We (myself and 23 other missionaries) left Newark on Friday, June 27 at 6:30. We flew to London where most of the team continued caught a flight to Nairobi. 5 of us (myself, two other teachers at HOPAC, and a couple and their 2 yr. old daughter) had a 12 hour layover at Heathrow airport. (We were traveling straight to Dar es Salaam because you can carry 70 lb. bags on a British Airways flight, but you can only carry 44 lb. bags on a Kenya airways flight. Our training is in Kenya, so we would have had to ship the rest of our luggage...and you don't ship anything you actually want in Africa. If you want it really badly, customs agents will have you "tip" them for it. And if you don't want it, someone else will... someone else will probable still want it, wether you want it or not.) During our layover, three of us took the tube into the city to have lunch and hang out.
Sitting in an airport for 12 hours seemed like a terrifying prospect. We found ourselves in St. James' Park, where we sat on a park bench, and took a very slow walk. We then had lunch in Piccadilly Circus. (The whole time, we were trying not to fall asleep! We just kept nodding off...especially at lunch.)
Back to the airport, 9 hour flight to Dar, 8 hour layover. Luckily, there was a restaurant at the airport this time. By the time we hit the last plane ride, the 2 yr old said, "Plane, mommy?" then she started to cry. We all felt the same way. 1 hour flight to Nairobi and a 40 minute ride to the guesthouse. Finally, after almost 4 days: a bed, a shower, and a change of clothes! (Part of me is very glad that I won't have to do that again for quite some time.)
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