HOUSTON — Dozens of HISD students made it home after what they said was a trip from hell.
They spent about 50 hours traveling around the world over the last couple of days just to get back to Houston. They landed at IAH on Monday night.
Getting the chance to travel around the world doesn't sound like a bad idea at face value, but when you can't leave airports and don't have anywhere to sleep, it's pretty miserable.
Everything was going well for Spanish teacher Dr. Trevor Buffone and 31 students from Carnegie Vanguard High School after they crossed the Pacific Ocean on Aug. 3. They spent a week exploring historic sights and attractions in Japan.
On Friday, it was time for them to come home. As it turned out, it wasn't that easy.
Buffone took to TikTok to explain what happened. He said the group's booking was lost and they were stuck in Osaka, Japan. He said American Airlines told him that the soonest available flight would be in 12 days.
Carolina Escobedo and Diego Gonzalez were among the students on the trip.
"Honestly, I didn't believe it at first. I thought they were trying to pull a prank on us," Escobedo said.
Luckily, American Airlines was able to find a way to get them home sooner than two weeks. But, in order to pull it off, the group had to go around the world.
They left Osaka ... their first stop? Bangkok.
Buffone and the students tried to stay positive. They shopped and ate Thai food -- albeit they weren't able to leave the airport.
"We had a nine-hour layover in Bangkok and then an 11-hour flight to Munich," Buffone said.
Once they got to the airport in Germany, Buffone and the students tasted some of the local fare as they waited for the next leg of their journey.
After Munich, the group caught their flight to the States. They landed in Charlotte but still had to get halfway across the country to get home.
They landed in Houston just after 4 p.m. Monday.
"We traveled the entire circumference of the globe to get back to Houston," Buffone said.
Buffone spoke to KHOU 11 News reporter Matt Dougherty at the airport. He said he and the students were happy to be home and were looking for a peaceful night of sleep in their own beds.
"I've been up for 50 hours. We're incredibly exhausted," Buffone said.
On top of the "massive kerfuffle" that was the long road home, Buffone said his luggage is still in Germany.