I wish I could tell you that our next day's adventures following our dramatic trip from Kentucky to Johannesburg were uneventful, but then, I would be lying. However, it was fairly tame in comparison.
Being awake since 2:00AM, I was more than ready to start the day. We got out of bed around 6:00AM and took showers, then left for the airport around 7:00 with our ACSL traveling back to Madagascar with us. It was a blessing to have him along!
Our flight wasn't scheduled to leave until 10:15, but Praise the Lord, we arrived 3 hours early because first, we were told that our seats had been cancelled, so Chandler showed the itinerary and eventually they found their mistake. THEN, we were told that we were only allowed one bag per person at 50lbs each. We had packed and prepared as if we were given TWO bags per person at 50lbs each, so we only expected to pay for three extra bags. Turns out, we had to pay for SIX extra bags. That was a fun $800 to hand over.
I'll just say it, "Thanks, UNITED for screwing EVERYthing up from the get-go!"
All of this ate about two hours of our time; yes, two hours, giving us a very small window for breakfast and to make it to our gate in time.
By the time we boarded the plane, we had already reached our stress limit for the day. Fortunately, after they served lunch and drinks, Waverly and I were able to sleep (like rocks, mind you), the remainder of the flight. When we had to wake Waverly up, she threw a bit of a fit and as I reached over to hold her and soothe her, she fell back asleep almost immediately. I told Chandler that if our final destination required one more flight, I would refuse because I didn't think Waverly could handle anymore and neither could we.
But we got here and we got all of our luggage and were never hassled in customs or security (my two biggest fears of flying) and we've settled in quite nicely!
Being in Africa doesn't quite feel like "home", yet, but we're definitely not uncomfortable here. It's not scary, but maybe a little overwhelming. We are stared at everywhere we go and that's not so fun, but apparently, that's life now. Fortunately, we have co-workers here who have helped us navigate and communicate.
If I were to explain Tana to you, you either wouldn't believe me or just wouldn't get it. The city is a large juxtaposition. For example, our hotel is fairly nice: A/C units in most rooms, hot, running water, electricity, Wi-fi, but right outside our window, literally, is a shanty-town. Driving down the street in the middle of town are little shops, big buildings, and huts side-by-side. And I say "huts", like the ramshackle huts you might expect to see in the bush. Crazy. Unlike most of Africa, you drive on the right side of the road and the steering wheel is one the left side of the car, just like in America. LIKE most of Africa, people are crazy drivers and there are not stoplights, so you have to be super-defensive.
By nature, Chandler and I are city people, but being in this city makes us ready to get to our little town where life is a little slower and less overwhelming.
In two days, we head to Antsirabe!!
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
It's 5 o'clock (AM!) somewhere...
It's 5 o'clock AM here in Johannesburg, South Africa and we are wide awake. It's going to take some time for our bodies to adjust to the time change and we have another time change to navigate tomorrow since South Africa is 6 hours ahead of our normal Eastern Standard Time and Madagascar is 8 hours ahead. Anyway, we've been watching movies and eating snacks, not sure exactly how to handle the sleep schedule with Waverly.
We've been on this journey for about 3 days now (6 hours of which are just lost in thin air because of the time difference) and it has already been more adventurous than we had hoped for. Thursday morning started off fairly positively, except that we were over-charged for our extra luggage and found out we wouldn't be able to check our bags all the way to Madagascar like we had been told previously when we called the airline. Bummer. But all of our luggage weighed exactly as we planned, we gate checked our two carry ons and stroller, and boarded the flight to Chicago! We arrived in Chicago on time with time to find our gate, each lunch, and relax for a short time.
When they began boarding the plane, we decided we would board last of our group, which ended up being one of the last ones anyway. We didn't want to hold anyone up as we broke the stroller down and just organized ourselves before boarding. As we reached the agent at the gate, there was some confusion with our tickets, so Chandler went to the counter to work that out and I stayed at the gate with our things and Waverly. This is when things got hairy.
The lady at the gate informed me that we would have to check our rolling carry ons because there wasn't room in the plane for us to store them. She asked our final destination, I told her South Africa, and next thing I know, our carry ons with clothes, toiletries, and electronics were slated to be checked in baggage and picked up in South Africa. WHAT???? I called for Chandler to abandon his post and help me get this worked out.
Things got a little heated. We pulled the: We're-MOVING-to-Africa card and surely there was someone on the plane who wasn't going international who would be willing to check their bags so we could carry ours, but they were all less than helpful, somewhat rude, and rushing us through the gate. The supervisor was even more less than helpful and was actually kind of offensive (and I really don't get offended easily). Chandler told him of our fear of stuff being taken out of our bags when they arrived in Africa. His reply, "Oh, you'll see it again." Then Chandler asked, "Have you ever BEEN to Africa??" "No," he said, "but I hear it's beautiful." Jerk. At that point, I wanted to slap him.
I digress. So we grabbed what we could out of those bags to get us through to South Africa, with MUCH grumbling, and lugged it all on the plane. That was a long 1 1/2 hour flight, especially when we realized our computer was still in the carry on and could potentially be stolen since it was lying right on top of everything else.
We prayed. A lot. And when we got on the plane in DC, I texted family and asked THEM to pray that all of our luggage would make it to South Africa along with EVERYTHING inside. Then, all we could do was relax (as much as we could) and make it through.
On top of all of this drama, Waverly had not had a nap and melted down most of the way from Chicago to DC. That was stressful and I'll admit, I wasn't a very nice person or mother. And I didn't get any nicer when we landed in DC, met the requested supervisor at the counter and were told that there was nothing we could do except track the luggage when we reached our gate. I was ready to punch someone. But I didn't. Hear me, I didn't. I did, however, call it the "worst day of my life" and asked Chandler, "Can this day get any worse?" He replied, "Yep. My watch just quit." Our only dependable method of keeping track of the changing time. Awesome.
But let me tell you this, God heard our prayers. Waverly was AMAZING on the 17 hour flight; no crying, no fits. She was perfect. He gave us rest and revived our spirits. Then, about 16 hours into the flight, our already wracked and exhausted brains somehow remembered that the last time we were in Africa, our bags did not go through customs without us, so as long as they all made it to Africa, they would not be picked through because we would be there! Rejuvenated, we hurried off of the plane, through passport check and to the baggage carousel, where all 9 bags, plus our two carry ons showed up!! We were ELATED! God would still be good if all of our bags didn't make it. He would still be good if our computer had been stolen (Thanks to encryption!). But He showed Himself gracious, victorious and good by getting us through the longest few days...ever and protecting our belongings.
I think had He not answered our prayers like He did, I would have lost my mind when Waverly, playing on the swingset of the guest house, hit her head on the metal bar, cutting it open, and (practically) bleeding out. Great way to start our new life. Haha. But we went on to have a great meal with our bosses and are all ready to fly to Madagascar in the morning!
God is so good. All the time. I have never lived on "blind faith" until now. I have no idea what tomorrow holds, but I am learning that He does and nothing that happens is a surprise to Him. And we are careful to give praise and glory to Him who holds it all together (Col. 1:17).
We've been on this journey for about 3 days now (6 hours of which are just lost in thin air because of the time difference) and it has already been more adventurous than we had hoped for. Thursday morning started off fairly positively, except that we were over-charged for our extra luggage and found out we wouldn't be able to check our bags all the way to Madagascar like we had been told previously when we called the airline. Bummer. But all of our luggage weighed exactly as we planned, we gate checked our two carry ons and stroller, and boarded the flight to Chicago! We arrived in Chicago on time with time to find our gate, each lunch, and relax for a short time.
When they began boarding the plane, we decided we would board last of our group, which ended up being one of the last ones anyway. We didn't want to hold anyone up as we broke the stroller down and just organized ourselves before boarding. As we reached the agent at the gate, there was some confusion with our tickets, so Chandler went to the counter to work that out and I stayed at the gate with our things and Waverly. This is when things got hairy.
The lady at the gate informed me that we would have to check our rolling carry ons because there wasn't room in the plane for us to store them. She asked our final destination, I told her South Africa, and next thing I know, our carry ons with clothes, toiletries, and electronics were slated to be checked in baggage and picked up in South Africa. WHAT???? I called for Chandler to abandon his post and help me get this worked out.
Things got a little heated. We pulled the: We're-MOVING-to-Africa card and surely there was someone on the plane who wasn't going international who would be willing to check their bags so we could carry ours, but they were all less than helpful, somewhat rude, and rushing us through the gate. The supervisor was even more less than helpful and was actually kind of offensive (and I really don't get offended easily). Chandler told him of our fear of stuff being taken out of our bags when they arrived in Africa. His reply, "Oh, you'll see it again." Then Chandler asked, "Have you ever BEEN to Africa??" "No," he said, "but I hear it's beautiful." Jerk. At that point, I wanted to slap him.
I digress. So we grabbed what we could out of those bags to get us through to South Africa, with MUCH grumbling, and lugged it all on the plane. That was a long 1 1/2 hour flight, especially when we realized our computer was still in the carry on and could potentially be stolen since it was lying right on top of everything else.
We prayed. A lot. And when we got on the plane in DC, I texted family and asked THEM to pray that all of our luggage would make it to South Africa along with EVERYTHING inside. Then, all we could do was relax (as much as we could) and make it through.
On top of all of this drama, Waverly had not had a nap and melted down most of the way from Chicago to DC. That was stressful and I'll admit, I wasn't a very nice person or mother. And I didn't get any nicer when we landed in DC, met the requested supervisor at the counter and were told that there was nothing we could do except track the luggage when we reached our gate. I was ready to punch someone. But I didn't. Hear me, I didn't. I did, however, call it the "worst day of my life" and asked Chandler, "Can this day get any worse?" He replied, "Yep. My watch just quit." Our only dependable method of keeping track of the changing time. Awesome.
But let me tell you this, God heard our prayers. Waverly was AMAZING on the 17 hour flight; no crying, no fits. She was perfect. He gave us rest and revived our spirits. Then, about 16 hours into the flight, our already wracked and exhausted brains somehow remembered that the last time we were in Africa, our bags did not go through customs without us, so as long as they all made it to Africa, they would not be picked through because we would be there! Rejuvenated, we hurried off of the plane, through passport check and to the baggage carousel, where all 9 bags, plus our two carry ons showed up!! We were ELATED! God would still be good if all of our bags didn't make it. He would still be good if our computer had been stolen (Thanks to encryption!). But He showed Himself gracious, victorious and good by getting us through the longest few days...ever and protecting our belongings.
I think had He not answered our prayers like He did, I would have lost my mind when Waverly, playing on the swingset of the guest house, hit her head on the metal bar, cutting it open, and (practically) bleeding out. Great way to start our new life. Haha. But we went on to have a great meal with our bosses and are all ready to fly to Madagascar in the morning!
God is so good. All the time. I have never lived on "blind faith" until now. I have no idea what tomorrow holds, but I am learning that He does and nothing that happens is a surprise to Him. And we are careful to give praise and glory to Him who holds it all together (Col. 1:17).
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Thursday, September 20, 2012
The Little Things
Well, our training is over and we are headed back to Kentucky for a week before we leave for Madagascar.
I must give credit where it is due and thank the Lord for His peace that surpasses all understanding (Phil 4:7). For weeks and weeks we have been praying that He would extend an extra measure of peace over us as we completed training and transitioned again for just a short time before leaving for the field. This next week of preparation and time with our families and friends is going to be a huge, nasty tangle of emotions and, to be quite honest, I didn't want to face it. So we prayed and we prayed hard ad we asked others to pray and, in His grace, the Lord has provided peace. For that, we are inexplicably thankful.
But I'm also thankful for something much smaller: Waverly likes African food. Encouraging, ey? Well, I'm encouraged, mainly because food is going to be one of the biggest adjustments for me. I love food and I love the food I love and the food I love cannot be found in Africa, except that which I can make from scratch. But naturally, I was worried about Waverly not liking the food. I mean, she IS her Momma's girl: she loves Chick fil a. But I cannot explain to you the relief I experienced when we ate African cuisine on two separate occasions during training and she actually enjoyed it. It wasn't a flooding-type of relief, the kind that washes over you when you run back into Joseph Beth because you left your phone in the bathroom and the lady at the counter tells you that, in fact, someone turned your phone in. No, it was a sweet relief like, don't be nervous, she was made for this. Maybe it wasn't even relief, maybe it was God speaking (more) peace into my spirit: I've got this. I know what I'm doing. She was made for this.
I must give credit where it is due and thank the Lord for His peace that surpasses all understanding (Phil 4:7). For weeks and weeks we have been praying that He would extend an extra measure of peace over us as we completed training and transitioned again for just a short time before leaving for the field. This next week of preparation and time with our families and friends is going to be a huge, nasty tangle of emotions and, to be quite honest, I didn't want to face it. So we prayed and we prayed hard ad we asked others to pray and, in His grace, the Lord has provided peace. For that, we are inexplicably thankful.
But I'm also thankful for something much smaller: Waverly likes African food. Encouraging, ey? Well, I'm encouraged, mainly because food is going to be one of the biggest adjustments for me. I love food and I love the food I love and the food I love cannot be found in Africa, except that which I can make from scratch. But naturally, I was worried about Waverly not liking the food. I mean, she IS her Momma's girl: she loves Chick fil a. But I cannot explain to you the relief I experienced when we ate African cuisine on two separate occasions during training and she actually enjoyed it. It wasn't a flooding-type of relief, the kind that washes over you when you run back into Joseph Beth because you left your phone in the bathroom and the lady at the counter tells you that, in fact, someone turned your phone in. No, it was a sweet relief like, don't be nervous, she was made for this. Maybe it wasn't even relief, maybe it was God speaking (more) peace into my spirit: I've got this. I know what I'm doing. She was made for this.
Ethiopian.
Senegalese.
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