Confirmed...but for what day?

At 9:39 a.m. this morning, our Case Manager called with great news:  the Embassy sent confirmation and clearance of our file.   The problem?  They didn't say what appointment date they were confirming.  Our appointment may be January 10, or it may be much sooner... possibly even January 3.  Our agency's staff in Ethiopia were unable to reach anyone at the Embassy to get an answer for us; they will try again tomorrow (tonight our time). 

I immediately called Candy at ReachOne Travel.  What we will probably do is apply for a refund on the flight that we had ticketed last week, less the cancellation fee.  Then we will just rebook the best available flight on another airline, for whenever we have to travel, whether that is tomorrow or a week from tomorrow.  

Talk about an emotional roller coaster!  I spent several hours today playing around with flight options.  There are no good options.  At 2:00 p.m., Emirates had the best flight available.  By 5:00 p.m., all Emirates return flights were booked. 

The best option available tonight has us flying Ethiopian Airlines connecting through DC.  The only time I remember hearing anything about this government-owned airline is when one of their planes crashed a few months ago, and yes, that would be the same DC that is in the middle of a winter storm with flights delayed and cancelled.  That all bodes well for us, don't you think? 

As much as I want to get Isabella in my arms as quickly as possible, my rational side has a slight preferance for a January 10 date:  it will give us a few more days to plan, and the tickets are less than half the price on much better airlines and routes.  My emotional side, as usual, says throw caution to the wind and GO! 

Stay tuned...

In the meantime, I still have that (re)packing left to finish!