arrival in Malawi

Arrival!

I made it to Malawi! (Of course) and it was a long trip (again of course).

So far :

Left home at 4am to go to Charlotte...checked in with no baggage fee (as advertised tho they tried to charge me) . From there to JFK (2hours). Then the next flight to Joburg was 14 hours and 40 minutes in which I watched 4.5 movies and didn't feel like sleeping until they started to serve breakfast.

From Joburg to Lilongwe was another short trip (2 hours) which passed quickly with a nap, lunch, and catching io with Will who was the eye surgeon in Nkhoma when I first came over and is back for 2 weeks.

MMM was here and waiting for me (the rest of the team arrived about 20 minutes earlier on Ethiopian Air). We hopped in our vehicles and drove to Mponela about an hour away where we'll be until Tuesday training before we head out for the well installations!

Reflection on flying...

The two shorter flights were run by US Air and South African air and there was such a difference. On the first we got a drink but no snack and on the second we got a full meal. It put me in mind of the visiting that I've done in third world countries where the best comes out for the visitor, whether that is the with seating, food, rooms. In the first world I notice more of what can I get by with giving away that still won't inconvenience me. Much more of a me mentality vs a community mentality.