5 Countries, 4 Airports, 3 Flights, 2 Starbucks, 1 Long Flight Home

Countries: Kenya, England, Netherlands, Austria, Czech
Airports: Jomo Kenyatta (Nairobi), Heathrow (London), Schiphol (Amsterdam), Schwechat (Vienna)
Flights: Nairobi to London, London to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to Vienna
Starbucks: London (Grande Vanilla Latte-charged me for a Tall! Oh, the little things...), Amsterdam (Grande Caramel Frapaccino)

The trip home: So, I was scheduled to depart Nairobi on Sunday at 11 am. As I approached Elaine at the ticket counter and placed my passport and E-Ticket before her the first indication that this was going to be a long day should've been the word "Training" written under her name. Elaine hunt-and-pecked at the keyboard and asked questions to her co-worker in Swahili for a couple of minutes. Then she said timidly, "The flight is full. We will put you on the flight tonight." What? Full? I tried to explain the necessity of me being on the flight and how I paid for this ticket and should be on this flight, blah, blah, blah. All my reasons were answered with, "You can talk to my manager over there." She pointed to a man who was swarmed with ten to fifteen angry passengers.

I can't get angry enough to demand the attention of this guy. I know he didn't oversell the flight. He is just paying his dues in middle-management trying to work up the corporate ladder. He gets stuck with all the angry people who "have to see their dying grandfather tonight" or "have health issues and can't deal with this stress" or "can't believe that a company can operate in this manner" or whatever other excuse people come up with to try to get on a flight. So, I sit there patiently and wait until the two Thirty Year Old British Boyscouts (I'm not joking...they were totally dressed in boyscout outfits!) finish blasting this man for this "bloody outrage". Eventually he gets me taken care of and books me on a new flight later that night (12:10 am the next day actually).

I miss my board meeting on Monday and an extra leg is added to my trip, but I get $300 cash, the rest of the day at a 5 Star Hotel, two free meals, and an extra day with my girlfriend.