At approximately 4:30 on Tuesday the 28th of December, our team prepared to drive to the airport and get on the first of three flights until our arrival in Zambia the next day. I was very anxious, nervous, and ready to start the adventure - not knowing what my life would consist of over the next 3 weeks. I had my suitcase packed and snacks in my carry on, and was ready. (I did not, however, have socks in my suitcase - and that was on purpose. Fun fact about me is that I give my feet the chance to not have socks on them whenever that opportunity presents itself. I figured Africa would be very hot, and therefore never needed to wear socks. It was a fabulous decision and my feet are happy.) We left for the airport around 6:30, after talking about last-minute details and praying as a group before packing into the University vans. Our flight was scheduled to depart around 9, and we cut it very close, at least for what some of us on the team prefer when we fly. After a stressful time of figuring out which line to be in and getting all 15 of the team members through security, we made it to our gate about five minutes before they started boarding.
For this flight, I sat next to an older couple from Amsterdam that was traveling around the U.S. with a group of couples for vacation. They were very nice and seemed supportive of my trip, but with caution. The man warned me about water and all the sanitary things to be cautious of, but they definitely had characteristics of grandparents and seemed to genuinely care about me staying safe. They spoke limited English, so it was hard to understand them at some points, and the woman hardly ever knew what I was saying, so conversation was short, and I fell asleep after watching a movie. When I woke up, we were being served breakfast and about an hour from landing in London.
In London, we had enough time to go out and explore a little, so we got to wander the city and grab a quick lunch before going back to the airport for our flight to Johannesburg, SA. It was so surreal to walk around and see things that I've only seen in movies. This was my first time setting foot on ground outside of the United States and it felt so weird to be in a new place. It was, however, beautiful and we were happy to be walking around in fresh air and getting time to see everything there.
Jenna and I on the tube.
Awesome architecture.
Apparently these aren't just in movies. Double-Decker buses are sweet!
Big Ben.
Just a description of Parliament Square.
Tossing my frisbee for the first time on foreign ground.
After all of that fun, we went back on the tube (where most of the team was falling asleep or sitting like a zombie) and to the airport. This flight was the longest of the three, and was about nine hours long. Most of us got to sit next to someone on the team, and I was lucky enough to sit in a whole row of z-members. I sat next to Josh, who had an idea for the perfect way to sleep, so I ended up sleeping for the entire flight. I'm not quite sure how I did it, but I managed to fall asleep about two minutes after I would wake up for any amount of time. I fell asleep during dinner and missed the attendant coming around to bring us our drink. The boys even put chocolate in my mouth (apparently I was sleeping with it wide open), and it melted without me ever noticing. It was pretty crazy how much I slept, especially after I had just slept for the entire flight before.
When we landed in Johannesburg, we were all pretty antsy and ready to be in Zambia. The printing of our boarding passes took quite a while, and the boys ended up playing some hackysack, which drew a crowd of onlookers. We were definitely the obnoxious Americans everywhere we went and it was interesting to see how other people reacted to us. We also ended up sitting in a big blob on the floor while we waited to board our bus, which brought us to our plane. We just sat there and played cards and talked, even though there were seats open to sit in. Our professor later described our group as being "free" and "carefree" - and I'd agree. We were very comfortable and free with each other and wherever we went and with whatever we were doing.
I'll update on our arrival to Ndola and our first day or so tomorrow.
Today was also our first day of the spring semester. I only have two more semesters left after this one! It's exciting to be growing up. Weird, but exciting.
Even though I'm not jet lagged, my body is still used to going to bed around this time and waking up early, so therefore, I am exhausted. Goodnight.
love love.
Chels.
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