So when we got to Amsterdam Mrs. Stephens led us to her favorite spot in the airport, the meditation center. It’s this slightly dark, cool, room where people can stretch out and nap or meditate in a quiet place. Of course my mother went in there and passed out. I went off to the business center to use the internet. Nothing was really crowded with it being 5:00am.
When Diane finally came to we went to a little café for breakfast. We both had scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, orange juice, and tea. It was actually really good! We headed to our gate and boarded the final leg of our flight to Nairobi. Almost as soon as I got on the plane I went to sleep. Finally! Mom dozed in and out of 27 Dresses. Seven hours later, we’d finally made it to Kenya!
We all went and received our visas, retrieved our bags, and waited for our drivers. We also had to grab some Kenyan Shillings from the ATMs. The exchange rate at the airport is the best.
Our drivers came and quickly loaded us up and took us to the guest house we’d be staying in. As opposed to a hotel, the lot of us are staying in the Nfugami guest house, two doors down from one of the New Life Homes!
Mom and I are sharing a room with bunk beds. There are three bathrooms for the lot of us. There is definitely going to have to be a morning shower schedule and an evening shower schedule.
After everyone got their luggage into their rooms we congregated in the house meeting area to discuss our plans for the next day over some snacks. We all dug into something called “Samosas” or something like that. They look like empanadas.
Most of us agreed to go to the 8:30 church service in the morning to get an early start on our day. I think we’ll be spending some time with the babies tomorrow too. After we figured out how to work the showers, I jumped in and took a lukewarm one and got ready for bed. Tomorrow’s going to be a loooooooong day.
I didn’t realize how long we’d be in the air until we boarded the plane in Charlotte for the first leg of our trip. When I sat down and took a good look at my boarding pass I was taken aback! We left this afternoon (Friday) and we won’t get to Kenya until 7:30pm Saturday night. Then we have to get up and go to church on Sunday! Sheesh!
Anyhow, I’m really posting to share our crazy trip itinerary:
Charlotte to Detroit
Detroit to Amsterdam
Amsterdam to Kenya
The first leg was a breeze…one hour flight…a cinch. We left Detroit at 4:00pm to arrive in Amsterdam at 6:00am. My sleeping patterns are going to be all messed up.
The flight to Amersterdam probably one of the best international flights I’ve ever been on! Only because I was so entertained! Everyone had their own personal TV in the headrest in front of them. I’m used to that. What I’m not used to is having all of these options. Northwest has these personal remotes in the armrest for each passenger to control their own TV. There are tons of movies to watch, games to play, and great music to listen to, all free of charge!
After I played every single game, I started watching movies. I re-watched one of my favorite independent films, Phonebooth. All star cast, low budget, a must-see movie! Next I watched a movie that I’ve wanted to see since I heard about it but I just haven’t had the time. The Other Boleyn Girl, is the tale of Henry VIII and the demise of the Boleyn family. May I recommend it to anyone that may be reading this! It’s so good!
After the crew served us our breakfast (egg and cheese biscuit and a fruit cup), I nodded off while watching Harrison Ford in Presumed Innocent. Next thing I knew, we were in Amsterdam!
Today’s the day! How excited are we?! Words can’t express! Ms. Velma and Auntie Terry came over to help us get out of the door. We finally left the house around 10:20am (to board a 12:40pm international flight…yeah…Diane). After Ms. Velma dropped us off at the airport we headed into the EXTREMELY crowded airport terminal. We got in line for Northwest with our bazillion bags and waited.
Having already weighed our luggage outside, we were more than confident that check-in would go smoothly. Boy were we wrong. All of our checked luggage was indeed below the 50lb. limit. The problem was the car seat.
With the remaining monies that we donated, we moseyed on down to Wal-Mart last night to purchase a baby car seat for the babies at the homes. We had received and e-mail from Mrs. Stephens (our trip leader) a few days ago that said that we could check a car seat or stroller free of charge and that they would definitely be appreciated down in Kenya. Northwest Airlines obviously was not aware of this allowance.
Some loud blabbermouth Northwest employee was at the front of the check-in line directing people to self check-in kiosks. When she saw that my mother and I were both at our checked bag allowance limit, she told us that we would have to pay to check the car seat. We told her that we had been told that we could check it in addition to our luggage, free of charge. She said “well unless you can present documentation from Northwest Airlines stating that, I’m going to have to charge you if you want to check that. Car seats are only checked free of charge if you’re traveling with a child.” The attendant behind the counter, Celina, subtly rolled her eyes at her annoying co-worker and under her breath said “put it down on the scale, I’ll take care of it,” as she placed a checked luggage tag bearing my mother’s name on it.
Blabbermouth gave me a phone and said that I could call Northwest customer service and ask. After a couple rings, I got someone, explained our situation and he sympathetically said that there was nothing that he could do. Blabbermouth told us that we could leave the car seat there at check-in provided that someone come and pick it up before the end of the day. She instructed Celina to put the car seat on the ground away from the conveyor belt.
Man was I mad! Letting that be known in an airport will get you arrested and cavity searched these days so I kept my cool…all the while my mother is still checking in (don’t ask me what took her so long). The blabbermouth employee looked my way smugly and awaited the verdict. “We have to pay,” I said. In a fake unapologetic tone, she told me that the charge would be $150 (because it’s an international flight) and that the woman behind the counter would help us sort everything out. $150?! We only paid $50 for the car seat. No way. We began to think of who we could call to pick it up.
While my mother was walking around on the phone somewhere (as usual), I tried to sort out the situation. I approached a very busy Celina and asked her if we could check the car seat under one of our traveling companion’s names. There was a family of 5 (The Ellerbes) who were flying out of Charlotte with us to Kenya. They had checked in earlier and had not hit their checked baggage allowance as a family.
Celina said she could do it, but with the blabbermouth eyeing her every move, it would require us to go find one of the Ellerbes at our gate, bring them back up to check-in to present their photo ID, and go back through security. At this point, there wasn’t enough time to do that. We left the seat at check-in and thought more about who could come pick it up.
Down at the gate I called Mrs. Stephens to tell her the dilemma. She was shocked, as they had never had this be an issue. She told us that we would indeed be traveling with children once we arrived in Kenya, transporting them from home to home. At this point it was noon, but it was worth a try.
I got into the long line at the desk to talk to the attendant. When I finally got up to her, the plane was beginning to board. I explained the situation to her. I told her that we needed to have that car seat for the safe transport of orphaned babies in East Africa. Her hand couldn’t get to the phone quick enough! She called up to check-in and was about to demand that the car seat be checked only to find out that Celina had already slipped it in with the other luggage! What a day! There are good people in the world.
So I know y’all are wondering if you’re going to get to talk to us over these next two weeks and you just might! We will both have international roaming enabled on our regular cell phones, but those should only be used for emergencies! Sprint’s rate is something like $1.95/minute overseas so we won’t be on those much. We do have a Kenyan cell phone number that you can call anytime (ALL OF OUR INCOMING CALLS ARE FREE!!!)
Our Kenyan cell phone number is:
0710 476 827
In most cases you’ll need to dial the country code from which you’re calling (US = 011), Kenya’s country code (254) followed by the cell phone number above barring the leading “0.” It might look something like this: 011 254 710 476 827. Otherwise follow the instructions on the calling card.
There are two ways to reach us on our Kenyan cell phone.
1) International calling cards are relatively easy to find at your Wal-Mart, Target, etc. Follow the instructions on the card…it’s pretty simple.
2) Skype. This is communication by telephone over the internet for an insanely cheap rate! If you think you’re technologically savvy (or maybe you have a teenager that is) the process is very simple. If you go to www.skype.com and check out the instructions, they’re also pretty simple. You buy credit (like an international phone card) via paypal and dial our number and it’s all good. The value you’ll get for $10 on Skype easily quadruples the amount of talk time you’ll get from a $25 international calling card. There are no connection fees or service charges or anything! All you need is an internet connection, a credit card, speakers, and a microphone on your computer and you’re all set. Skype gives some of the most competitive calling rates for international communication around the globe.
If all else fails, there’s always e-mail! You can reach us on our Gmail accounts:
Kristin – khill02@gmail.com
Diane – dfrosthill@gmail.com
We’ll be checking frequently!
If you weren’t invited, don’t be mad! What started out as Jordan and Mrs. Garrick bringing over the last of the donations turned into a full-blown packing party! This past Wednesday night Mom invited some of our closest friends and family over to eat, hang out, pack up all of the donations for the babies, and pray for safe travel.
Aunt Gail came over and she and I ran out to grab drinks and the pizzas we ordered from Anzi’s. Mrs. Garrick and Jordan were first on the scene followed quickly by Aunt Gwen, Morgan and Tim. Next came Mr. Pete Jack and his son Nolan. They were in town for Nolan’s orientation at UNCC. He just graduated from Garner High School this spring! Ms. Velma and her sister Pat showed up next and finally my cousins Gennetha and Brianna and my friends Jessica and Jazmine. We had a full house before we knew it!
After everyone had had enough pizza and salad, Nolan and I headed off to Aunt Gail’s house to recover a scale to weigh the bags while everyone else started packing the two designated suitcases. Surprisingly, we got almost everything in the two suitcases and both were under the 50lb. limit!
After we joined hands and prayed, we said our goodbyes and most everyone went home. One more day! *Click on the pictures to shuffle through them* 
Mom and I are sharing a room with bunk beds. There are three bathrooms for the lot of us. There is definitely going to have to be a morning shower schedule and an evening shower schedule.
After everyone got their luggage into their rooms we congregated in the house meeting area to discuss our plans for the next day over some snacks. We all dug into something called “Samosas” or something like that. They look like empanadas.
