Coming home…

I apologize for not posting an entry last night. Our days are very busy from early morning until bedtime. Yesterday was no exception – there just was not a good opportunity to write and post.

It was early to rise Monday morning to begin our journey home. Our last ride on the bus with our driver Joel and hosts Andrew and Melvin began at 6am, arriving at the Entebbe airport just before 7am. Everyone made it through the check-in process without incident. Much to our surprise, we were able to check our luggage all the way to Wichita even though we were staying overnight in London (our travel agent said we had to claim our luggage for security reasons – who knows?). Will it get there or not is the only remaining question. After purchasing a few more souvenirs at the airport (it’s hard to resist!), we made our way to the gate. There we noticed to the far right end of the airport a red carpet, viewing stand, military band, and soldiers marching in the morning sun. It turns out that the President of Uganda was returning from an East African conference. His private jet arrived just as we started to board but he did not deplane until we were on the plane so we were not able to see the ceremony. However, we knew it was underway because it delayed our flight approximately 1 hour (I guess he did not want our engines drowning out his speech).

Our flight was smooth and uneventful. I used the time to sort through approximately 1,000 photos; only 1,000 to go! We arrived at Heathrow Airport around 4:45pm and proceeded to the Comfort Hotel Heathrow via two minivans (they call them MVP’s) and two cars (it was a bit complicated but it worked). Four from our group, however, decided to visit downtown London and took the Tube instead. We did not see them until the next morning. After checking-in 23 people into 11 rooms (which took about 40 minutes), we ate dinner at the hotel. The food was modest but expensive – like everything in London these days. After a full tummy, most of us retired to get some sleep before awaking again by 6am.

The hotel room was pleasant but a bit warm for my taste (19° C with no ability to make it cooler. The beds had a bottom sheet and a rather thick comforter but no top sheet (much like it is in Germany). But, compared to our bed in Uganda, it was heaven. It was also nice to have a properly working bathroom with a shower head and water where the volume and temperature could be controlled. One unique thing about the bathroom was there is no concept of a washcloth. We each had a small hand towel and a large towel. Oh well, it was workable.

Some of us ate a buffet breakfast at the hotel, which was quite good, although very expensive. We then arranged for a special bus to take us directly to Terminal 4 for £4 per person. It was a straight shot and worked well. Check-in is always a hassle but we all ended up at the right gate and the right time and boarded our last international flight for this trip. Now, as long as the concept of an airfoil holds true, we should be back in the good ‘ol USA by Tuesday 2pm CDT. Then, we begin the process of assimilating ourselves back into our busy lives and its various distractions and pleasures. We will think often of our friends back in Uganda and the children who changed our lives once again.

Written by: Dave Glover