July 16-17

I leave Dallas today. I will be going to Frankfurt to Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) to Entebbe (Uganda). After a tiring night, I ended up saving every ounce of packing for this morning. So, needless to say, there are little baggies under my eyes, but I will get rid of those soon enough after I get off my 10 hour plane ride to Frankfurt… or the 7 hour one to Addis Adaba… or the 2 hours one to Kampala.

Packing is going very well. I have two suitcases, and one whole suitcase are things that I am bringing for other people. Good thing I pack lightly! If the baggage guys search my bag, I’m sure they would think I have a fetish with children’s underwear (Mom bought a lot to donate to the kids at the orphan village. Thanks!)… I’d hate to be there for that.

I went shopping last night for misc things. The only alarm clock that was solely battery operated I could find was a Hannah Montana one. I wonder if they know who that is in Africa.

Hmmm… what else is interesting? I packed a roll of Charmin Ultra Soft. My hiney is spoiled to it… I brought 6 things of bug spray… I actually remembered underwear and socks… I begrudgingly put razors in my bag… I wish my dogs, my Jason (yes, M’kenna, he is mine), my mommy and daddy, and my Nate could fit in my bag… I packed a package of Kid-O’s (off-brand Oreos, double stuff) that my mommy gave me with a nice note on them.

It was actually harder than I thought to leave the dogs. I know they are in good hands, but I guess I was just having an emotional day. Ace seemed to know. He had very sad eyes. But Big… he didn’t indicate that he had any idea. I don’t know which was harder to leave, Ace’s puppy eyes or Big’s optimism that I would return home in a few hours.

I had lunch with Jason and Dad Jackson at Sammie’s BBQ in Fort Worth near Jason’s work. Jason had a one hour lunch break, so it was short and sweet, but it was worth every effort. It was very nice to be able to say goodbye again. I am so honored that Mr. Jackson made such an effort to see me off. I am so lucky to be marrying into such a wonderful family come August 21. Surprisinging enough, I didn’t cry when Jason and I said our farewells. I tried my hardest to hold it together because I figure he got his fair share of crying last night to last him a year… I held it together until about one-tenth of a mile down the road. I am proud.

From there, I headed to Mom and Dad’s house. They offered to take me to the airport. Nate and Dad still had to shower, so Mom and I went to the bank to get my Power of Attorney notarized. We are FINALLY going to close on the permanent financing on our house while I am away… knock on wood. When we got back to the house, we gathered to boys and off we went.

I think a majority of the 15 minute car ride to the airport was spent trying to figure out how to pronounce the airline: Lufthansa. We didn’t come up with anything conclusive.

At the airport, Dad, Mom, and Nate went through their super-exclusive workers entrance while I had to wait in the long line for ticketed passengers. So, they got a chance to go visit the Blue Mesa/Blue Bamboo people while they were there. Before the send off, Mom and I cried like babies while Nate cracked jokes, just as expected.

While on the plane, I finally got to know how to pronounce Lufthansa… here’s my try at putting it into letters: looft-hahnzuh. Good to know.

The airplane and airline was very nice. They are definitely customer service oriented. The staff was all friendly and courteous. The plane was accomodating with overhead screens and personal screens at each seat. The personal screens allowed you to choose movies to watch or music to listen to, while the overhead screens showed various statistics, like maps, altitude, temperature, flight times, and speed. It was a neat reference, actually. For example, over most of the mid-United States, I watched Alvin and The Chipmunks 2. Then, over Toronto I started How to Train a Dragon. Wrapped up in blankets, both mine and theirs, I started to think that Lufthansa doesn’t skimp on the A/C until I looked up an realized it was -56 degrees (f) outside the plane. The dinner service was nice, although not necessarily tasty, with a warm hand cloth before, silver cutlery, and complimentary wine. My favorite part was the brownie (is anyone surprised?). I was not a big fan of the breakfast.

I sat next to a gentleman, originally from India, that was headed to visit family there. He lives in Plano now, and works for a private search engine that does affiliate marketing for non-profits. He was impressed that I asked, “Using affiliate marketing?” when he was first explaining it to me. I explained how I knew this. He was a very nice man with a very beautiful wife and daughter. The daughter though, poor thing, was throwing up throughout the second half of the flight. I’m glad I was not seated by her.

My stay at the Frankfurt airport was short. We had to go back through security, and the line was very long. They were very thorough, which I can appreciate. I, along with many other women, got frisked because the underwire in my bra set off the sensor.

It seemed most like a regular U.S. airport. I walked and walked and walked until it looked like the airport ended. I followed the signs to my gate, which lead me through a hot, semi-dark hallway to a metal building. As it turns out, this was where I would catch a bus to the plane. They checked our ticket at the gate, and locked us in a holding cell until the bus came. It was a tad bit odd. It was at Frankfurt that I realized that I don’t think the computer I brought has a wireless card… or I need Jason (which is probably more true).

Once on the plane, I realized this one was very hot. As it turns out, there was some part broken and we sat on that hot plane for an hour. The flight staff tried to make us as comfortable as possible with cold washrags, cold water, etc. It was still hot, but not unbearable. I can imagine how much American Airlines people would have tried to keep us comfortable in a similar situation… zilch!

On this plane, I watched Date Night and Valentine’s Day. I think I have watched more movies on this trip that I have in the last few months.

I sat next to a man named Monte. He is originally from Ethiopia, and he is working and going to school in Germany. His work, in radio broadcast, sends him to Ethiopia once per year, so he gets to spend some time with his family. He is alone in Germany. He will be staying in Ethiopia for 2 months.

The Addis airport is set up pretty neat. You can definitely see differences. For example, people smoke in the airport! And, the people here don’t have a concept for standing in line apparently, or they think that Americans and Europeans should stand behind them. Either way, it was a bit frusterating. But, on the other hand, I wasn’t in any hurry. My layover here is about 3.5 hours. I have paid for an hour of internet time at an internet cafe, so I am using it up!! After that, I may go scope out what I want to bring home. I may buy it tonight so I can pack it in a suitcase on the ride home. I will already be carrying souvenirs from Germany home with me on my return. I guess it is about 9:00pm here in Ethiopia, and it is 1:00pm at home. I won’t be getting to Uganda until around midnight Uganda time, so I won’t be out of the airport until maybe 1:00am. While this sounds like a pain, I don’t really care considering my body is so confused on the time here anyway.