After an unexpected extra week in Tanzania, courtesy of the volcano eruption in Iceland, Nick and my parents safely made it back to the US on Sunday. Hurray!
The unplanned trip extension topped off an African adventure that introduced them not only to the beautiful scenery, wildlife and beaches here, but also the logistical and planning challenges that can make everyday life here feel like a run through an obstacle course.
First KLM lost my mom’s bag.
When my family decided to come and visit me in Tanzania, I was euphoric, expectant and really excited. But I was also a little nervous, I’ll admit. This was their first major trip to the developing world and they were diving in for a two week stint. How was I going to guide them through it all? How to try to balance a great tourist experience with exposure to everyday life here? How to try to blend as a group of 4 wazungos?
So I was a tad bit nervous when I got to the airport to pick them up. But then I saw them inside the baggage claim, and nerves forgotten, started bobbing up and down like a 10 year old at Christmas waiting for them to come outside. Only they stayed inside. And kept walking back and forth between the baggage claim and KLM desk. Uh oh. A bag didn’t make it. Damn. Hope it’s Nick’s.
Two minutes later Nick walked out, gave me a huge hug, and announced, “Mom’s bag didn’t make it”. Double damn.
Mary’s catch-phrase for this trip was “go with the flow”. But as Mary herself will tell you, this was one glitch she hadn’t planned on. Not only had the bag not arrived, KLM had actually lost it, AND the bag contained important medicine she takes daily. Fast-forward through 3 days of frantically searching all over Tanzania for said lost medicine, with the grand finale being an utter and total meltdown (by nearly all parties – Nick was mostly kicking it eating a muffin during all of this) at the Dar es Salaam airport that can only be described as a story destined to become part of Bengtson-family-lore.
On the long, hot, cramped ride back to Morogoro (sans infamous bag), I was seriously considering just what the hell I had been thinking trying to organize a 2-week trip all over Tanzania, as well as trying to remember exactly how much alcohol I had at home. But as Nick wisely said later on, never underestimate the power of hitting rockbottom. And so it was.
After the fiasco at the airport, Mary bravely and maturely accepted that the bag and medicine might not make it and that it was time to move on. We got to Morogoro, opened several beers, and tried to focus on seeing my life in Morogoro and getting excited for the safari.
Two days later, and about 12 hours before we were scheduled to leave on our safari, the bag arrived. I have never been so happy to see a piece of luggage.
With appropriate shampoo, self-tanner, and medicine in hand Mary and the rest of us were ready to put the last week behind us and get ready to see some of Tanzania’s most beautiful sights – Ngorongoro and the Serengeti. We had an amazing week touring around with our affable guide Charlie and saw 23 different kinds of animals!
By the end of it the stress and chaos of the first part of the trip was long forgotten amid hugs, thank-you’s, and smiles over a great trip. I waved goodbye to them in Arusha as Charlie took them on to the airport.
That was about a half hour before we heard that a volcano had erupted.
Fast forward again through three days of trying any of the 17 different phone numbers KLM gave us that didn’t work (don’t even get me started on KLM’s customer service), trips to the airport in the US by my brother-in-law, generalized chaos at the airport in Arusha and roughly 16 hours on the bus making the roundtrip from Mogo back to Arusha. In the end, the 2 week trip was more like 3+, Russ, Mary and Nick had developed a sort of surrogate-family at the KIA Lodge (see post below), and I got a few extra days to spend with them.
The trip itself wasn’t always smooth, but it was memorable. And it was true to life here – a never ending pingpong between amazing and beautiful and frustrating and unpredictable.
Mom, Dad and Nick: thank you for coming thousands of miles to experience my life here; thank you for hanging in there through the ups and downs; thank you for coming to Tanzania.
(To see a few photos from the trip, check out the Picasa photostream at right. I'm also trying to get a couple of videos up, but so far the internet gods are not smiling on me).
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Live from the KIA Lodge Compound...
As I am sure everyone has heard, a volcano erupted in Iceland last week. Mass chaos has pretty much ensured around the world as thousands of people were stranded and everything from car manufacturers to flower exports ground to a halt.
Unfortunately my family was set to fly out last Friday evening. Perhaps even more unfortunately (or less, depending on how you look at it?), we had no idea that anything had happened until they arrived at Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA) on Friday afternoon, and I was on the dala dala back to Moshi to catch a bus home to Morogoro.
So after a few days of frustration, confusion for everyone and a lot of time spent waiting on the phone or the airport to talk to someone, ANYONE, who had any idea, or at least had heard a good rumor, about what the hell was going on, I decided I needed to head back up to the north to spend sometime with my family during what was shaping up to be their unexpected third week in Africa.
When I walked into the KIA Lodge near Arusha, I found a beleaguered but generally in good spirits family, and a group of stranded travelers from around the world that had quickly formed a community of sorts - where people might not know your last name or speak your language, but they definitely knew if you'd gotten your flight rebooked or not. Mary of course knew everyone and quickly took me around to meet people, who it turned out already knew my name, where I lived, what I was doing in TZ AND that I was going to UNC next year...that sort of thing:)
As of today (Wednesday), my parents are booked on a flight home on Saturday and Nick is booked on a flight out on Monday. Since the airports just re-opened today, we're hoping that we'll be able to get him out earlier, since people are likely double or triple booked on flights. However, we've also heard that now they are re-booking people as late as May (!!), so he might be lucky to leave then!
But until then, we are here, going for a swim at the pool, taking in views of Kili, waiting for Happy Hour to start and in general trying to make the most of it. My family has definitely had more than their share of snafus on this trip (KLM lost my mom's bag...for a week...on the way here, but more about that later) and while the trip has had its tough moments, they've been amazing at facing the unexpected, rebounding, ordering another beer and finding the humor in all of this.
No matter what, it's been an amazing trip and wonderful to have them here...as well as keep them for a few extra days.
Unfortunately my family was set to fly out last Friday evening. Perhaps even more unfortunately (or less, depending on how you look at it?), we had no idea that anything had happened until they arrived at Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA) on Friday afternoon, and I was on the dala dala back to Moshi to catch a bus home to Morogoro.
So after a few days of frustration, confusion for everyone and a lot of time spent waiting on the phone or the airport to talk to someone, ANYONE, who had any idea, or at least had heard a good rumor, about what the hell was going on, I decided I needed to head back up to the north to spend sometime with my family during what was shaping up to be their unexpected third week in Africa.
When I walked into the KIA Lodge near Arusha, I found a beleaguered but generally in good spirits family, and a group of stranded travelers from around the world that had quickly formed a community of sorts - where people might not know your last name or speak your language, but they definitely knew if you'd gotten your flight rebooked or not. Mary of course knew everyone and quickly took me around to meet people, who it turned out already knew my name, where I lived, what I was doing in TZ AND that I was going to UNC next year...that sort of thing:)
As of today (Wednesday), my parents are booked on a flight home on Saturday and Nick is booked on a flight out on Monday. Since the airports just re-opened today, we're hoping that we'll be able to get him out earlier, since people are likely double or triple booked on flights. However, we've also heard that now they are re-booking people as late as May (!!), so he might be lucky to leave then!
But until then, we are here, going for a swim at the pool, taking in views of Kili, waiting for Happy Hour to start and in general trying to make the most of it. My family has definitely had more than their share of snafus on this trip (KLM lost my mom's bag...for a week...on the way here, but more about that later) and while the trip has had its tough moments, they've been amazing at facing the unexpected, rebounding, ordering another beer and finding the humor in all of this.
No matter what, it's been an amazing trip and wonderful to have them here...as well as keep them for a few extra days.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
The Family Adventure Begins...
In approximately 25 hours I will be IN Dar es Salaam, AT the airport, PICKING UP MY FAMILY!!!
Nick is about to leave Portland and Mary and Russ leave Minneapolis in a few hours and then they will all meet, bleary eyed and having had too much free wine on the flight in Amsterdam tomorrow morning for a flight to Tanzania. And when they get off the plane, I will be there!
This is their first trip to Africa (Nick has been to Morocco) and I am so excited to see them and to get to experience Tanzania with them. I spent the day today cleaning, getting ready and baking (or course. bread, banana bread, cookies anyone?)
Yesterday I had an amazing day visiting a nearby national park with my friend Karen and her mom, who is visiting from Denmark. At one point I saw almost 30 giraffe's together!! (pictures forthcoming).
Did I mention it has been a good week? Really good.
Nick is about to leave Portland and Mary and Russ leave Minneapolis in a few hours and then they will all meet, bleary eyed and having had too much free wine on the flight in Amsterdam tomorrow morning for a flight to Tanzania. And when they get off the plane, I will be there!
This is their first trip to Africa (Nick has been to Morocco) and I am so excited to see them and to get to experience Tanzania with them. I spent the day today cleaning, getting ready and baking (or course. bread, banana bread, cookies anyone?)
Yesterday I had an amazing day visiting a nearby national park with my friend Karen and her mom, who is visiting from Denmark. At one point I saw almost 30 giraffe's together!! (pictures forthcoming).
Did I mention it has been a good week? Really good.
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