I am now in Tanzania! Arrived just this morning. The trip turned out to be fairly pleasant, and everything went smoothly.
My dad took me to the Houston airport Monday morning, and we had a gift waiting for us before we even got to the terminal: a baggage cart. There, stranded in the crowded parking garage was a single cart, right on the level where we found a parking spot. You see, one of my “bags” is a big Rubbermaid storage box. I got the idea from folks here who said the foot locker-type things were nice for packing bulky items and great to have after the trip. What I had not considered was how we were going to get this 70-pound box with no wheels from the car to the ticket counter. But there, ready for us, was the solution--before I had even asked the question!
The actual flying continued the smooth trip begun with the baggage cart. For one thing, I made only one connection, and that was in London-Heathrow’s expansive Terminal 5. For another, I enjoyed great on service on British Airways for both flights. It’s been a while since I’ve traveled with them, and I forgot how nice it was. From Houston to London the plane was empty enough that everyone could stretch out across their own row of seats. My window seat itself was right behind an exit row, and there was no chair in front of me... a window plus leg room! Also, with fewer passengers, the flight attendants were able to really pamper us. By the way, I was going to take a picture of my little nook when we landed, but they were so good about getting us off the plane quickly (when does that ever happen?) that I didn’t have a chance.
The flight from London to Dar es Salaam was full, but I somehow got lucky. I was looking forward to another window seat (sleep had still been sparse, and I was in the middle of a 36-hour trip). The man in the aisle seat next to mine asked if I would switch. Feeling terrible, I declined, knowing a window was my only chance for sleep. However, he must have been asking around, because a flight attendant came and told him about a free window seat elsewhere. So I ended up with both seats in the row to myself, and yes, a 5-foot-7 person can curl up in that amount of space. I felt a little guilty though, like I was being rewarded for my selfishness.
Someday I am going to fly first or business class on BA... those seats are more like beds in their own little booths!
Coming to Tanzania at 7:00 in the morning with insufficient sleep, I wondered if I would be a complete zombie. But that last hour on the plane had one more treat for me: a brilliant, breathtaking sunrise. As I watched the bold colors lengthen and then tracked our descent through multiple levels of varied cloud banks, my eagerness grew. The beauty was stimulating. So the adventure begins!
(This photo does not really do justice to the spectacular display I saw.)
On the ground I eventually got through immigration and easily found Brian, who had come to pick me up. (And there were baggage carts available!) The main thing I’ve done today is meet people--folks from our SIL office here and a group of other newbies just finishing their orientation course (which I will take in the summer). A few of them are going with me to language school this weekend. In fact, one family will be on my same team in Musoma. It’s his (Andre’s) laptop that is the “magic computer” here at the hotel... no one else’s can connect to the internet.
Exhaustion took over when I was in my room on my own, so I had a nap this afternoon. I was trying to hold out for bedtime. But I think I’ll be ready for sleep again soon!
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