Jefferson Aeroplane

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On Monday, Sarah and I each had a few errands to run, and then we were going to hit the road with my mom to Seattle. Shortly before leaving, though, we found out we had a problem.

One of the women we will be with told us that they’re each taking 3 bags of 70 pounds, because they booked through a travel agent that got them missionary rates. Sarah emailed to double-check this and we found out that that was the wrong airline. We were, in fact, only allowed 2 bags of 50 pounds each! That sure put a damper in our plans! All of our bags (6) were packed to the brim, maybe even a few pounds over. On the way to Seattle, we tried to figure out how to make this all work. That’s a big oops and something to remember to check on for next time.

As we were in my uncle’s lawn unpacking and repacking everything, we were disappointed in everything we had to leave behind and also by all the work we had put in (which, honestly, was mostly Sarah) in getting everything packed. We got everything that we absolutely needed in, and the rest will have to go with us next time, I guess. My mom paid for us to be able to take a 5th bag, which was nice, but while we were checking them in, we still had to do some rearranging. The first man we talked to was completely by-the-book, but then a different guy was helping us, and he overlooked a few pounds. Thanks, Jesus! We tipped him in Kit-Kats 😉

Sarah and I made our way to the terminal to board our long flight to Amsterdam. We made it through security, with our laptops, liquids and gels, and shoes all still in our possession.

The flight was almost 10 hours long. I had really hoped to sleep a lot on that flight, but it wasn’t going to happen for me. Bummer. By the time we landed, we had jumped 9 time zones and missed night altogether. The good things about international flights: meals are free, as are headphones. Plus there are movies. This particular airline has On-Demand movies and shows, so you can start them whenever you want for no charge. I also read an entire book.

We landed in Amsterdam just in time for breakfast. After getting some (free) luggage carts, we wandered a while. It should have been a sign that they put maps of the airport in the carts that it would be a huge place with lots of places to get lost. Once we found our gate, one of us took a nice little nap on the tile floor, and it wasn’t Sarah. She slept pretty hard on the flight.

It was cool watching people at the Amsterdam airport. They’re from all corners of the world, with dozens of religions and cultures represented. Even just looking at the flight attendants’ uniforms was interesting.

To board the flight to Nairobi, we had to go through security at the gate, which meant we had to chug our water and not refill our bottles. It was quite an odd setup, but whatever. As I write, we are somewhere over the Mediterranean Sea. This flight is almost 8 hours and seems to be coming in a little bit late. Then we’ll jump on a commuter flight to Entebbe, Uganda. 4 countries in one day is a little overwhelming!

It’s still a little surreal. We’re really going. It’s really today. Sarah thought it would hit her in Amsterdam, or maybe 6 hours into the first flight. Here I am, on a second flight, full of people from all over the world, where they do the announcements in 3 languages and also had a special greeting for the Swahili-speaking folks on this flight. But still it’s not quite real. Maybe it’s because I’m still in a (somewhat) comfortable airliner, with the AC going nuts. Everything is wrapped in plastic and sanitary and shiny. There is a TV in the back of the seat in front of me. I think once we land in Nairobi, it will become more real to me. Or at least once we get to Entebbe and see our friends and have to get visas and things.

Now I’m on the flight from Nairobi to Entebbe. When we got on the flight from Amsterdam, the flight attendants asked if they could check our large backpacks. (We each had a small backpack with our books and things, and our big ones with all our clothes.) Sure. They gave us claim tickets and we took our seats. As we were getting close to Nairobi, we asked where we should pick them up. The flight attendant (who looks strangely similar to Tiffany Riddle) got a little nervous and asked the head gal. They didn’t realize that we had a connecting flight (they didn’t ask) and our bags were only checked through Nairobi. A few seconds later, the head gal came back and asked if we drank wine. She offered to give us a bottle of Business Class wine, to share, to make up for all our troubles. Her surprised expression when we told her we don’t drink EVER was funny to me. As she walked away, I did figure out something she could pay us back with- a couple bottles of water. She found some and brought them back, and also with some small ceramic houses, which are apparently famous in Holland and collectors items, which also happened to be full of liquor. So we got free souvenirs from Holland!

The airport in Nairobi was simple and easy to find our way around, but no one could figure out just how to help us get our bags without going through customs and paying for a transit visa. Eventually, we found our way to the right line and Samuel helped us. He literally ran to the other side of the airport to get our bags for us. We proceeded to the gate and then had to go through security again! So much for those bottles of water. Again, we chugged. I had to laugh because I used the water to take my evening meds, which I was carrying with me. So, essentially I made it through security with booze and pills, but couldn’t take the water with me. (We’ll dump out the liquor when we get to Uganda so we can fly with it.)

It’s amazing to see all the different cultures from all over. And I’m continually impressed with the fact that everyone is fluent in so many languages! And the hospitality of the Kenyans and the Dutch is far superior to anything you’d see in the States.

We should be landing in Entebbe soon. Prossy and Jordan are on their way to pick us up, and then we have about an hour’s drive to Kampala. We’re flying over seemingly nothing. There are no lights anywhere. And I don’t think it’s because we’re too far up or above the clouds. Weird. Oh, and we are 10 hours ahead of you all! I’m not sure how often we’ll have internet or when I’ll be able to post this, but I’ll close with a joke I heard in Germany.

-What do you call someone who speaks four languages?
-Quadlingual.
-What do you call someone who speaks three languages?
-Trilingual.
What do you call someone who speaks two languages?
-Bilingual.
-What do you call someone who speaks one language?
-American.

I have never found that to be so true as it was today/yesterday.

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