My six month update!! (or, "I finally made it to Malawi"!) - Part 1

Well, after almost seven months away from each other, I finally made the move.  As such, it was time to either start doing this blog thing, or not. So here we are.

My last day at work was Feb 13.  Plenty to be said about that, perhaps another post.  I will miss it, and all the people there, a lot.

One very nice thing about the transition was that I got to spend about 10 days back in Iowa with family.  That means I was able to spend a lot of time with Kara, Jason, Olivia, Jack and Ben.  Piano lessons, basketball practice, taking them to McDonalds for some uncle time, playing endless video games with Jack, it was great.  Jay, Abby and Amelia even came down from Minneapolis for the weekend I was home.  Time with nieces and nephews only makes me realize I wish I was there more, but I know that when Kate and I travel home from Malawi there is a good chance we will actually spend more time with them then when we lived in Louisville and only made it back for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I also got to spend time with Kate's folks, Charles and Melanie, and her sister Kara.  I always have a great time with them as well. Leaving is always tough, but I will see you all soon!

The entire trip home was really highlighted with a birthday/anniversary dinner on Saturday night at Cobble Hill in downtown Cedar Rapids.  http://www.cobblehillrestaurant.com/   I'm no expert, and certainly no critic, but wow!  We had a great time and Andy and Carrie, two old friends who own and operate this great restaurant, were so gracious and hospitable.  Andy also happens to be a regional semi-finalist for the James Beard Award, the first chef from Cedar Rapids ever! We had such a great time, and were only missing Dad as he was finishing up his annual trip to the orphanage in Haiti.

The trip itself started out with a bang, aka Dad and Mom driving me through a "blizzard" from Cedar Rapids to Chicago.  We left at about 11:30 pm, which was a result of my brilliant plan to leave Chicago at 6 am.  This, of course, was after about 1 hour of sleep as I stayed up to watch the Hawkeyes beat Illinois.  Luckily Dad has as much experience driving in weather as anyone, and the drive went off without a hitch.  I can't imagine how tired they were on the drive back, though.  At 36 years old, I still have to rely on Mom and Dad, and they always come through.

A little nervous at O'Hare about the weight of my two check-ons, but they both weighed in at 49.5 pounds.  After that, it was (prety much) all gravy.  Chicago to Toronto, (where an attendant from Ethiopian Airlines was trying to keep me off the plane as I had not purchased a return ticket per Malawi tourist policy), Toronto to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Addis Ababa to Lilongwe, Malawi.  The flight to Addis Ababa was a haul, 12 1/2 hours.  Ethiopian Airlines was fantastic, though, and I think we were fed 4 or 5 meals, snacks, etc.  Pretty awesome to start feeling out of your comfort zone, even on the plane, and as soon as we stepped off  in Ethiopia, it felt like we were in a different world.

At the airport there, we only had about a 2 hour layover, but it gave me a chance to have some conversations with other folks that were getting ready to head to Malawi.  I met Doug, a guy from Detroit that has been coming to Malawi for 7 or 8 years helping to hand dig wells.  I met Matt, a former producer of public television that was last working in D.C., and was heading into Malawi to volunteer for 3 months for Project Peanut Butter - http://www.projectpeanutbutter.org/
I also met Shaun, a Brit who helped found 3rd World Hope  http://www.3rdworldhope.org.uk/index.html
I don't know much about any of their organizations, but it is great to see people from all over trying to have an impact.

We then flew to Lilongwe, with what seemed like a very quick 4 hour flight.  Stepping off the plane, trying to absorb every sight, smell and sound.  Immigration and customs was a breeze, hardly checked my paperwork at all.  I step past customs and have my first real view of Lilongwe.  Looks like paradise to me.

Kate met me right outside the airport, and all I can say was that it was very, very good to see her after our stretch of long-distance.  She took us back to the place, where we get to start our life here together.  Next post, the first weekend of resting up to get over jet lag and traveling to Zomba Plateau for a few days of relaxation.  Miss you all.