Air Mail

This week at the Information Desk, I came into contact with two interesting student visitors and a real life encounter with a gentleman looking for his “mail-order bride.” (Yup, you read that right.)

East Campus Union Building at Duke University, NC

The first young man flew all the way from Paris just to check out Duke University where he was interested in applying. I was impressed with his adventurous spirit (and later his patience). He told me he couldn’t take an Uber or Lyft from the airport since he didn’t have an international plan for his mobile phone. I suggested he take a shared shuttle and he agreed. He next called the business and ordered his ride. I directed him to the pick up location on the arrivals level only to see him return to the Desk well over an hour later. He claimed the shuttle never appeared but, before I could call them again for him, he decided saving a few dollars wasn’t worth all that time and chose to spring for a taxi. Hmm…are the French known for their great patience or their indecision?

UNC School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, NC

The second young fellow asked me what his options were for transportation to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I quoted him the approximate taxi fare but he claimed it would be too expensive for him. He offered the same response after learning of the costs for the shared shuttle as well as an Uber or Lyft ride. I then gave him the details for the public bus which would include a transfer and he loved the bargain price of $2.25. He then asked me if the bus stop would be close to the Carolina Inn where he would be staying. That was a disconnect for me because the hotel was awarded a Four Diamond rating by AAA. So, I asked him if he was aware that hotel would be somewhat expensive since he was concerned about keeping his transportation costs to a minimum.

As it turned out, he was a med student and was going to interview for a Residency Program at UNC after earning his postgraduate degree. And the university was picking up the tab for his hotel stay. “Where are you going to school?” I inquired and he told me he was in his final year at the University of Pennsylvania. Believe or not, we have a friend who is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology and Critical Care at Penn and his son is also a med student there. Well, I was amazed to learn that this young man knew them both! It is indeed a small world.

My final story of the week is a sad one that concerns a gentlemen carrying a bouquet of flowers who inquired at the Desk when the flight from Finland would be arriving. I explained that we had no direct service from Helsinki and suggested he might be looking for a Finnair code share flight from New York or Chicago with their One World partner American Airlines. He checked his email and then insisted it would be a direct flight, despite my telling him otherwise.

Twenty minutes later he mentioned how anxious he was to meet his soon-to-be Finnish bride for the first time. After nearly two hours when more than one flight arrived from both cities, he told me he had wired her $15,000 to help her “buy” her ticket, take care of her outstanding bills and get her mother “settled” before she left the country. I strongly suspected this gentleman had been scammed by an internet criminal who preyed upon his loneliness.

When he also came to realize this was probably the case, I noticed the tears streaming down his face as he dropped the flowers in a nearby waste basket and walked away. My heart ached for this gentleman. Unfortunately, I suspect this is a sad scene that plays out quite often at airports all across the country. We all need to be very vigilant.

Until next time…safe travels.