One of the first lessons that I learned while on the World Race is that blogging is difficult. It isn’t the busy schedule, poor wifi or exhaustion that are the main problem, but rather the wonderful distractions. Every time I pull out my computer, I am swarmed by locals. Both kids and adults are fascinated by technology. The other wonderful distraction is the sheer weight of what I am doing here. I don’t like being on my computer because it detracts from becoming part of the culture in which I am a part of. That being said, I promise to blog as often as I can and update you on what is happening. The following will be a quick synopsis of what I have done thus far.
After some training in Atlanta all 50 of us took buses to the airport at 10:30am because the hotel lobby couldn’t accommodate us. We found a section of the airport which we claimed as our own and played games and talked for 11 hours. We then boarded our Turkish airlines flight and watched movies and slept for the 10 hour flight. I unfortunately was unable to sleep. We landed in Istanbul Turkey, and once again found a section of the airport to call our own. I slept on the ground near what I think was an area to store dumpsters. The airport was more of a mall than an airport. You were just as likely to see people pushing shopping carts as you were pulling luggage. It was an interesting site, and the Islamic influence was very apparent. That being said, I had Popeye’s chicken for lunch, because I wasn’t quite ready to delve into the unknown.
After another 10 hours at the airport, we then boarded a flight to Johannesburg South Africa, and once again I was unable to sleep on the 9 hour flight. As I exited the plane I was completely surprised by the humidity. Like everything else in Africa, the buses were 4 hours late in picking us up, and we waited in the airport once again. Eventually they arrived and we were transported to the Mozambique border. Kids approached me and asked for money, but unlike my previous travel experiences’ they were very polite and responsive when I told them no. After giving my fingerprints and a short conversation, I was allowed to cross the border.
After 8 hours in a bus, we arrived in Maputo (Mah-Poo-Too), Mozambique and our travel time totaled around 50 hours. We met our wonderful host Angie Wheeler of Beacon of Hope. It has now been a week since I arrived here, and I simply can’t tell you all the amazing stories and trials that have happened in one blog post. I will post another one soon. Thank you for your continual support! To donate or follow the journey, please go to Kevincrow.theworldrace.org
