As I write, it is early Thursday morning, 5:13 am, which makes it 8:13 pm on Wednesday evening at my home in California. As often happens, when people travel around the world, my “body-clock is a little out of whack, but I did enjoy a restful sleep from about 10:30 pm to 5:00 am; 6.5 hours should be enough rest to get me comfortably through the day, especially since Leanne Green, our host, has planned a very light activity day today, so the girls and I can get better acclimated to the time change.
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| Just boarded for the 15 hr flight to JoBurg. |
This blog entry will share a little about our time traveling yesterday. Well, not time-traveling, of course, but the time we spent traveling to Malawi.
All in all, the trip was good. We had some issues with check-in at Orange County; we had verified and confirmed that we were exempt from the $70 per bag charge for each of our second checked bags. But everything worked out and we did not have to pay the extra $210 that the computer was showing. Thank you, Lord.
The flight from JFK to JNB was long, as expected, but four movies, two and a half meals, lots of snacks, six bottles of water and two Yoli FUN drinks later, we arrived in Africa. The girls slept a few hours each, but for the most part, just kept themselves occupied talking, giggling, watching movies and doing exactly as you would expect two 14 year old girls to do while on an airplane for 15 hrs -- EXCEPT complain and whine. Before the first leg, we agreed to a strict no whining or complaining policy. One of my smartest moves of the year so far.
Once in Africa, things change a bit when traveling. Not so much in JoBurg, which is very modern and somewhat efficient. We collected our bags and went through customs without a hitch. All six of our checked bags made it to JoBurg - so far so good. The girls changed clothes and put on their bright yellow Annie’s Closet T-shirts for the reunion with Annie Green - Thing 1, Thing 2, and Thing 3 would be together again soon!
Then we proceeded to the ticketing area to check-in and get boarding passes for the short flight to Blantyre. Even though I think we may have been over our weight limit with the carry on bags, (yes, Air Malawi has restrictions for carry-on luggage), we were not asked to pay any extra fees. Thank you, Lord.
The ticketing agent informed us that we were not going to be flying directly to Blantyre. The plane would be flying past Blantyre and stopping in the Malawian capitol of Lilongwe. Our original ticket did not show anything about a stop or layover. So now, instead of arriving in Blantyre at 2:35 pm, we would be arriving in Lilongwe at 3:00 pm. We did not receive any boarding passes for the connecting flight. I thought we would probably just stay on the plane, let some passengers debark and then fly to Blantyre. Not.
In Lilongwe, we once again debarked, collected our bags, went around to ticketing, waited in line, checked in, checked bags, (we were forced to check two of our three carry-on bags, still not sure why), and re-boarded the exact same plane we had just left. This process took about 75 minutes.
I was thinking about our friends the Greens. They were probably sitting in the parking lot, just outside the exit to airport in Blantyre wondering what in the heck was going on? Hopefully they will ask someone and find something to keep occupied during the delay.
When we finally arrived in Blantyre, at about 5:15. We waited for the red tractor to bring our bags, and then, finally, at about 5:30, we walked toward the front door for the reunion with our friends. Madison and Alexis could not contain their enthusiasm about reuniting with Annie - I could see it in their faces, hear it in their voices, and actually feel it radiating from them in waves.
But when we walked outside, Annie wasn’t there! Neither was Don. Neither was Leanne. ???
There were at least a dozen Malawian men who were more than eager to assist with bags. We each had a bag cart so we didn’t really need the help, but they just rushed over and start helping anyway, guiding the cart to wherever we were already heading.
Where were we heading? Not exactly sure. We scour the small parking lot - not sure what the Greens are driving. Around us, other passengers are loading onto cars, trucks, and vans. (There were only about 60-75 other passengers - the flight was less than half full. We each had a row to ourselves.) Within 10 minutes, there is only one other passenger left, talking on his cell phone.) I know my phone will not work, but I try it anyway.
As the sun is setting, we stand and watch as the front door to the airport is locked behind us. There are about a dozen men standing around hoping for a chance to earn a tip by helping us in some way. The only cell phone that might work to contact the Greens was in use by a fellow traveller, in some language I do not recognize - sounds Middle Eastern.
Shortly after I saw that the cell phone conversation has ended, “Do you speak English?” I asked with a smile.
“Yes, came a friendly reply.
30 seconds later as I was dialing the cell phone, I heard screaming behind me! I turned to see Madison and Alexis pointing and screaming. Then a matching young female scream erupted from the parking area. Annie!!
We had only been waiting about 10-15 minutes, and even though we remained calm and confident that we would not be stranded for the night, it was a welcome relief to see the Greens. Emerge from their maroon Toyota Rav 4.
The screaming lasted about 3 minutes and was followed by short bursts of unbridled screams for another 5 minutes. The last scream occurred after loading up the bags and we were down the road several minutes.
In case you are wondering, the Greens had arrived at the airport at about 2:30 in the afternoon, when the original flight was scheduled to arrive. After waiting a half-hour, Don asked some Air Malawi employees about the delay and nobody really seemed to have answers. There was writing on the board that the only flight arriving today was scheduled to land at 5:35. So they had gone into Blantyre for coffee. Rush hour traffic, which is not as bad as the 405 near LAX, is still fairly brutal. But they still arrived at exactly the right time, if we had needed to clear customs, but since we did that in Lilongwe, we exited the airport more quickly that expected.
After packing the vehicle, including strapping two bags of donated clothes to the top of the car, and leaving the parking lot, we caught the tail end of some rush hour traffic, but in less than 2 hours we arrived at the Hope Village compound. This place is awesome. I will include descriptions and photos on another post, probably tomorrow night.
Sorry if this blog entry is a little long. I know that some people want as many details as possible and others just want highlights.
Please leave a comment or question. Thanks for all your prayers and support. We are looking forward to participating in all the good work God is doing here.
