Looking over the posts, I see I missed our last day in India. We started out at IJM, then I met with a trust that is working on bio-pesticides and bio-fertilizers in conjunction with organic farming. The work they are doing is very interesting, and they are concentrating on the Dalit community.
Went to Jeeva's training center, tried my hand at stitching...not successfully. John had taught a class in English and continued his one-man medical camp.
After lunch, we went to the new orphanage building, it is about 30 days from completion. Then we got to meet the kids!! These are such special kids, many of them had their journals from 2 years ago when we first met them, with our names and notes. It is such a joy to spend time with them.
Of course, being India, the power went out so we had a romantic, candle-lit evening meal with them. Then many goodbye hugs, and off to the hotel for a few hours of sleep.
Monday, March 5, 2012
And....home.
Well, the trip is complete.
The final 35 hours:
A wake-up call at 3:20 am is just not right!! We did manage to catch at least a few hours of sleep before the call, met our driver at 4 am and off to the airport. One thing about travelling at that time, there is very little traffic till you get close to the airport. Lots of people at the airport, but most must have been on domestic flights, as it was the quickest I have ever gotten through customs and security. Well, that and the fact we were plenty early for our 7:45 am flight.
John and I had our final omelets for breakfast (I think I had an omelet every morning we were there) and settled in to wait for our flight. The 747 was totally full, no empty seats. Once again, our dreams of being upgraded to business class were dashed. Of course, they make you walk through first class and business class to get to the cattle car in the rear of the plane, just to entice you!! Cost for "Economy" tickets: $1600, business class: $5000, first class: around $12,000. Guess we will be in economy for the near future.
The flight to London was just over 10 hours. 10 hours in a plane is a long time. 10 hours, seated 2 rows behind a young child whose only means of communication seems to be a high-pitched, ear piercing SCREAM is a long, LONG time. I did have a partial roll of duct tape in my carry-on, and considered making it a gift to the parents. Super thanks to my children who presented me with a pair of noise-cancelling headphones for Christmas. It reduced the screams to a manageable level.
We were in a holding pattern over London for a while, the result of heavy fog that morning. Had time for a quick fish and chips dinner, a requirement for a London stay. Made the last purchase of the trip, then boarded the plane for the 8 hour flight to Chicago. We both slept a good part of the trip, exhaustion finally taking over. I again thanked my High German genetics for being short, John suffered again with the tight leg room. The flight was more peaceful as well, as "Screams like a Banshee" was not present on this leg of the journey.
We arrived in Chicago, a bit late after a late departure from London, with less than 2 hours till our scheduled departure for Omaha. 2 hours is about the minumum for a transfer in Chicago when coming from overseas. Customs, security, and then a departure gate at the furthest point away combine to make it tight. Add a TSA agent who was in no hurry, upset she had no help and the fact that "new hires get paid more than me and I've been here 10 years", and things get close. We arrived at the gate 5 minutes before scheduled departure. Notice, I said "scheduled" departure.
With all the severe storms in the southeast US, lots of flights were cancelled. Our flight was not cancelled, it just didn't have a crew. We were originally scheduled to depart at 8:45, that was moved back to 9:05, then 9:30. At that point, we were told we were waiting for a flight attendant. Now, this was a "puddle jumper" jet, with ONE flight attendant. I figured I had seen enough safety demonstrations on the trip to show people how to put on their seat belts and could point to the exits, and I can pour someone a can of soda.
Apparently American Eagle has a rule against a passenger doing that.....
Our flight attendant finally arrived, and we took off 2 hours late, but at least we had a flight. Arrived in Omaha just after midnight. Mark Malmberg, Carla and Donna were there to greet us back to Nebraska. We arrived home after 2 am, around 35 hours after that wake-up call.
It was a fruitfull trip. We so appreciate all the work the people in India do to make our trips so smooth, we can only hope that the benefit they receive from us being there outweighs the extra work we cause them. And as usual, we have gained more from the trip than we have given.
I got about 8 hours of sleep last night/this morning, and am now forcing myself to stay awake till at least 10 tonight. That worked on one trip to "cure" jet lag, we'll see how this one works out. I'm guessing I'll know around 3 this morning...
Thank you all for praying for us on this trip and for following these updates. We could not do these trips without your support.
The final 35 hours:
A wake-up call at 3:20 am is just not right!! We did manage to catch at least a few hours of sleep before the call, met our driver at 4 am and off to the airport. One thing about travelling at that time, there is very little traffic till you get close to the airport. Lots of people at the airport, but most must have been on domestic flights, as it was the quickest I have ever gotten through customs and security. Well, that and the fact we were plenty early for our 7:45 am flight.
John and I had our final omelets for breakfast (I think I had an omelet every morning we were there) and settled in to wait for our flight. The 747 was totally full, no empty seats. Once again, our dreams of being upgraded to business class were dashed. Of course, they make you walk through first class and business class to get to the cattle car in the rear of the plane, just to entice you!! Cost for "Economy" tickets: $1600, business class: $5000, first class: around $12,000. Guess we will be in economy for the near future.
The flight to London was just over 10 hours. 10 hours in a plane is a long time. 10 hours, seated 2 rows behind a young child whose only means of communication seems to be a high-pitched, ear piercing SCREAM is a long, LONG time. I did have a partial roll of duct tape in my carry-on, and considered making it a gift to the parents. Super thanks to my children who presented me with a pair of noise-cancelling headphones for Christmas. It reduced the screams to a manageable level.
We were in a holding pattern over London for a while, the result of heavy fog that morning. Had time for a quick fish and chips dinner, a requirement for a London stay. Made the last purchase of the trip, then boarded the plane for the 8 hour flight to Chicago. We both slept a good part of the trip, exhaustion finally taking over. I again thanked my High German genetics for being short, John suffered again with the tight leg room. The flight was more peaceful as well, as "Screams like a Banshee" was not present on this leg of the journey.
We arrived in Chicago, a bit late after a late departure from London, with less than 2 hours till our scheduled departure for Omaha. 2 hours is about the minumum for a transfer in Chicago when coming from overseas. Customs, security, and then a departure gate at the furthest point away combine to make it tight. Add a TSA agent who was in no hurry, upset she had no help and the fact that "new hires get paid more than me and I've been here 10 years", and things get close. We arrived at the gate 5 minutes before scheduled departure. Notice, I said "scheduled" departure.
With all the severe storms in the southeast US, lots of flights were cancelled. Our flight was not cancelled, it just didn't have a crew. We were originally scheduled to depart at 8:45, that was moved back to 9:05, then 9:30. At that point, we were told we were waiting for a flight attendant. Now, this was a "puddle jumper" jet, with ONE flight attendant. I figured I had seen enough safety demonstrations on the trip to show people how to put on their seat belts and could point to the exits, and I can pour someone a can of soda.
Apparently American Eagle has a rule against a passenger doing that.....
Our flight attendant finally arrived, and we took off 2 hours late, but at least we had a flight. Arrived in Omaha just after midnight. Mark Malmberg, Carla and Donna were there to greet us back to Nebraska. We arrived home after 2 am, around 35 hours after that wake-up call.
It was a fruitfull trip. We so appreciate all the work the people in India do to make our trips so smooth, we can only hope that the benefit they receive from us being there outweighs the extra work we cause them. And as usual, we have gained more from the trip than we have given.
I got about 8 hours of sleep last night/this morning, and am now forcing myself to stay awake till at least 10 tonight. That worked on one trip to "cure" jet lag, we'll see how this one works out. I'm guessing I'll know around 3 this morning...
Thank you all for praying for us on this trip and for following these updates. We could not do these trips without your support.
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