T.I.A...this is Africa
In Rwanda, after a somewhat rocky start. Our wonderful driver, Charlie, got us to the Kenyatta airport in plenty of time for our 12:45 flight. Problem was, when we went to check in, we were told we had missed our flight, that had departed at 8:45a.m., in spite the fact that our confirmation email clearly showed the flight time as 12:45p.m. We to go back outside to the ticketing office and explain the entire thing to yet another person, after which he checked and rechecked and again and finally told us he could put us on the flight leaving at 3:30 in the afternoon. That's right, we spent from 9 a.m. until 3:30p.m. in the airport. Thank heaven for Kindles and the Java House coffee shop. Oh, and the Serenity Prayer got a bit of a workout, too.
By the way, discovered that there was no battery available for my two-year-old Safaricom Phone and I had to purchase a new one to enable me to contact friends, drivers, etc., only to find out when I needed to use it today to let everyone know about the change of flight that it had not been registered at the place where I purchased it and was not usable. So I set out in search of a Safaricom store or kiosk and finally found one where a most helpful young man explained the problem and was able to rather quickly correct it. "I don't know why they didn't do this where you purchased the phone," was his comment. "After all, why were you buying the phone if you didn't want use ?" My sentiments exactly. (Breathe deeply, Linda. Remember about accepting what you cannot change...) And so I was finally able to connect and inform and all was well.
Incidentally, Kenya Airways flight attendants put our U.S. airlines to shame. During a flight of a little less than an hour's duration, they brought us hot towels to wash and refresh ourselves and then served a very lovely small meal, of which there were FOUR choices, and did beverage service, plus cleaning everything up in time for landing...without making us, the passengers, feel in least bit rushed. I was both a little bit out of breath and in awe watching the ease with which they did all this.
This evening, we were joined by our friend, Simon, for a lovely dinner here at the Heaven Restaurant. It was wonderful to spend time with him catching up on his life and hearing about his job with the Clinton Foundation. Tomorrow we'll be spending more time together, seeing some of the countryside. For now, quite contented to be getting ready for bed in the Heaven Guesthouse. Sleep well, one and all, and sweet dreams from Rwanda.
By the way, discovered that there was no battery available for my two-year-old Safaricom Phone and I had to purchase a new one to enable me to contact friends, drivers, etc., only to find out when I needed to use it today to let everyone know about the change of flight that it had not been registered at the place where I purchased it and was not usable. So I set out in search of a Safaricom store or kiosk and finally found one where a most helpful young man explained the problem and was able to rather quickly correct it. "I don't know why they didn't do this where you purchased the phone," was his comment. "After all, why were you buying the phone if you didn't want use ?" My sentiments exactly. (Breathe deeply, Linda. Remember about accepting what you cannot change...) And so I was finally able to connect and inform and all was well.
Incidentally, Kenya Airways flight attendants put our U.S. airlines to shame. During a flight of a little less than an hour's duration, they brought us hot towels to wash and refresh ourselves and then served a very lovely small meal, of which there were FOUR choices, and did beverage service, plus cleaning everything up in time for landing...without making us, the passengers, feel in least bit rushed. I was both a little bit out of breath and in awe watching the ease with which they did all this.
This evening, we were joined by our friend, Simon, for a lovely dinner here at the Heaven Restaurant. It was wonderful to spend time with him catching up on his life and hearing about his job with the Clinton Foundation. Tomorrow we'll be spending more time together, seeing some of the countryside. For now, quite contented to be getting ready for bed in the Heaven Guesthouse. Sleep well, one and all, and sweet dreams from Rwanda.
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