Lost luggage
 

Well my daughter left on a much anticipated month long trip to Paris to study at the Sorbonne. I just received her 10 phone call and she is in melt down mode. Continental has misplaced her luggage and she has now gone 72 hours without fresh clothing or a bath. She is young and doesn't have the travel experience that many on this board have so please don't put her down too much. I did tell her all of the things she should have known regarding packing items on her carry on but I am only her mother and of course as many daughters do, she didn't listen. Regardless, I am upset for her sake because I know she wanted this to be a wonderful experience and it has not started out too well. She was supposed to get her luggage today but someone, somewhere messed up and they told her incorrect information. So now they insist it will get to her tomorrow. I pray that it does but I will be calling them at 1 a.m. my time to try to get them to find the bag. Can anyone give me any recommendations as to what to do to hurry this along or is she out of luck and will just need to wait for the airline and/or delivery service to get their act together? Any encouragement or advice would be much appreciated. I feel so useless to help her.

The airline should have given her an allowance to buy some clothings and amenities. And what does no shower has to do with no luggage?

Anyways, things like this happen all the time, so just count it as a learning experience for her. The luggage probably will show up tomorrow.

Make sure to check out the lost or damage luggage information on CO's webpage:

http://www.continental.com/web/en-US...e/default.aspx

She's an adult, right? So she can pretty much deal with it herself. It's only lost luggage. Annoying, yes, but really. Buy some clean underwear, wash your t-shirt in the sink, and get on with life.

The airline might have given her a toiletries kit; they did for me - once. Even if they didn't, is it really worth a 3 day meltdown? I'm sure Paris still has stores; it did last time I was there. Maybe a trip to the local Bon Marche or whatever is in order.

Hi normal, yes kids sometimes have to learn the hard way. The school of hard knocks.

Can't she buy some inexpensive lingerie and an inexpesive outfit, take a bath and put on clean clothes while she waits for her luggage? That is what I would do.
I hope her wandering luggage gets to her ASAP.

There are some vintage clothing shops in Paris near the Pompidou Centre, where she could get some inexpensive outfits (I know my daughter has done this). A cheap department store is Tati, with various locations all over Paris. She can have fresh clothing and a shower!

Yes I know that most of us would have gone out today and purchased some toiletries and a few articles of clothing to tide us over. However, she took the airline's word that her luggage would be delivered today. If she were staying in a hotel there would have been some amenities, soap, shampoo, etc. However she is staying at La Fondation which is a dorm that has a bed, a pillow, some sheets and a phone. Nothing else. The communal bathroom has no amenities other than toilet paper. Thank goodness for that.

I think that since this is the first time she has traveled solo she was totally unprepared for what could happen. Exhaustion, lack of food and a limited knowledge of the language has made it difficult for my normally intelligent daughter to be able to take a deep breath and realize that this is only a few days out of her life. The soaking she received in the Paris rainstorm, the bleeding blisters on her feet, filthy clothing and the fact that she still has to attend her classes has clouded her mind a bit. So please don't be too harsh on her.

She did try to get a few things yesterday but she didn't realize that many places are closed on Sunday in Paris. Today she was able to buy some food but again held off on the clothing, toiletries etc because she fully expected her luggage to be delivered to her dorm.

The airline will be compensating her $200 for the few items she does purchase. But that is small consolation when it is late, everything is closed and what you thought would happen didn't.

This has not turned out as she expected but as I reminded her (though I don't know if she was listening) this too shall pass and her experience in France will improve.

I truly hope that tomorrow will find her luggage delivered to her early so that she can begin to enjoy this opportunity of a lifetime.

Thank you for allowing me to vent my frustration and my concerns here.

She can walk to Monoprix supermarket tomorrow morning and buy some toiletries and underware. They open at 9am. There's a large one at the corner of rue de Rennes and blvd St-Germain - about 5 minutes from the Sorbonne - right near the st-germain-des-pres metro and church.

After 3 days I'm not sure Continental knows where the luggage is. I've always had lost luggage delivered that night.

She has to attend classes at 8 a.m. tomorrow so she won't be able to get anything til after class. I told her to skip class in order to go buy a few items but she is afraid she will fall behind.

The dorm where she is staying is about a 15 minute metro ride away. But I believe she did tell me that there was a supermarket (like a Walmart) nearby where she can buy some items. I think she is also experiencing sticker shock not having realized fully how expensive things are in France.

I am hopeful that the luggage can be found soon and that it is merely delayed and not lost. That is my prayer.

Are there other girls staying at the dorm?

Can she ask them to let her borrow some shampoo and shower gel so that she can take a shower? Or maybe even a change of clothes? She can wash her underwear with the shampoo/shower gel.

She doesn't know any of the other girls in the dorm. She tends to be shy so to go out of her way to ask a stranger is way out of her comfort zone. Were it me I would have already asked someone for help.

I just tried to fed ex her some stuff overnight but I missed the pick up time. It seems that everything that I attempt to do to help her is failing. It is just out of my control and I'm not liking the feeling, not one bit.

Maybe this is one of those life lessons for her that she has to get through and hopefully come out the stronger for it. And yes I know, that if this is the only problem she has in life she is quite blessed. This doesn't compare to what many people in this world go through but to her at this moment it is awful. She is 20 years old but really quite young.

Well hopefully she is sleeping well now and all will work out tomorrow for her.

Did you call Continental and inquire about her lost luggage? Or has it been your daughter the one calling?

Given the description of your daughter (shy, inexperienced), perhaps a more assertive person (ie, you) calling CO may get things really rolling.

If she's in class all day tomorrow, will CO deliver her luggage when she's not around?

I do really feel sorry for her. Honest. What a terrible start.

But to be so very shy that she doesn't have the gumption to ask someone for a bit of shampoo?? I really think studying on her own in Paris might be too much for her. It would be sooooo simple to just explain to any of her dorm mates &quot;<i>hey guys - I need some help here. Can you believe Continental sent my luggage to some gawd forsaken place. I don't have any soap and I REALLY need to take a shower. Can you spare a bit? I'll be totally indebted to you - eclairs on me next week</i>&quot;

(and she'd feel a lot better after a nice hot shower/clean undies)

Actually, both she and I called but her cell phone battery was dying so I had to follow up with several calls. After speaking to several very uninterested and unhelpful employees I was able to get a young man that was able to get me an answer as to what happened. He suggested that I call at 7a.m. Paris time to speak to Continental and get information as to where her bag is and to get a detailed explanation as to what the process is going to entail.

So at 1 a.m. my time I will be on the phone again trying to remedy this for her. They will deliver to her dorm and the dorm will hold it for her until she returns.

I am praying that it works out.

14 years of age is probably a bit young to be making your first trip overseas.

The daughter is not 14 - she's 20, based on the post above.

I hope things get better for your daughter.

Yes, 14 is young to be taking 1st trip overseas alone. This girl is 20. Things could be a lot worse, so hopefully she'll get it all straightened out quickly &amp; be able to enjoy her 1mo in Paris.

Thank you...I know that in a few days with a shower and some fresh clothing she will have a new outlook.

I was thinking that I might be able to place an online order with a store similar to Walmart and have some items delivered to her. Does anyone know if this is possible in Paris?

Just a thought and maybe I missed it in an earlier post, but have you gone online to trace the bag. Continental has a page on their site to use the tracking number that they give you when you report the lost bag. Maybe you can get some earlier information before 1 am.

Good luck.

I ckd Continental's site and it says that it was p/u by the delivery service and was being processed/delivered but that information is incorrect according to the delivery service.

I don't know who to believe anymore.

She'll be fine ... I have two daughters, and when they went off to school (and one went off to Rome at age 19)I remember getting those late night panic-stricken phone calls, where everything is too utterly awful and they are falling apart, complete with tears and much anguish.

And then after days of hand-wringing on your part ... the next time you talk to them, they are fine and mine have actually acted like I was crazy, because they can't even recall being as upset as they had sounded.

She's 20 years old ... hardly a child ... but when they're talking to their mom, it brings out the vulnerability in them.

Easy for me to say &quot;don't worry&quot; ... NOW ... but I was just as you are when mine were in the same situation. Really, she will be fine, and hopefully will have learned something from the experience.

Dear scdreamer....you made me smile today! I am not a weird mom! I thought I was overreacting with worry but you made me feel totally normal! Thank you so much!

And yes you are so right..she falls apart for me because she knows that she can and will not be ridiculed for it. I spoke with her teacher who had bumped into her at the market and did not see a hysterical young woman. She said that my daughter looked and sounded just fine. She saved her panic and hysteria for me and as a result passed along a bit of this hysteria to me.

As my sister told me...my daughter will just have to suck it up tomorrow and go and buy what she needs to survive til the bag gets to her.

And you're also right in that at the end of her trip she won't even remember how upset she was and will, of course, tell me I should have given her better information all along.

Mommies are always there as a safety net and a soft cushion for a fall. Thank God for mothers!

Just a quick update. Since my daughters cell phone was dead I was up at 1a.m. this morning making calls to try to locate her bag. At 4 a.m. I went to bed with the assurance that her bag would be delivered today between 2 and 6 p.m. Paris time. When I got up at 7 a.m. my time I called the dorm and lo and behold the bag had finally arrived! When I finally was able to speak to my daughter she said that her suitcase was better than any Christmas she had in the past. The stress was gone from her voice and she was now beginning to enjoy her stay.

Thank you to all who allowed me to vent and gave advice and encouragement. I truly appreciate all of your imput!

I'm glad it all worked out.

Well, I am glad she got it,,,,certainly took a while! It is an awful feeling not to have your things, I can relate. Since it happened to me I am not so trusting of the system before I just checked everything.