There was an international meeting in San Francisco during the winter and all sales managers were to arrive on a Sunday afternoon for cocktails and a light supper at this very nice hotel.
I took the flight from Kansas City with a short stop in Denver and arrival in SF around noon pacific time. Due to bad weather, the flight was delayed about 90 minutes arriving in Denver, causing us to miss the connecting flight to SF.
After waiting several hours for the weather to clear, we finally started to board; however, after a few minutes, we were asked once again to deplane and wait another hour or so.
We finally took off for SF around 9 p.m. and arrived at the airport after midnight; the airport was closed with no one around. No shuttles, no taxis, no vending, no greeting for stranded passengers or anything of the kind. I was not the only one looking for transportation. As I went along the long hallways at the airport, I found myself being followed by about a dozen travelers who did not speak English, only Japanese, and were unable to communicate their distress to anyone. I can say “Aregato” or “Mushi, mushi”, but nothing else, and I’m sure these are not the cleanest words in their language, so I abstained from uttering them.
Lucky for us, the janitors were hard at work, and after asking several of them to assist my followers in their own language, we found one bi-lingual man who was able to help me and the travelers. We were sent to the back of the airport to locate a shuttle bus who would take us into the city. The janitor spoke with the driver and everything was back to a semi-normal condition, as we were delivered to our respective hotels without incident. We missed the cocktail hour, the slight supper and the conversation with our colleagues.
As it often happens during my travels, the luggage did not arrive with the flight and all I had with me was my carry-on bag and purse, along with my computer bag and phone. No make-up, no change of clothes, no other shoes. I’m sure everyone will run scared when they see me in the morning without my make-up, but then, who cares at this point, as I’m tired and need some sleep.
The meeting was to start precisely at 8 a.m. and with 3 hours of sleep, I was not ready to face the world, never mind all the other people from other countries. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see some of my previous night fellow travelers sitting at the table as the meeting started. During the first break they came around to profusely thank me again for my assistance at the airport, because their translator had been delayed during another stop-over prior to his arrival.
To thank me again, they presented me with a beautiful silk scarf which I still have to remind me about the long travel time from Kansas City to San Francisco and meeting great people during a stressful time.
This incident ignited a need to learn more about other countries, cultures and peoples around the world and I enrolled in an International Language class to assist me with situations I may encounter while traveling. It was well worth it. I may not be able to speak fluent Japanese, but at least I can sign with my hands when I’m hungry, no matter what country I’m in.
