August 28-29
After a few days well spent in Chicago, I headed to the airport to begin this incredible journey!
Check-in went very smoothly; a great way to start foreign travels (and pretty abnormal for me). Amanda Paltzer met up with me around 2:15pm, and we got to visit for a while before boarding the giant KLM aircraft.
The 7 1/2-hour leg had us take off at 4pm our time. I slept from 6-10:30pm and switched my watch over. We have just an hour of our flight left before a 6:35am arrival in Amsterdam...
Currently: 37,000 feet above Dublin
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Our layover in Amsterdam was well spent looking at famous paintings in a mini Rijksmuseum (in the airport), finding little clogs and tulips everywhere, and passing the time. I was just excited to be on my way--out of familiar Europe and into Africa!
I now understand the difference between an 8-hour flight (which I've done quite a few times now) and a 10-hour flight immediately following. It feels infinitely longer, and with 3 hours left I found myself thinking, "We're almost there!" I was also reminded of all the luxuries we have being on just two planes to get all the way to Lusaka, not to mention the means and opportunity to get all the way to Zambia. I feel truly blessed. Groggy, but blessed =)
We arrived safely and on time in Lusaka, just in time to go to sleep after a long few days of travel.
As I went to sleep I heard tons of noises. Dogs barking, some strange thing chirping? Beeping? It sounded like a security system, only more...animal. I slept very lightly that first night.
We're in Africa!
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