Dec. 27th and 28th I'm sitting here in Brussels, Belgium. We have officially been traveling for about 17 hours and there is still another 12 to go? I think. It will be the end of the 28th when we finally arrive.
I started the day off digging my truck out of snow in Alden, NY. We got somewhere between 12 and 16 inches of snow last night. My brother's car got stuck at the end of the driveway and I was lucky enough to only get a little stuck.
Security was odd. I was asked if I was bringing anything weird on my trip like dry ice or bleach. they also frisked me and my zoom H4N had to be rescanned in security.
The first flight was slightly delayed by about an hour, but it otherwise went smoothly. I landed in DC with just enough time to get to my gate and have boarding start for Belgium. I kept looking around trying to find Ken or Jim, (I have their phone numbers and not the girls). Finally I saw Jess. They had JUST made it to the gate. We boarded that flight wondering if we could sit by one another, but that didn't end up happening. I sat next to two woman and we nonverbally communicated as I fixed the sound on the ones computer and helped the older one work her buckle on the seatbelt. I also met a guy in the airport who invited me to visit Kenya which is where he was from.
The Flight was okay with some turbulence, relatively good food, and some great movie selections. I watched pitch perfect, the perks of being a wallflower, and now is good. All were good movies if not slightly depressing.
When we landed in Brussels, at about 2 a.m. (8 a.m. for them) we walked around scoping things out. We didn't have to go through customs here because we didn't leave. So we got breakfast: Belgium beer and a chocolate covered waffle. Classy and Belgiumy.
Left is Ken, middle is Jess, and right is Jim.
Anyways, now we're waiting for the last flight. It's longer than the last flight plus we have an hour and a half drive to the hotel, not to mention customs. I have a feeling we're all going to dive into bed tonight.
Got on the flight to go to Monrovia, I put my camera bag and tripod in the overhead bin, sit down, and WHACK my tripod falls on my head. It instantly brought tears to my already tired eyes. So here I am, 23, overtired, and holding my head crying on a very puplic plane. It was a sad moment.
Anyways, I got up and found a steward and tried explaining that a heavy metal object fell on my head. He spoke english but guided me to another steward who was in charge of medical things. Unfortunately he mostly spoke german and I had to pantomime something falling on my head before he checked it out. I had a massive lump and a small cut that was bleeding. He gave me a paper bag filled with ice and I sat down.
It's okay that you're laughing, there are several things that are ridiculous in this and I'm just going to leave them be (but DAMN, that hurt).
This flight went fast, as I was drifting in and out of consciousness. JUST KIDDING. I mean I slept during it.
We actually landed in Abidjan (the Ivory Coast). Then we were stuck there because there were computer problems for the new arrivals. We were delayed of course for about 1-2 hours.
FINALLY we landed in Monrovia, Liberia.
We took the first step outside the plane and the warm air hit us. We walked inside in the customs line and that was nice and easy.
Then it was time to jump into battle, aka get our suitcases. It was a small room that was stuffy from the heat packed with people trying to find their bags and others who were working. People were yelling and crowding around this tiny conveyer belt. Suitcases were falling on people, some people were just trying to walk through with no avail. I had a bag fall on me in all the chaos.
Then once we got our bags we had to "check out" as in prove they were ours, and then go through another customs and explain why we were there. We got outside and Ken (bossman) was immediately hugged by David, our driver.
Now he had told us to not accept help with our luggage from anyone so I was lugging, my 20 lb camera bag, my 45 lb suitcase, my 37lb camera rig, and another 15lb bag. In other words my spine was being crushed. So a guy took my bags and started helping despite me telling him not to. Everyone else handled their bags well, and I shuffled on after mine to make sure the guy who had them was with David.
The drive was peaceful. The windows were down and a cool breeze was hitting our faces mingling with the smell of gasoline. We got to our hotel, checked in, and then went out in search of some food.
Most of the people we've met tonight have been nice. A lot said hi as we walked to dinner. This one guy came up and hugged Ken. I swear Ken is Liberian celebrity status.
Dinner was at this dance club. I decided to only drink water since my skin was tingling and I thought that was maybe a bad sign. I had this chicken dish called chicken schwarma, that came with pickles, fries, a pita and chicken! it was good. My friend Jess's meal never came out, so we each shared some of our meals with her.
We walked home talking.
Need sleep now.