June 18-19: The Forever Flight

Friday we woke up early to go into town and spend any money we had left. We left for town at 8am and didn’t need to leave for the airport until 11am. I had planned on going to the Girl Guide headquarters today but I didn’t have any idea where they were and only had a telephone number to contact them, no address and I didn’t have a phone. Our hotel was near town with shops and venders but there weren’t any businesses so I had a feeling it wasn’t close. I decided it wasn’t worth finding a way to get there and with home so close, I didn’t want to get caught in a potential mess because everything in Malawi takes a long time and I didn’t want to miss my flight. I was disappointed because I was looking forward to meeting them but it will just give me another reason to go back!

Quite a few of us were in search of an African/Malawi shot glass. The advisors said our best bet would be at the airport or at an African store in town. We stopped at the store and it had basically everything we had seen during our entire trip but it was 4 times more expensive. They had flags, T-shirts, jewelry and lots of carvings. We didn’t end up finding shot glasses at this store or at the airport.

We had learned at Mua Mission that beadwork was traditionally done in Malawi but has recently died out except for one vender in Lilongwe who sells bead art. Since I learned how significant the artwork is, I really wanted to get a piece of beadwork. I had my heart set on a zebra but the guys were trying to charge us 4,000 kwacha. No way! They were very stubborn and unpleasant to work with so I decided a wooden Zebra would be just fine. Later on I did end up getting a adorable little beaded elephant. I was willing to pay 550 kwacha for the little elephant and the man told me that its very hard to make a smaller animal because of the detail, so then I said, “okay then give me a bigger animal for 550 since they must be easier to make.” I wasn’t trying to be smart; I just wanted a beaded animal! Well, that definitely shut him up and he gave in, giving me the little elephant for 550 kwacha!

My brother, Chris really wanted a real rhino but I told him a wooden one would have to do. So I searched through the venders and found one I liked and I liked the man selling it too. There are some very unpleasant venders so it's not worth buying from them. Thankfully Lilongwe has plenty of venders to choose from. He really wanted 400 kwacha for a rhino but I stood firm at 200 kwacha and stood there waiting patiently for him to go down in price. He was very nice and I enjoyed talking to him. I had brought some items to bargain with and I told him I’d give him lotion and mouthwash if he went down to 200 kwacha. He thought about it for a while but after I showed him the lotion and mouthwash I could tell he really wanted it. We made the deal and he was already taking the lotion out and putting it on his arms. He seemed very excited about the lotion. I explained to him how to properly use mouthwash. I didn’t want him to poison himself.

I also brought my backpack and intended on bargaining with it. I had used it this entire trip and it was just filthy so I didn’t want to bring it home. It was in great condition, no rips and the zippers worked perfectly. Word got out that I was willing to give away my backpack so all the venders were asking for it. If you ask one vender for an animal, every vender you talk to for the rest of the day will show you that animal. They all know what you’re looking for. So I found a man that was willing to give me a salad bowl and tongs for the backpack. I figured that was a good deal and made the trade. He was thrilled with the backpack.

I ran into my friend, James Bond 008 and he was glad to see us back! Unfortunately I didn’t see anything I liked at his stand and I was buying from other venders. He wasn’t happy with me and I think he took it personally because he seemed a little hurt.

The last thing I brought was a Malawian newspaper for 70 kwacha. I spent most of my money because I only had 170 kwacha left and $40 I didn’t exchange. I felt like I did a good job at budgeting my money! I had a lot of fun this morning walking around shopping with the venders. I felt like I got some good deals and I’m happy with my last minute purchases. It was a great way to end our trip. Lilongwe definitely has the best selection and the most venders but since Lilongwe has the most tourists, you have to be good at bargaining to get a good deal. They would try to sell items for insane prices and once we told them we have been here a month and we know that’s a ridiculous price, they were willing to drop the price by at least 50%. I lived in a different currency for an entire month. Now when I go home and get a manicure for $25 I’ll be trying to figure out how much kwacha that is. It’s about 3,675 kwacha which is way too much. I like kwacha because it makes me feel like I have more money and it goes a lot farther than a dollar. I’ll miss kwachas!

Finally it was time to go so Krista and I headed back to the lodge to finish packing and change our clothes for the plane ride. Charles drove us to the Airport and then he was off. I think he was happy to see us go because now he will have more time with his family. We sure do take up a lot of his time but we also give him enough money to last him a very long time. I will miss Charles very much, he is a very fun Malawian!

We got in line and I weighed my bags. Of course, both of them were over 50 pounds. Thankfully Amber had space in one of her suitcases so I shoved some things in her extra bag.

Amber asked if I had an extra book she could read and I pulled out a book my mom gave me to read, The #1 Ladies Detective Agency. I hadn’t had the chance to read it yet, but the advisors all just raved about the book. Amber didn’t read it, but I read the 1st chapter at the end of the flight and it kept my attention for a while!

We weren’t sure if they would freak out about the chief chairs being too long so we decided not to point them out. Three of us had big ones so we basically hid them from the people behind the counter as we checked in. We thought that if we got past them we would be safe and just say we were told they were okay. Since we already have 2 checked bags, we would have to pay extra if they made us check the chief chair. We paid our $30 Malawian exit fee and made it past check in with our chairs.

When we arrived the sign said our flight was leaving at 1pm instead of 1:50pm. We didn’t think they would be able to check in our entire group that fast since it was already 12noon. However we liked the idea of leaving earlier because that would get us to Ethiopia faster and give us time to catch our 2nd fight. The security line was rushing to get us all though the line. Except there literally was no line but as I went through the medal detector, the buzzer went off but the guard told me to keep going. There were no liquid restrictions, and they didn’t make us take out our laptops or take off our shoes. Ethiopia was very relaxed as well. It was a little upsetting if you ask me. As soon as all of us were in the waiting room, they got the bus and took us over to the airplane. As I showed them my boarding ticket, they insisted on taking my chief chair. We figured they would take it at some point because it’s considered a weapon. They tagged it and promised I would see it at Dulles. I would have preferred to give it to them right when I got on the plane, but they took it before I even got on the bus to drive to the plane. So I was doubtful it would make it to the plane and I was worried the entire trip.

Turns out we didn’t actually leave until the regularly scheduled time (1:50pm) because things just take time around here. Good thing they were trying to leave at 1pm because it they were trying to leave at 1:50pm we probably wouldn’t have left until 3pm.

The reason they wanted to leave at 1pm was because our plane had to fly to Zambia to fuel up before we headed to Addis Ababa. There aren’t very many planes at this airport so I’m guessing its not a very heavily traveled airport. We ran into a Canadian who has an ongoing project here in Malawi. He talked about some of the work he does but he said he mostly just fundraises and designs projects but he lets the Malawians do the work. His organization doesn’t build anything because that would be taking a Malawian's job. Very true. We told him about our layover and he said not to worry he was sure they would wait for us. He always flies Ethiopian Airlines and is happy with the service. I’ve talked to people who hate it and who love it. I don’t have anything to compare it to, but I’m very happy with Ethiopian Airlines.

I sat by Heidi and Amber and I was lucky enough to get a window seat! We left and as Amber says, “ Goodbye Malawi until we meet again!”

We flew through the clouds and it was just awesome to be in the air! We stopped at Zambia and just sat in the plane for about an hour. I slept though the landing but apparently it was a student pilot and the landing was a little rough. No one had lunch so it was almost 3pm and we were really needing some food. They gave us Ethiopian Jet crackers and during the hour break we went to the back and took as many packs as we could to share with our group. Finally we left for Addis Ababa and this was the shorter part of the trip. My plan was to stay awake until we got on the 2nd plane in Addis. (That didn’t work out because I fell asleep before we even got to Zambia) I didn’t want to take any pills until after Addis but I ended up not taking any Bendaryl. I was so tired from the past couple of days I had no trouble sleeping.

I didn’t remember consciously asking for no ice during the fight over here, but I made sure not to get ice with my drinks. They finally offered us a meal on the way to Addis and we had chicken as an option this time! Chicken, beef or fish. I went for the chicken. It was good! Well, we were all so hungry we would have eaten anything. We ate breakfast at 7:30am and we didn’t get anything until 5:30pm. It was a long day.

The night before we left Heidi started a countdown until we got to America. It started at 29 hours and now it was less than 20 hours. This whole time concept confuses the heck out of me when we are traveling. I was trying to keep track of Malawian time, American time, and the time of the zone we were currently in. Plus I was trying to add and subtract hours as we were on the plane. It was too hard for me to keep track. I only knew that we were on that plane forever and it was miserable.

I really wish I had brought Airborne for the flights. On the way here and back I have felt really sick on the plane. I get pineapple on the plane each time because the juice tastes good and I feel like I’m getting a sore throat and have cold like symptoms. I brought all kinds of medicine for getting an upset stomach but nothing for an everyday cold from all these airplane germs.

We made it to Ethiopia with time to spare! As we got off the plane and went to the airport we realized our connecting flight had been delayed an hour. That would put us behind an hour but we hoped they would be able to make the time up in the air. We were just glad we didn’t have to worry about missing the flight. The extra hour worked out perfectly because we were able to walk around the airport and look in the little Ethiopian shops. It was nice to stretch and have different scenery. I hate to generalize about groups but the Ethiopians we had contact with in the airport were exceptionally rude. On the way here we experienced many people cutting in the customs line and as we boarded the flight in Ethiopia we had people just shove their way through us. Malawians are not like that at all.

We boarded the next flight and I was really excited to see leather seats with head cushions! Well that came with a price because there weren’t personal TV’s on the seats in front of you. Bummer! The isle TV’s were small and far away. By this time it was 10pm in Malawi and past our normal bedtime. In order to try to change to American time some people were going to try and stay awake until 2am Malawian time. I didn’t care; I was going to sleep whenever I needed to just to make the flight go by quicker. There were two people on either side of the plane and 3 seats set up in the middle. I was sitting in an isle seat in a 2 person section. The person sitting next to me in the window seat was a stranger-not someone from our group. She was nice and pleasant to talk to but she slept the entire time and curled up her feet onto the chair and rested them on my thigh. I HATE feet. I tried to remain calm and put a pillow in-between my leg and her feet and that seemed to help most of the time. Later she stretched her legs out into my area and put her bare feet on top of my carry-on bag. She even put some of her trash on my tray when she didn’t want to hold it. I was very annoyed.

There were quite a few families on our flight that were bringing home babies and children they adopted from Ethiopia. It was fun to see the families. One family already had an Ethiopian child at home and was bringing home an Ethiopian brother and sister. How cute! Our flight was full of children and we had lots of crying and screaming babies almost the entire time. We also had happy ones run up and down the isle for hours. I didn’t mind, it was someone to entertain me and take up time.

I slept almost the entire way to Rome and then we waited for an hour in the plane. The group stretched and compared sleeping positions to see if anyone had a really comfortable position they wanted to share. We came to the conclusion no position was very comfortable. It was miserable and it was far from over. The flight from Rome to Dulles was the longest stretch of all.

We went through either 3 or 4 different flight crews and had 3 meals and one breakfast served to us during our 25 hour long flight. Most of us weren’t hungry at all of the meal times but since we literally had nothing else to do, we just picked around and ate to fill time. Like I said, I couldn’t keep up with the time confusion because whatever time it was supposed to be, the light outside would be different. After we left Rome, it was light outside for the rest of the flight even though it was still night time at home. The countdown was making process! We were less than 10 hours away! However all of us felt like we had been in this darn plane forever and I was getting anxious. It is torture to stay in a plane that long.

We thought we would be able to make up the lost time from the delay in the air but because of the wind, our estimated time of arrival wasn’t until 9am instead of 7:20am. So when 7:20am rolled around we had mentally prepared ourselves to think that was the end, so the last hour and a half was probably the worst part of it all. None of us had showered or “freshened up” so I felt gross and just wanted to change and take a shower since we had spent more than an entire day just on an airplane. The airplane smell is nauseating and makes you feel gross. I also had to remember to adjust my Malaria pill to take it in the morning at home time instead of Malawian time. I checked my ankles and sure enough, they were as swollen as elephant feet. I like the idea of not stopping to sleep in Ethiopia because it gets you to your destination quicker but at the same time the flight is just so miserable I think a break to split it up is worth it.

I didn’t know if my parents would check the arrival time before they came to the airport. Since we were going to be so much later and it would take an hour to get through customs, I was nervous they would be there way too early and be waiting forever. Krista is from VA beach, so her parents were staying at my house so I was hoping between the 4 of them they would be able to figure out that our plane was delayed before they left for the airport.

Well, we finally made it and landed on American soil. We cheered for the pilot and I had an overwhelming sigh of relief. I wasn’t nervous in Malawi but something is so comforting about being in America.

A handful of us immediately turned on our cell phones and I texted my dad to tell him we just landed. My mom got the text and called me! She told me she had been waiting for at least an hour and had been talking with many of the other moms and parents. Lauren's mom told her that someone had made a welcome home sign for the group. For some reason the group put bets that it was my mom. I assured them I didn’t think my mom would do that, but they knew how prepared I was for the trip so they insisted my mom would do something like that even though most of them never met her! Haha

We made it off the plane and rushed onto the trolley. We waited for the trolley to take us to the other building and the trolley didn’t leave for almost 5-10 minutes but all of us were so anxious that those 5-10 minutes seemed longer than the 25 hour flight. We just couldn’t get there fast enough!

We got in line for customs and I first saw the “Welcome to the U.S.A” sign and then I saw officials escorting us into the correct line, and watched a video with subtitles explaining the step by step process of going through customs. I had not had that detailed of an explanation about anything since I left America a month ago. It sure did feel good to be here!

The line was long but it was efficient so it went by quickly. I got yet another stamp in my passport and went to the next room to collect my bags. Believe it or not, my chief chair made it and so did both of my bags! Hooray!!!

I turned in my customs form and they let me pass without looking through my bags. Out of our entire group Brittany was the only one that got her bags searched. She was the first one to go through and she had written “wooden carvings” so they wanted to check her bags. They let her go with no problems.

Originally Krista and I had talked about changing into our jatinjis before we walked out to meet our parents. I had planned on doing it and packed my jatinji in my carry-on but after 25 hours in a plane I just wasn’t in the mood to do anything fun and cute. Plus I didn’t want my parents to see me in an African outfit and think they had “lost me” and I was trying to become a Malawian.

I walked out the doors and my mom and dad were the first people I saw! They were standing there cheering me on! Kristas mom was the one who had the sign! She was standing right next to them holding a very colorful and cute welcome home sign. I remember watching people coming off airplanes in movies and I always wanted a sign to greet me just like in the movies… so Zikomo kwambiri Mrs. Patrick!

My dad has a relatively new toy, a laser engraver. So a couple days after I left he began working on making wooden frames, designing the template and engraving 18 pictures frames. He brought them to the airport for me to pass out to my fellow travel buddies as gifts! Everyone seemed thrilled and shocked that my dad made them!!

Since before I left my mom was talking about putting together a breakfast/brunch for the group since we live so close to Dulles. Almost everyone else had at least a 2-4 hour trip ahead of them. So she wanted to invite everyone and their families to our house for some American food before they hit the road. I invited everyone in Malawi and about 20 people said they would like to come. At the airport we said our goodbyes and passed out directions to our house.

It sure is nice to be back, however it's very hot and humid outside. I was really excited to enjoy a nice fresh smell outside! I don’t have to wear a money belt 24/7 anymore! Don’t get me wrong, I had an amazing time in Malawi and I would go back there in a heartbeat but being so far away from home and living a different lifestyle really makes me appreciate so many more things once I got home. Safe and clean water is probably #1. With all the health concerns in Malawi that was probably my biggest concern and while I am not 100% out of the clear yet, I am so thankful that I stayed healthy on the trip. I don’t have to wipe my hands every moment, I can use ice, drink water, brush my teeth in the sink, I can pet dogs and show my knees! However, I can’t forget to continue to take my malaria pills for the next couple of weeks because technically I’m still at risk.

I made it to my house and the dining room was exploding with delicious food. My mom had outdone herself! It looked scrumptious! We could eat all the fruit and salad we wanted! We met our friend’s families and it was cute to see everyone’s parents because they were just like their kids. We sat for a few minutes and shared stories and Dr. Kelly stood up and thanked the parents for letting us go on this journey. It was a perfect way to end the trip.

My dad had two presents for me when I got home. The 1st one I drove right past and didn’t even realize. He took me out to the driveway to point out a stump in our yard and he had carved a “VT” out of the stump! It was way cool!!! My dad got me a new bed in my room and it was the perfect “welcome home” gift because I was exhausted and looking forward to a comfortable bed. The bed is super high, I have to jump up to get on but It’s a lot nicer then my previous one.

I sat down with my family and opened my suitcases. Everyone sat around as I opened everything and it reminded us of Christmas. Dad is tickled with his chief chair (he is the chief so you have to ask permission to sit in his chair) and Chris named his Rhino “Willis”. I began showing my parents all my pictures (I have over 800) and they feel asleep!!! Can you believe that? Apparently they both stayed up late cooking and woke up early to come to the airport so they were exhausted. I could relate and decided Sunday would be a better day to show them pictures. My dad kept asking me all these questions that I had addressed in the blog- he obviously didn’t read it. But that’s okay because I can tell him stories and it will all be new to him. My mom on the other hand talks about Macdonald like she knows him!! I have showed her pictures and she can already name everyone in the group!

My goal was to stay awake all day Saturday to adjust to home time. I felt like I got a lot of rest on the plane and didn’t have any trouble staying awake on Saturday. I have managed to adjust to the time just fine. I think I was just so confused by 25 hours in the plane, my body honestly didn’t know what time it was supposed to be so it was easy for me to accept the time here.

I uploaded some of my videos and re-lived my trip for the entire afternoon. I briefly read through some of my blogs (I apologize because I really need to edit them-the errors are just glaring) but I had already forgotten some of the details I wrote about. Some nights I dreaded writing because I was just so tired but I am so thankful I took the time to write and include so much detail. It is the by far the best memory of this trip and I couldn’t recommend it more. However I am glad to be home and go back to “normal” life. I’m excited to not have anything worth blogging about. I need a break!

I intentionally cleared my schedule for the next two weeks because I had no idea what condition I would be in. Besides my still swollen legs I am already well rested and feeling just fine. I’m going to my beach house this weekend to relax and get some sun! But other than that I’ll just be working on post-Malawi things. Please feel free to come by and visit! I can teach you how to play the drums and if you lucky the chief might let you sit in the chief chair. ☺ Or call me if you need a babysitter!

I’ll update soon with pictures/videos and in the future I’ll write about the progress of the Malawi Chibale Project. I also have my final paper that I’ll probably share on this site. Malawi is participating in the Olympics, so I’ll definitely be cheering them on! My mom and I have already talked about going to Malawi together in a couple years!

Thank you for reading my blog and following me on this amazing experience. I really do appreciate it more than you know. I am so sad it is over, but my mind is already racing with ideas and supplies to bring on my next trip.