Of all the possible complications I attempted to prepare for in the days and weeks leading up to the Bissa Barka RWC workshop, having the first leg of my flight canceled due to snow in the Carolinas was not one that I had thought of! Yes, my trip got off to an interesting--and somewhat complicated--start, but in the end, I found a way to get to my destination on the date and at the time indicated on my ticket. Legs two and three of the trip were pretty uneventful.
February 25 - the day before I was scheduled to leave
Meteorologists were predicting heavy snow across the middle of the Southeastern US. Both Atlanta and Charlotte were near the dividing line between "snow" and "rain." Charlotte was in the "rain" zone, while Atlanta was just outside of it. Four inches of snow were predicted for Charlotte overnight the 25th into the morning of the 26th. What would that do to my flight to Washington, DC, scheduled for 10:18 am on the 26th? There was a six-hour layover in Washington on my schedule, but would my first flight be delayed, or even canceled? Should we drive up to Washington ahead of the snow--only an inch or two was predicted in the Washington area--and just skip the first flight, but follow my scheduled itinerary from Washington on? Lots of questions were whirling around in my head, were being discussed with Anita, were being agonized over!
Sometime around 1:00 or 2:00 pm, I received an email notifying me that my flight from Charlotte to Washington had been canceled. (That answered that question, at least!) That same email instructed me to contact United Airlines to be rebooked to my destination. I did that. The first option I was given was a schedule that got me to Ouagadougou three days later than initially planned. I rejected that without any hesitation--we hoped to be leaving Ouagadougou for Garango on that day, and there was planning and preparation to do before then. The next option was to travel with a different airlines and arrive around 10 pm on Saturday, instead of 5 pm on Friday, as had been originally scheduled. I really didn't like that, either, so I asked if there really wasn't a way for me to still get there on Friday. The answer, it seemed, was 'no.' Flights were already full, and those that weren't were filling up rapidly due to the large number of people needing to be rescheduled. Finally, I asked if it would be possible for us to drive to Washington and catch my second flight there, effectively dropping the first leg off of my itinerary completely. Well, yes, that would certainly work, I was told. So we quickly made arrangements to stay overnight with a Wycliffe colleague who lives less than an hour from the Washington airport, packed the last of my things (and also some things for Anita, since she'd be away from home for at least two days), and headed off.
February 26 - the day I was scheduled to leave
My flight from Washington, DC, to Brussels, Belgium was scheduled for 5:45 pm. My morning flight out of Charlotte had been canceled, so we didn't have to leave for the airport until the afternoon, arriving there about two and a half hours before the flight would leave. There were a lot of people in the airport that day, so significant amounts of time were spent waiting in lines--to check in and get my bags tagged, and to go through security. It was important to make sure I was in the right line each time! However, my bags were within the weight and size limits, so checking them in was a straightforward operation. I arrived at my gate 30 minutes before the boarding process began; the flight left on time and arrived 20-30 minutes ahead of schedule the next morning because of a strong tailwind.
February 27 - the day I was scheduled to arrive in Burkina Faso
Everything went right on schedule. I passed through security without being accused of intending to do anything illegal and boarded the plane without incident at the appropriate time. The flight was uneventful, and I emerged from the plane into sunny--but dusty--90-degree weather. The hot and dry weather was a glorious change from the cold and dampness I had left behind in the U.S. I was delighted!
I breezed through the health and immigration checkpoints in the Ouagadougou airport, then waiting for a while for my two checked bags to show up on the baggage claim. They weren't the last ones to appear, but they were close to it. Next, we went to Customs. There all four of my bags (2 checked, 2 carry-on) were put through an x-ray machine, and I was questioned about the contents of the two largest ones. When I told the customs officer that there were speakers in the one piece of luggage, his ears kind of perked up. "How much are they worth?" he asked. I told him I didn't know, but I could look. Then I rummaged around in my computer bag until I came up with the invoice that I had been given. "280? Hmmmph," was the officer's comment when he saw that they had cost only $280. Then he waved me on.
While I was having all of this fun, Anita had the lonely task of driving back home by herself. I really, really appreciate her willingness to drop everything in the interest of helping to get me to Burkina Faso on time, instead of 30 hours later! Cheers to my loving wife!
I am now safely ensconced in the room I am renting at SIL for the few days I'll be here in Ouagadougou. I got my stuff unpacked and put where I want it, then my friend, Zakaria, took me out to dinner. He is a true friend, thinking of my need for a meal right after my arrival, before I had a chance to make plans for feeding myself during the time I'll be here!
Now it's nearly 10 pm here and that's time to catch up on all the sleep I missed the past couple of nights, since I don't sleep well on planes.
