Northern Africa - Part 1

I had such great intentions with this blog and now it has been a month since I last posted. Anyway, I have intended (there's that word again) to write about my recent trip, so I will attempt to do that now.

I returned from northern Africa long enough ago that I have gotten back into the swing of things here, but not long enough for the henna on my feet to completely disappear. It was an amazing experience, and not one that can be easily put into words. But, I will tell you what we did and you can fill in the blanks with your own conclusions as to the impact it had on me.

The trip over there was miraculous in itself. We were delayed at GSP (Greenville/Spartanburg) and then after spending almost three hours on the plane at IAD (Washington) we were told that our flight was cancelled due to bad weather. It was bad in Washington but it was worse at JFK (New York) where nothing was getting in or out. What originally was supposed to involve a 6 hour layover in JFK became a rush to get there in time. After a lot of work by our leader, we were put on a flight to White Plains, NY. This was also delayed. There was a good bit of turbulence on that flight, but we had no idea how bad it was until we were getting off the plane into hard rain that was blowing in sideways. I don't know how that plane landed.

When we arrived in White Plains, we had just over two hours before our international flight was to leave out of JFK. But, surely it would be delayed, right? There were 5 cabs waiting for us. We were going to have to get our luggage as quickly as possible and then somehow get it into those cabs and over to JFK. This was to be a difficult feat because we each had two large bags besides our carry-ons since we were taking things to our friends in Africa. However, we didn't have to worry about the luggage transportion since the luggage parade began and ended with 6 pieces of luggage, none of which was ours. Why the people loading the plane didn't say, "You know...this is a full plane and there are only six pieces of luggage...isn't that strange?," I have no idea. Yes, our luggage was, as I had feared upon our departure, still in Washington. After some frustration on both sides with a lady who was trying to get us to fill out lost luggage forms, we eventually had to abandon ship and get to the impatiently waiting taxis. I and three others set out on what seemed like "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride." We were weaving in and out of traffic, going 15 or 20 miles over the speed limit, in the pouring rain. We left fourth and arrived at JFK in a close second, feeling much like we were playing "The Amazing Race." It was during this ride that we got the call that our plane was - strangely enough - on time.

Upon our arrival, the lady behind the counter was just telling the first part of our group that the flight was closed (it was then within an hour of departure). We tried to explain the situation and she told us that even if she could let us on, we would have to go without the rest of our group. It was then that we also learned that not only was the next flight two days away, but that our tickets were non-refundable anyway. There was nothing to do but wait for our leader to arrive. When he finally came, he too, tried to reason with the lady, but she said there was nothing she could do. We later learned that he told her how much we had each paid for these non-refundable tickets and, therefore, how much we would be losing. She held firm. As he rejoined our group, and we anxiously awaited what he would say, he simply said, "We're just going to sit here a minute."

As we sat, almost completely in silence, you could look around and see the looks of hope, disappointment, and prayer. After what seemed much longer than it likely was, the phone behind the counter rang. After a brief conversation with a mystery person, the lady came out from behind the counter saying, "Come with me NOW, they are holding the plane," as she took off. Without a word, we jumped up and raced behind her, clearing security through special lines opened just for us, and arriving at the gate in moments. They quickly checked us in, printed boarding passes, and ushered us on the plane after a brief delay caused by the confusion of 18 international passengers with no checked baggage. We later discovered that two of our group members had been stuck at the security point, and since we were never told a gate number, they had no idea where to go. Our leader was eventually forced on the plane before he knew if they would make it or not. Somehow, they did make it and a count confirmed that we were all present (once our leader realized he had repeatedly left himself out of the count!) We were even able to shuffle around so that everyone was seated by at least one other member of our group.
It was the beginning of an incredible adventure and a day that I won't easily forget.

More to follow...