through Dulles...

Hey everyone, Alyssa here. When I say here, I mean still in America. 

After a crazy turn of events, it's story time..

Recap on the events that occurred earlier today:

Jenny posted about our delays leaving Knoxville due to a power outage at Dulles. We finally caught a plane and came up with a game plan to split the group, some people running right to our gate where the plane to Geneva was supposed to be delayed too, and the rest were to hastily follow behind after retrieving their cabin checked bags. 

Now to the meat of our story:

Upon arrival at Dulles, unfortunately, we were pretty sure the flight to Geneva was already gone. Dr. Schratter hopped off the plane and dashed to the info desk where they told her our plane was, in fact, still at the airport. With a quick word of thanks, a group of our students set off in a sprint through the entire airport. With incredible finesse, we jumped suitcases, ran up escalators, yelled apologies, and were thankfully not stopped by security in our haste. A quick father heroically snatched his son out of our path with a bewildered "Whoah!" and we got numerous kind acknowledgements of our apologies with "You're good!"s and "That's alright!"s. 

As the front runner (literally) Cole even managed to muster the strength to yell "Vote Maryville College the Best Outdoor Adventure School!". So please, do that here: http://www.blueridgeoutdoors.com/best-outdoor-school/

Anyway, the group of sprinters finally reached Gate C12... but to our dismay, the plane was not at the gate. As heartbreak and frustration set in, we waited for the remaining group members at the gate. Our fearless leaders split off and went to Customer Service while our little band of sweaty, panting students found nearby seats and Bobby shared his stash of Gushers and Scooby Doo Gummies while we waited. 

We are currently trying to get things hashed out and and are looking at alternatives to our Plan B, which isn't looking very promising at the moment... We have heard talk of catching a connecting flight to London, Brussels, or Amsterdam tonight~ I suppose we'll see!

When we hear anything concrete, we'll fill you in.

Signing of... From Dulles... Sadly still on the continent of North America...

Alyssa

ICW Blogger

Update on the Delay

So we have a few possible outcomes at this point...
Assuming our flight from Knoxville still leaves soon (fingers crossed), we could have our Geneva plane held for us in Washington. However, the airline will not be able to put in that request until we are in the air. If the plane is held for us, we will have to book it to the Geneva plane... leaving our luggage behind. OR... we will completely miss the Geneva plane and stay in Washington for a day until it all gets sorted out. This could possibly mean splitting up and traveling through London! Let's hope everything works out for the best!!

In the meantime, card games and Netflix are helping the time pass!

***As of 4:55 pm we are on our plane to Washington Dulles!