I landed at JFK after being serenaded IN STEREO by two crying babies, only to find that my usual routine was disrupted. (And not in a good way, Richard Branson!! :-) )
Typically I've been flying Delta to JFK, which arrives into the same terminal as the Delta international partners depart from... meaning, I don't have to hit the air train, I just stay inside the same building.
However this time I arrived into a different terminal. :-( But learned from some really helpful gate agents that Delta has a fabulous shuttle system between the terminals they utilize. So make sure to ask about the shuttle before following the herd to the main exit.
Once there I did have to be rechecked for my Alitalia flight, no probs... and chatted in line with four young seminarians... they were flying from the midwest (some city, can't remember, I know, I'm bad!) to Rome for six months of study in the shadow of the Vatican. Wow, the history! the art!..... the religion??