24 hour adventures in New York

This video is a sliver of the adventures in the story below:

I got my plane ticket months in advance using frequent flier miles for $10 round trip from Chicago to Virginia to see my family over Christmas. My layover on the way back was set for the 30th for about an hour and a half at the New York JFK airport. Tight squeeze, but doable. I've been wanting to visit New York for a long time, so I decided to jokingly post on facebook asking people to pray that my layover got delayed by approximately 24 hours hours... And you know what, God is funny like that: He answered my prayer.

It was like a movie scene. I first heard that my first flight from Viriginia was delayed by 40 minutes due to bad weather. The hostess assured me that I would make my connection however, since we were landing in the same terminal as I'd be flying out of at JFK, terminal two.  So I boarded my plane and took away, with this funny feeling in my gut about it all.

When we landed in JFK, the flight attendant turned on the over head speakers and announced, "there has been a change in landing. We will now be de-boarding in terminal four." Oh no, well, this changes things. I had approximately 40 minutes - so I wasted no time. I got right off the plane, walked up to a security guard who was explaining to other guests how to get to terminal two. "You're not going to like this, but you have to go down this hall, out those doors, cross two streets, go upstairs, take the tram to terminal two, then go through security." CRAP! So off I went. I hurried down the hall, out the door, crossed the street, climbed the stairs, took the tram, got off at terminal two, and waited in line at security.

I must have accidentally gotten in the foreigner line which looked shorter at the time when the lines split. But the security guard was going AS SLOW AS POSSIBLE. He looked so board. I took each passport, opened it, checked as slowly as he could.... Each time I got one person closer to getting through security, more people would come through the express lane and cut in front of everyone. I was staring unbelieving at my bad luck. When I finally got through security, I didn't even put on my shoes. I had about 5 minutes to take off, and I was at gate B6-I had to get all the way to gate B-56! So I grabbed my carryon items, my shoes, my coat, my scarf, didn't put anything on, holding it all in my arms and took off running down the terminal. I must have looked like a crazy woman.  The minutes passed. Sweat was dripped down my body and my face was beat red as I turned the corner and finally reached my gate. I looked out the window, and saw my plane - its load-in door was shutting RIGHT AT THAT MOMENT. I was panting I went up to the desk and a stewardess came looking very concerned... "That...was my flight!" "yes, I'm so sorry we cannot board anymore." "What do I do?" "Go speak with the help desk."

So I went over to the help desk to re-book my flight. There was another long line there - Delta was apparently having a bad day with flights... When my turn finally came, the lady could clearly see I tried my hardest to get to my connection on time. I had a stupid bun on my head, sweaty and beat red. She said the soonest they could get me on another flight was tomorrow at 4 pm. Unfortunately I didn't get a free hotel since the delay was due to weather though.

I walked away from the desk, and as soon as I was far enough, just started busting a gut laughing. God is so funny. I asked for this one. I always seem to have the worst luck with flying and traveling lately, but I couldn't complain about this. I asked for this. Perhaps it was God's way of telling my "Hey, I'm still here. You want to go on an adventure with me? I'll take you on another one. Let's go." What a funny Father.

So I did as much as I could. I slept for two hours, and took a train into the city. I saw times square getting crowded on New Years eve, walked in central park, saw the two towers memorial (which is incredibly beautiful), walked around the beautiful skyline over looking the city and the statue of liberty, played music in a couple train stations since I had my ukulele with me. It was a time to remember. One of these days I'll go there on a planned trip there..

What else is funny, is on my flight home the following day, I was waiting for my flight when the guy next to me says, "Heidi?" I look over, and it's my friend from Chicago. He was on standby for my flight. His seat number ended up being by mine, and we took a taxi back together. How small is the world aye?! (if you're reading this, hi!)

That was story time with Heidi. Hope you enjoyed. What about you? Have you had any crazy experiences with traveling and long layovers? Or what about bad situations that you turned into good ones? Tell me about it!

Cheers,
Your Songburd
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Five honest struggles of a world traveler

You read amazing blogs, see the pictures full of incredible stories from people's travels, and get inspired.  So you decide to take a leap of faith; believing that what's on the other side is so much better than whats here in your life now.  You sell your car, purchase your visa, set the date, buy your plane ticket, all with great anticipation bubbling inside you.  The day finally comes, and away you fly.
You land. Everything feels incredible - new, challenging, fresh, you go at life with this excitement and enthusiasm like never before.  However, as you go, some realities you never anticipated are dumped like coals on your head.  Don't be discouraged - its all a part of the journey, the excitement, and the growth that you'll really learn to appreciate, if with the right attitude...
Here are a few of my own personal struggles as a world-traveler, that maybe you fellow travelers can identify with....

 1.  People come and go. 

You get close so quickly with the special culture of travelers - (especially young backpackers or missionaries..) who tend to be open minded and free. You make emotional bonds only to have them gone from your life as instantly as they came into it.  The positive is that you know have dear friends all over the globe who'd love to host you in their country, and doors of opportunity open like never before... But they're not beside you like they were before.

2.  You start over and over and over again.

Once you feel settled into a place finally, you may have to pack up and move once again.  Make new friends again. You attach quickly to people, only to leave them just as quickly. For me, my life and my mind has become more scattered since becoming a sojourner. When I was younger, and settled into the house which I grew up in, my life was full of pattern and routine, and I HATED change.  My room was fairly organized.  I would sit in the same seat on car trips, have the same routines in the mornings when waking and evenings before going to bed.  But since world travel has entered my life - during which the past few years I haven't stayed in one place more than 3 months, my life has become less consistent, and I'm much less pattern/routine oriented as a result.  I now love trying new things; exploring new food other people wouldn't dare touch; or when I drive places with people, if we stop and stretch, I might go sit in a different seat when we return (a subconscious act for me, but others have pointed it out.) Which are all awesome traits I've gained. But, my organizational skills have taken a wee bit of a beating...

3. No sense of true security

A few things humanity tends to find self-security in are.... routine; having loved ones around; having financial security; food and a roof over our heads (no-brainer)... Some of which may not be possible when you're on global adventures (which is partly what makes it an adventure - a risk.) We live in an age where people move more than ever before in history. Live in the 1800s America and you're guaranteed to grow on the farm, get married, and work on the farm with your family till you die. Not always the case, there were certainly sojourners throughout history. But its safe to say that modern technology has made it easier than ever before in human history.  Life was simpler back in the day, and that is actually a very beautiful thing in itself.. The modern day opportunity is riddled with new challenges for our generation; we have more choices to make, more challenges and changes to adapt to, and more global awareness than ever.  Perhaps we aren't naturally made to live like this; and perhaps thats what makes it exciting...  Like rebellion- but to our nature?

4. Culture shock

Things that are obvious for them, aren't so obvious to you! In some cultures, sticking out your tongue is equivalent to the middle finger.  In Australia's case, the backwards peace sign, which is very inconvenient if that's your go to pose when taking pictures or saying bye to someone... Something is called one thing is called something different in another culture. Your boss asks you to go to the news agency and buy some scissors. "Wait, whats a news agency? Oh! A post office! Got it! Okay!" Things that should be simple tasks take a lot more effort when you have to translate it into your own cultural understanding.

Luggage

What do you bring and what don't you bring?  Bring too little, and you may miss some things. Bring too much, and traveling will be a hassle and you won't have extra space for the new things you buy to bring back. I have the problem of always over packing. I think I'm doing so well, then I just keep adding that one other little thing "It won't take up much space..." and another little thing, and another, and pretty soon my bag is bursting at the seams! The smaller the load the better. You'll learn to part with things, which you may miss later. But there's just not room for everything. You learn to be a minimalist and to not get too attached to material possessions. Which is good. But hard for the majority of people.

5. Re-entry

This may be the biggest culture shock you experience.  You come back feeling like a hero, but you'll find people back home won't understand how you've changed. You'll be stoked to tell them about the experiences you've had, but they often won't care.  You'll encourage them to chase their biggest dreams but sometimes they may see this as a threat more than an encouragement. That was the biggest shock for me personally... Something about travel ruins you for the ordinary cookie-cutter life-style, and its just hard to fit back into the box...  If you're gone for so long, you may even have started moving on emotionally from your friends back in your home town, and they'll have started moving on from you. That may leave you lonely - knowing your dearest friends are on all seven corners of the Earth... If home is where the heart is, then your home is everywhere.

It kind of reminds me of the Lord of the Rings when the Hobbits came back to Hobbiton at the end of their journey, and they were sitting in the green dragon, where everything and everyone was the same as before their journey, but they couldn't enjoy it the same way as they used to. You may not believe yourself if you told yourself this before embarking on the journey: you'll want to come home and stop adventuring eventually. You're going to want a place to settle and build roots eventually. It just happens naturally. It's a part of being a human. We can only embark on adventures for so long before they wear us out. Doesn't mean adventure won't call our name again later on... :)

So to any of you other world travelers out there, do you agree?  Can you add to this list? Comment below and tell me your thoughts!

XX Your Songburd
http://heidiosborne.com
http://youtube.com/user/lillyofozland

#songburdflock


Please enjoy this little music video I shot on my last 10 days in Australia...