Australia - The Return Trip

So it’s all over except for the cleaning up. God knows what the Randwick field must look like this morning, I’d guess that there will be lots of tarps, sleeping bags, and other contributions for the local charities. For our part, we had until 11 AM to get ourselves ready and I availed myself of the time to sleep in a bit and then to process pictures and begin composing the blog text for the past day(s).

When it came time to pack, I’d decided to leave various items (sleeping bags, etc.) behind for the Brothers to use as they saw fit and stuffed the rest of my things into the luggage I’d brought. Thank God for expandable suitcases.

The group met at the picnic table at 10:30 AM where we had morning prayer together followed by some reflections from Br. Peter and others. Pete got kind of choked up, as well he might, when he described what this experience had meant for him. Br. Rich and myself made some comments of appreciation as well, followed by a couple of the guys in the group. In the end, Br. John, the principal of the place, came along and spoke with us a bit, and then it was on to another group shot and let’s load up the bus. Several Brazilian students joined us on the bus as well.

At the airport we let the guys know what Pete had told Rich and myself earlier today – our scheduled flight had been delayed by a couple of hours. This may impact some of the connecting flights for people but we’ll make the best of it. We stood in line to check our luggage in and get our seat assignments, each of us trying to get at least an aisle seat in this fully booked 747. One in our party tried to persuade the Qantas agent that he needed a seat with lots of leg room because of his recent orthoscopic knee surgery – a bogus story, of course, but the person involved would no doubt simply call it a "dialogue." It didn’t quite work, although he did end up with a bulkhead seat. What people won’t do for a good seat on an airplane.

We had a couple of hours to kill and they wouldn’t let us into the gate area until an hour or so before the flight. So groups found places to eat or simply to sit. Rob and Eric had brought along a copy of the Staten Island Advance – their local paper – in order to take a couple of pictures showing them and the paper at the airport. Apparently, these photos will then be published by the paper in their travel section. We took pictures overlooking the airport, in front of a Sydney wall poster and even on the tarmac itself. One of those should make it in, I suppose.

There were two international terminals, with a bus ride in between them, and most of our little sub-groups found their way over to both. I went to the other terminal with Rob and Eric to see if we could use the Red Carpet Club, the United Airlines club that I belong to this year. It was an Air New Zealand lounge that had contracted with the Red Carpet Club to provide Red Carpet Club service at the Sydney airport.. However, we were rejected by an older, fake-smile, insistently polite guard lady because my ticket was with Qantas, which is not a Star Alliance member. This hadn’t happened to me at SFO in the past and I told her so, but no amount of argument would do and we weren’t able to get in. The guys with me had certain unkind observations about the lady involved, but I think I’ll just let my membership lapse after an experience like that.

On the way over via the bus, we passed a Singapore Airlines A380, the brand-new double-decker plane. It was being towed to the main runway for its flight. What a monster that one is! We didn’t see it take off but it almost seems too large to do so.

Back at our terminal it was simply a waiting game. When we finally were able to board, my aisle seat (66D) was towards the end of the plane while the rest of the group was seated around row 52, except for the bulk-head kid and Br. Rich who’d gotten an aisle seat in the very last row of the plane. Toward the end of the boarding process, two smiling young nuns in full traditional getup came down the aisle with their luggage. They were seated in the last row along with Br. Rich. However, within a few minutes they were coming back down the row with their luggage. I found out later that they’d been upgraded to first class, so now Rich could have some empty seats to stretch out in. Here’s a good example of “the last shall be first" for these nuns. I’m sure that the Sisters appreciated the experience, since it's one that they would never be able to have on their own volition. Maybe I’ll wear a robe the next time I get onto a plane. At least I wouldn’t be trying to bluff my way to a better seat because of orthoscopic surgery.

The flight was long, long, and long. Qantas did a fine job of trying to make us comfortable, with regular food services, snacks, and liquids. But I found it almost impossible to sleep in a seat that reclines back only 20 degrees or so. Thankfully, Qantas has a whole variety of entertainment programs available on individual screens. I watched “The Bucket List” and several documentaries, followed by listening to various classical CD’s while I tried to read. The noise-canceling headphones helped as well, but I developed a pretty serious head-cold kind of thing (toothache-like face pain, strange drainage, loss of hearing on the one side, etc.) that is only now gradually disappearing. After fitful sleeping, some walking around the plane, and a bit of prayer, we finally landed at SFO around 2:20 PM, a couple of hours before we left (crossed the international dateline).

After processing through immigration, those who were scheduled for a Continental flight at 3:15 PM to NYC sprinted for the luggage terminal hoping that their luggage would be among the first off the plane. That way they might still make their connection. Qantas had already made accommodation for missed connection flights because of the later departure and those from NYC found out that they’d be on the 10:10 PM flight on Continental. Meanwhile, I’d taken care of Roberto’s Southwest flight online in Sydney, switching him to a later one this afternoon, and Logan would have a later flight to Portland as well. It’s the guys from the East Coast that had to scramble around a bit. Rob and Eric had hoped to be able to grab the early Continental flight, but Rob’s Australian didgeridoo took a long time to come out on the luggage carousel. The upshot was that Br. Rich and the others made the Continental 3:15 PM flight, Roberto and Logan were all set on later flights, Brendan was on a 11 PM United flight to NYC and had received a free hotel room at the Hyatt nearby plus some meal vouchers, I was hanging around to make sure they were okay before hooking up with Chris Patino who had come to pick me up, and Br. Peter along with Rob and Eric were too late for the 3:15 PM flight and were now booked for the 10:10 PM one. Pete managed to get hotel rooms and meal vouchers for them as well. It took a while amidst the hubbub of the airport to figure all this out – using cell phones, passed-on messages, and a little guessing – but it all worked out.

After reaching him by phone, Br. Chris Patino met us at the Continental airline desk, where the others checked in their luggage. Then we made our way to the Burlingame Hyatt where Br. Pete got a room and Rob and Eric got one. Chris and I met them in a sports bar in the hotel and we proceeded to relax a bit. By around 5:30 PM Chris and I had to leave because Chris was giving a talk at Saint Mary’s College as part of the workshop for young Lasallian leaders. We said our goodbyes and drove to SMC. I wanted to stick around for the talk, but it was all I could do to concentrate on driving. I knew I would never last through any talk, no matter how good it might be. ,So I dropped Chris off and drove back to Napa where I brought my luggage into my room, set it down, and then did "crashed" onto my bed, falling asleep more quickly than I’d thought possible.

As a last reflection on this whole experience, let me say that it was a wonderful, intense experience of both “church” and “community” - one that was in many ways transformative. During our two weeks together, it was a privilege to form community with young people who were serious about their faith life and appreciated their Lasallian formation. They sort of reminded me of myself during the later years of high school. Being able to seriously pursue your faith life within a community of like-minded individuals is a real grace, and I think that despite the little problems and challenges along the way, we grew to appreciate one another to a degree that wouldn’t have been possible if this had been simply a camping trip or a “tour” or even a class. This was a pilgrimage and we were blessed by being pilgrims together. As time goes on, I’m certain that each of us will recall different things. But all will recall the quality of our time together and the multiple ways that God’s grace came to be discovered along the way. Those seeds will grow more deeply with time and will bear fruit in ways yet undiscovered. It was an experience of the theme for WYD 2008: 'You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses.' Acts 1:8

Pictures, as always are at http://picasaweb.google.com/gvangrie