Stranded in Chaotic Nairobi!!

Haha ok, it sounds more dramatic than it really is. Let's back the truck up here a bit first. Plane ride over here = AWESOME! I think I was the only person who spoke English! Chilled with some cool Spanish girls though. But the stars! OMG, over Cairo...fantastic! I've never seen anything like it! Looking out the window at 3700ft and being completely eye level with them! It was like being in space. We flew through a lightning storm too, which was insane. The whole sky was lit up and there was some crazy turbulence. As we were about to descend, a countdown came on the screen, counting down the feet as we dropped. Haha dropped is the apt description too :P I guess living in North America, I have a higher expectation of airline reliability, so it was a bit of a surprise as the countdown hit 0ft and the plane jarred onto the tarmac, which caused the entire cabin to erupt in cheers and applause. I suppose it's a markedly good deal when the plane is actually able to complete the trip in one piece.

We are ushered out onto the tarmac, towards an airport that looks like a prison. Grey walls, spires, maybe 4 windows. Welcome to Kenya. I went inside to get my boarding pass. "Yay" thinks Kelly "the next flight isn't boarding for another hour!" Haha WRONG. I go to the transfer desk, where one would normally get the boarding pass for a connecting flight. WRONG AGAIN. Apparently they don't DO anything there except redirect people like myself. I was sent to gate 9. Upon arriving, they sent me to gate 8. I stood in line. At the front of the line, they told me they don't issue boarding passes. I have to go to gate 6 for that, so I go to gate 6. The airport is more reminiscent of a daycare crossed with the SPCA. Dogs and kids running wild through the throngs of people, barking and screaming, respectively. People in huge saris and nuns and toothless old men everywhere. So I find gate 6, which is cleverly disguised as a regular boarding gate. Don't want people to find out that THIS is where boarding passes are issued!

At the front of the huge lineup, about 20 men are screaming in Swahili. Screaming. Not angrily raising their voices but more like...if this was anywhere else, you'd have sworn someone was going to get their gat. The shit would have been down mofo! But they just kept yelling. And everyone just stood there. I guess they missed their flight and were angry at not being rescheduled. So I wait. And wait. And wait. 45mins later, I get to the front. They give me a boarding pass and tell me to go back to gate 8. I do that. I stand in the huge line at gate 8. At the front, they tell me "Oh, that's no good, that flight already left." It left EARLY. Who does that? Who decides to just fly away BEFORE the departure time?? Sweet. Airport: 1, Kelly: 0. Touche.

So it's back to gate 6. Gate 6 has another huge lineup. Apparently 12 other people missed the DAR flight. We all stand together. I'm happy. I'm part of something! They take another 30mins to sort this out. The whole time everyone is yelling, it's like the stock market of the airline industry. I'm sure if I had an extra $300 I could buy a ticket for whatever or whenever I wanted. They tell me that there is no reason for me to have missed the connection, as I had an hour. Thats what I thought! So I argue. I beg. I plead. I make my eyes really big and say "please don't leave me stranded." When the guy looks like he is going to ignore me and go to the next person, I lean on the counter and make it apparent that I'm not going to step aside. Meanwhile, the lineup behind us is up in arms now because they still haven't gotten their boarding passes and are all missing their flights. One big cycle. No one makes their original flight here. And the times are merely a general suggestion. The man at the counter sighs in exasperation and finally tells me I can be on standby for a possible flight "around noon" because a given time would be way too convenient. They like to keep us guessing.

So here I am, sitting at a Dell computer, circa 1991... chillin' with my thoughts and praying that my bag doesn't get stolen off of the DAR claim. See, they can't find it without a ticket stub. Things checked way back in Canada...that's not something they do here in Nairobi. Well, I wanted a grand adventure! Getting stuck in a place where no one speaks English is pretty rough for a novice explorer. It's pretty rough here. The only sleep I've had in the last 36hrs was an unintentional catnap in the Amsterdam lounge, curled around my bag. I'm supposed to keep checking back with Gate 6. That's fine, nothing else to do here. Except this. And I'm finished. Haha so, cross your fingers that I get into the hostel alright. My ride won't be there to meet me, but I have the address to take a daladala or cab if I need to. The people here are really awesome though! I mean, that whole gate 6 fiasco...JUST like the Malibu rum commercial, you know, the one where they're all in line for the bus and stressing out? "If you are late then I am late" "My fish is sick." Hee hee, that's all I could think of when I was standing there. What can you do eh? Ya gotta laugh :P