Good Bye Malawi

Our time in Malawi has come to an end. I'm amazed at how quickly the time has passed. In many ways I am ready to go. In many other ways I am sorry to be leaving. I will miss the wonderful people of Malawi. They have been gracious hosts whom I now consider friends. I am particularly fond of Steven who is the village coordinator for Chilombo Village. He is a kind man who has overcome tremendous obstacles and now helps kids in the villages who  face what he has been through. 

The young women interns that helped us from the time we arrived were great. They helped us feel much more connected to the local population. They acted as our interpreters and cultural liaisons. They were the happiest most joy filled young ladies. They brightened every day for us. They are shining examples of what can happen when you invest in children. 

I think what I will miss are the children in the villages. They have almost no worldly possessions. The ones they do have are worn and dirty. Yet they are incredibly kind and engaging and gratefull for everything you do for them. Even if it is nothing more then hold ther hand or encourage them or pray for them. I am going to do my best to help them with some of the bare essentials like shoes, hygiene products and food. We can make a big difference with a small investment of time and remarkably little money. 

On the other hand, I won't miss the van rides. There is just no way for 17 people (or more) to get comfortable in a 15 year old Toyota mini van. I won't miss bumping me head half a dozen times a day on the bunk above me. And I definitely won't miss the power outages and cold showers. However it is those exact things that brought the team together. 

So this morning we loaded ourselves into the van one last time and headed to the airport. We said our bittersweet goodbyes and headed for the gate. Of course our plane had mechanical problems so we were delayed by nearly two hours. Of course Ranie found all kinds of interesting people to talk to while we waited. Including a Lebanese man who wants to build an amusement park in Malawi.  

We will part ways with the rest of our team when we arrive in Addis Abba. They will transfer to a flight to Rome and from there to the United States. We'll stay the night in Addis Abba at a hotel near the airport. I'm still a little nervous about that. Then tomorrow morning we take off for London and the final leg of our adventure. 

We made it safely to Addis Ababa! We pre paid for a room at a Radisson near the airport. Turns out it is a five star hotel. Too bad it's in Addis Ababa. We were met by a driver to take us to the hotel.  The drive from the airport looked like we were driving through a war torn area with bombed out buildings. At the hotel we had to X-ray our bags and they used a hand held metal dectoer on me before we could enter the lobby. I guess that's just a sign of the times. 

This room is quite a contrast to sharing a hut with four other dudes. The down side is we have get up in 5 hours to get to the airport. The bright side is will be in London at this time tomorrow.