Wednesday, June 19, 2002
Flight Day
So it's 4 and a half hours before I have to leave for the airport, and I still haven't finished packing. Typical procrastinator. And also typical that I would be here in front of the computer, checking email, posting to the blog and generally dicking around.
I have the awful feeling that I am way over the 140lb. luggage allowance, as the duffle bag which is holding all my books, toiletries, and other equipment already feels like it weighs a ton. Hopefully I can sneak it through at check-in. I just don't know what's going to be readily available so I'm bringing doubles (sometimes triples!) of things I know I use on a daily basis, like shower gel, sunscreen, lip balm, etc. Fortunately I won't have to come home with all these things, because I'll likely have used it all up or just left the remainders for whoever is to follow me.
Anyways, I should definitely get back to the task at hand. My father is taking me to lunch at a Malaysian restaurant (who knows when I'll get to have roti canae or nasi lemak again?) but my mind keeps wandering back to the rib fest that starts in Ottawa today.......mmmm, ribs!
...Back from lunch. Still haven't quite finished packing, but I just have to throw a bunch of things into the duffle bag and then I'm done. Did the big weigh-in and the backpack comes to about 13kg and the duffle bag 15kg, well within the 32kg limit per bag. Phew! I was worried that I'd be at the airport frantically throwing things around in a pathetic attempt to lighten the load. Everything just seems so essential right now.
Allan has informed me about an air traffic controllers' strike in France that has been causing delays and cancellations of flights throughout Europe. I re-confirmed with the airline and they say everything is cool on their end, but it would really suck to be stuck in Amsterdam for an indefinite period of time....or would it? Personally, I think that Allan just doesn't want me to go and is trying to find any excuse to keep me here. I bet he planted that French strike story on Canada Newswire :)
Back to packing while I watch the last Law and Order episode that I'll be able to see for the next 6 months (even though I firmly believe that it has never been quite up to par since they killed off Claire Kincaid.)
So it's 4 and a half hours before I have to leave for the airport, and I still haven't finished packing. Typical procrastinator. And also typical that I would be here in front of the computer, checking email, posting to the blog and generally dicking around.
I have the awful feeling that I am way over the 140lb. luggage allowance, as the duffle bag which is holding all my books, toiletries, and other equipment already feels like it weighs a ton. Hopefully I can sneak it through at check-in. I just don't know what's going to be readily available so I'm bringing doubles (sometimes triples!) of things I know I use on a daily basis, like shower gel, sunscreen, lip balm, etc. Fortunately I won't have to come home with all these things, because I'll likely have used it all up or just left the remainders for whoever is to follow me.
Anyways, I should definitely get back to the task at hand. My father is taking me to lunch at a Malaysian restaurant (who knows when I'll get to have roti canae or nasi lemak again?) but my mind keeps wandering back to the rib fest that starts in Ottawa today.......mmmm, ribs!
...Back from lunch. Still haven't quite finished packing, but I just have to throw a bunch of things into the duffle bag and then I'm done. Did the big weigh-in and the backpack comes to about 13kg and the duffle bag 15kg, well within the 32kg limit per bag. Phew! I was worried that I'd be at the airport frantically throwing things around in a pathetic attempt to lighten the load. Everything just seems so essential right now.
Allan has informed me about an air traffic controllers' strike in France that has been causing delays and cancellations of flights throughout Europe. I re-confirmed with the airline and they say everything is cool on their end, but it would really suck to be stuck in Amsterdam for an indefinite period of time....or would it? Personally, I think that Allan just doesn't want me to go and is trying to find any excuse to keep me here. I bet he planted that French strike story on Canada Newswire :)
Back to packing while I watch the last Law and Order episode that I'll be able to see for the next 6 months (even though I firmly believe that it has never been quite up to par since they killed off Claire Kincaid.)
Tuesday, June 18, 2002
Flight Itinerary
June 19, 2002
Depart Toronto 6:15pm (flight time 7hr20min)
June 20, 2002
Arrive Amsterdam 7:35am
Depart Amsterdam 11:00am (flight time 8hr15min)
Arrive Nairobi (Kenya) 8:15pm
Depart Nairobi 10:00pm (flight time 1hr10min)
Arrive Entebbe (Uganda) 11:10pm
Yuck. Over 16 hours in the air.
Since we are getting in so late to Entebbe, and also the fact that Kampala (the capital city where we will be doing in-country training for a week or two) is about 40 minutes away, we are staying in a motel for the night and will be heading to the training centre the next morning. Luckily I am travelling with 2 of the other interns, Ali and Jamie, so at least there will be company. Also, we will be met at the airport by someone from VSO Uganda who will also accompany us to training the next morning. Thank God, because I'd probably end up on the bus to Rwanda!
June 19, 2002
Depart Toronto 6:15pm (flight time 7hr20min)
June 20, 2002
Arrive Amsterdam 7:35am
Depart Amsterdam 11:00am (flight time 8hr15min)
Arrive Nairobi (Kenya) 8:15pm
Depart Nairobi 10:00pm (flight time 1hr10min)
Arrive Entebbe (Uganda) 11:10pm
Yuck. Over 16 hours in the air.
Since we are getting in so late to Entebbe, and also the fact that Kampala (the capital city where we will be doing in-country training for a week or two) is about 40 minutes away, we are staying in a motel for the night and will be heading to the training centre the next morning. Luckily I am travelling with 2 of the other interns, Ali and Jamie, so at least there will be company. Also, we will be met at the airport by someone from VSO Uganda who will also accompany us to training the next morning. Thank God, because I'd probably end up on the bus to Rwanda!
Welcome to my blog!
It is the day before my flight and I am still busy packing, running errands, and generally tying up loose ends. The biggest pain in the butt has been organizing stuff for my student loans, which I have to start repaying while I am away. I am hoping that the fact that I am doing an international internship and receiving a paltry $285 Cdn./month while in Uganda will help me to get interest relief, where I can defer payments for 6 months and no interest accrues during that time, either. Dealing with banks has never been easy or hassle-free for me.
Anyways, I have set up a new email account with more storage space for the time that I am away:
isha_in_uganda@yahoo.ca
Hotmail has been really wonky lately and it only has 2 MB of storage space, so my inbox fills up pretty quick, especially if there are large forwards and the inevitable junk mail. Yahoo offers 6 MB, which is perfect as I may not be able to clean out my inbox as frequently as I do at home in North America - who knows what the availability of my internet access will be like? Anyways, please use this new address if you want to contact me while I am overseas.
It is the day before my flight and I am still busy packing, running errands, and generally tying up loose ends. The biggest pain in the butt has been organizing stuff for my student loans, which I have to start repaying while I am away. I am hoping that the fact that I am doing an international internship and receiving a paltry $285 Cdn./month while in Uganda will help me to get interest relief, where I can defer payments for 6 months and no interest accrues during that time, either. Dealing with banks has never been easy or hassle-free for me.
Anyways, I have set up a new email account with more storage space for the time that I am away:
isha_in_uganda@yahoo.ca
Hotmail has been really wonky lately and it only has 2 MB of storage space, so my inbox fills up pretty quick, especially if there are large forwards and the inevitable junk mail. Yahoo offers 6 MB, which is perfect as I may not be able to clean out my inbox as frequently as I do at home in North America - who knows what the availability of my internet access will be like? Anyways, please use this new address if you want to contact me while I am overseas.
Monday, June 17, 2002
This is a test entry - we'll see if this works!
