Small alteration for Departure

Buon Giorno, Tutti!

First of all, if you're a weather.com fan like I am, you'll have noticed how BEAUTIFUL the weather will be during our first weekend in Italy! (caveat: weather.com almost NEVER posts the right temperature of Italian weather, from what I can tell - it was 55 and rainy, and weather.com said we were 76 and sunny, and vice versa, on the usual day)

As you will hear from Celeste, we've had a slight change for the trip. Instead of Dana Caron coming as the assistant Director, we will have Liz Schnautz for the first part of the trip, then an actual Siennese teacher for the rest of our stay! The one big change for you is that you won't have Dana on the flights with you coming over to Italy. But we're all experienced travelers, and, with a few notes from me, I know this will be SO easy for you!

Kate, with you as our senior traveler (actually, GRADUATE traveler!), I'm going to make you the shepherd for the trip! Please feel free to print off this blog for reference during your travel day. :)

I figured this would be good for those of you who are traveling on your own, anyways!

Check-in
You should be at check-in 2.5 hours before departure, as stated many times before. That means that most of you will be at DFW between 7 and 7:30 AM. During this time, parents will check in their own student, then afterwards take group pictures, have hugs, etc., before you all go together through the security checkpoint.
BAGS SHOULD BE CHECKED ALL THE WAY THROUGH TO ROME – we lose bags almost every year because of this miscommunication.

At the Departure Gate
Set up camp at the departure gate, which means EVERYONE's carryon bags are to be neatly gathered together into one spot. From now on, if you go out in a group, a group is THREE PEOPLE from our SPI group. If you want to get breakfast, eat something like what you’d usually eat for lunch. And to get lots of water or juice. Pick up food, and bring it back to the gate to eat it. Be at the gate, ready to board, at 8:45.

On the Chicago Flight
You all need to stay awake on this flight - talk, play games, share what you're excited about, take pictures . . . and be super-nice to the flight attendants!!!

In Chicago
Here’s where the fun starts. You are supposed to arrive around 11:50 AM. When y’all disembark, find the location of your departing flight, and take the whole group there to set up camp. Again, in groups, go to pick up lunch (dinner), and, with food, return to the gate quickly. Determine a group of five of you (at least) who will camp out with the bags at the departure gate. Then, head out to meet up with later arrivals:
Shannon: AA 2348 from DFW
Abbie and Carly: AA2486 from AUS
These are close-timed flights – if the gates are too far from each other, send Sara and Natalie to meet Shannon (make sure they have your cell phone #), and you can meet Abbie and Carly with another group of HP kids. Again, EVERYONE should have their SPI shirts on, so you'll be easily recognizable. Everyone is to return to the departure gate as quickly as possible – international flights start boarding 1 hour to 45 minutes ahead of time. Try to find out where everyone is sitting, and write it down here, so that you can say hi to everyone during the flight.

On the Flight
Eat ALL your dinner. SLEEP. A lot. However you need to do it. EVERYONE. Whenever you awake and pace around, stop by to visit each other, wherever you’re sitting. Plan to meet as a group immediately outside the gate. And eat ALL of your breakfast (no matter WHAT you're served).

Forms? Last time we flew to Italy, we received no forms entering the country. If they do hand out Customs forms, make sure you are filling everything out (you should have NOTHING to claim), and placing the form in your passports, for easy access. Have your passports in a quick-access spot, because that's the first stop you'll make once you get off the plane.

Disembarking
When you get off the flight, the minute you enter the airport, get the group together. Have any necessary potty breaks happen between there and the passport check.

Passport check: Be sure to get into a NON-EU line, and y'all can wait for each other as soon as they get through there. It’s a quick thing – they just check your passports, and you head to baggage claim. No one in our group has an international passport this year (Gratias Deo), so this should be smooth.

Baggage Claim: With the whole group with you at the end of passport check, just around the corner is the baggage claim. Everyone is to get his own bags, then head over just past the last carousel, to wait as a group for everyone to get their bags. Determine a spot to meet, before exiting customs. During this time, you can stop by the ATM inside the baggage claim if you want to get cash (make sure your bag is secure with someone else in the SPI group), but mostly, wait with the group until everyone has received their bags.
If there is a lost bag, go to the American desk right by the baggage claim. We’re headed directly to Sorrento, which could make things interesting . . . I’m right outside of the Customs exit door (just metres away) if there’s a problem – call my cell phone or have them come and get me.

Customs: You should just pass right through. If someone is stopped, it’s a random search, and shouldn’t be a problem – just let the rest of the group go ahead and stay nearby, Kate.

As soon as you pass through the Customs doors (big sliding glass doors), you should see me and Liz – I’ll have my pink SPI sign and green t-shirt, just like yours! We’ll be ready to load everyone up on the bus by then (Amanda, Grace and Caroline arrive before you – we'll be ready for everyone with the bus, to head directly to Pompeii!!!)!

Can you believe it??? See you in a few days!!! Parents, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me (e-mail is the best) before Wednesday morning, when I depart!

BIGGEST HUGS,
Laura :)