Look Alive!

Staying awake for the next few hours is the name of the game. We are HERE in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. We left from DC Monday morning around 10:00 (eastern time). We touched down after about 7 hours for a pit stop in Rome, Italy at 1:00 a.m. their time (5ish p.m. eastern time). Though we didn’t get off the plane, I breathed fresh Italian air when they opened the plane door. That counts, right??? I’m totally claiming it.

After an hour of my thorough exposure to the Italian culture, we headed for Ethiopia. This added 7 more hours in the air, arriving at 9 a.m. Ethiopian time. Time out. I say “we” like I helped fly the plane or something. Lord help us if that were the case. Time in. We quickly changed planes and got on last flight (4 hours-ish), headed to Lusaka.

We are now at our hotel, several of us without a piece of our luggage of course. We are missing 7 bags. I have mine with clothes so I am happy. My other bag should arrive in the next couple of days. Tomorrow we will load up the trucks and take a 6 hour truck ride to our final destination, the Namwianga Mission. This is where we will be lodging and working (The Haven children’s home is nearby).

A few notes: I must give props to Ethiopian Airlines. Their service was GREAT and the flight attendants were on top of it. They even gave me a thank you gift for flying with them- an awesome pair of gold socks. I accepted them because, hey, I do what I can. Also, big shout out to my awesome Nanga, who packed several gluten free turkey wraps that have been a lifesaver over the past one slash two days.
And with that, I think it’s safe to say I need to rest my brain. Pictures to come!