On My Way

I am writing this blog entry on board the Eurostar train from Brussels, Belgium to London, England. I think we might almost be in France by now. We will be reaching England via the “Chunel” which is actually a set of three train tunnels underneath the English Channel (put channel together with a tunnel and what do you get?) Anyway, it has been a very long 36 hours or so.

My “day” started at 8 am on Friday in Dar Es Salaam (that is in the East African Time Zone, or EAT, which is 8 hours ahead of the east coast of the USA). I awakened at the Passionist Fathers Guest House. I didn’t do much during that day - I went into town for a very nice brunch at the Movenpick and stopped by the main shop for the cellular provider I use to stock up on minutes. Then I returned to the guest house and rested. I left the guest house at 8:30 pm EAT for the airport. The plane did not actually end up leaving until about fifteen minutes after midnight on Saturday, December 13 (EAT). I was surprised by how many people got of the plane that I eventually boarded. The plane came from Amsterdam, landed in Arusha/Kiliminjaro and picked up new passengers and dropped off others. But it seemed like the plane completely emptied out in Dar, which is surprising because ti is not a very popular tourist destination (Arusha/Kiliminjaro are popular because of the mountains and the well publicised safari circus in that region).

While I was waiting to board the plane to Kilimanjaro I was pleased to meet a nice older man who had worked on development projects in Tanzania for several years in the 1990s. He had just been back to the country to help his son with a project. It was wonderful to hear his stories about the country form that time period and much earlier. He had some familiarity with DCT and its bishop and we shared stories. I am always happy to learn more about my new home.

Anyway… The plane that went from Dar to Amsterdam was a new one (at least to me). It was a Boeing 777 and is the most comfortable plane I have been on. As anyone who knows me can attest, I am a large man and often find some planes very uncomfortable, but this plane was quite roomy - lots and lots of legroom. I enjoyed the flight, but it was a long 9 hours or so. I didn’t get any sleep except for about 15 or 30 minutes.

The plane landed in Amsterdam around 7 am local time which is six hours ahead of the east coast of the USA or 9 am EAT. So when the plane landed I had basically been up twenty-four hours. I was very impressed with the Amsterdam airport… it is beautiful and huge. The immigration process was quite easy. After I got my luggage I went to an ATM to get some Euros and was quite surprised and displeased when it gave be 100 Euros in the form of two 50 Euro bills. Imagine going to an ATM in the USA and asking for $100 and getting it in the form of a $100 bill, when you need to buy a bottle of water. It appears that no one wants to take 50 Euro bills…. This is quite a big change from Tanzania where the highest denomination bill is 10,000 or about $8 US. Often when you go to an ATM there and ask for 200,000 TSh (about $150) you get that money in 5,000 TSh bills (about $4).

After I went to the ATM I found the train ticket offices and was pleased to be able to get a ticket to London on a train that left directly from the airport. I have to applaud Europe’s use of trains and especially the Netherlands. The international and local train routes are built around the international airport in Amsterdam. That leads to a smooth and seamless blending of air and train travel. Very impressive. Unfortunately this is just too foreign of an idea for America - the country that invented the idea of suburbs and the two-car garage.

I have enjoyed travelling by train for the first time as an adult. It is more convenient (here) and more casual than flying. On the train from Amsterdam to Brussels a man who was from Nigeria saw the ring I was wearing (which is from Peterkin, the camp and conference centre of the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia) and the African print shirt I was wearing and somehow assumed I was a Catholic priest from Africa. I explained the truth (very briefly) and told him how glad I was to enjoy winter.

In Brussels I went through customs and British immigration since that was my final destination. This was an interesting experience… I went through several different customs and immigration conversations in the past day and a half and this was a unique experience. The British immigration officer asked me why I was going to Britain, where I was staying and how long I would be there. I answered those questions pretty easily. Then, I think out of curiosity, he asked where I had been coming from and where I would be going after Britain. I explained that I would only be in Britain for four days, three days in Paris and a night in Amsterdam. He asked what I had been doing in Africa and I explained. He asked how I supported myself and I briefly explained that I was a missionary for the Anglican (or Episcopal) Church in America. He then asked what I did for a living in America and what my job qualifications were… these were tough questions to answer. I found these to be very interesting questions and I assume these were out of curiosity… since I stated I was not staying in Britain or seeking employment there. But it reminded me of my interesting situation.

Well I just wanted to jot down some notes. I will arrive in London within an hour and will then take a taxi to my hotel, meet my mother, get a shower, drink a lot of water and SLEEP. I have now been up basically for 33 hours at this point. A long day.

Have a wonderful day!

Updated… we have emerged on the other side of the tunnel and it is 3:36 pm GMT and it is dark here…. I am starting to understand all that I have heard about England having somewhat bleak winters… oh well. I am really happy to experience winter for the first time in two years.

This entry was posted on December 13, 2008 at 10:20 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.