Uganda 2022 Day 1

We headed out to Uganda today! Dad took the  day off work so he could drive me. On our way we did a couple errands and the traffic was great, but that means we arrived at the airport way earlier than my team was meeting. Dad and I waited about 45 min to 1 hr to check me in as the ticket counter was not open yet. The lady waiting in line next to me was very nice and chatty. She was on her way to Egypt to see her son and some of his friends who are in a sports tournament. One of the guys by dad was fun to, he saw on my bag that I was doing medical and asked if I was a RN, MD, etc. I said none of the above. I was going to do whatever I am needed for. Once the counters opened for check in, we were next to him and his wife. He was very concerned about us bumping into each other as well as the lady taking our bags off the scale bumping into her coworkers.

Tony and Joanne along with Elena and her mom, Holly, showed up right as the counters were opening. When I checked in it was so easy and all they asked for was my passport. On the other hand, when Elena checked in the lady asked to see her visa for Uganda. The problem is she had not received it back yet. She just had the request email and the proof of payment email. Joanne, Elena, and Holly were trying to figure out what to do and even if they needed to call the Uganda embassy to get a rush on it. Thankfully, they went back to the counter to ask questions and were able to check in with a different lady. It was such a relief! Not long after she was checked in, other team members started arriving. Sadly some were not able to come, so instead of 25 our team ended up being 22. One I know could not come was Jodie, she was struggling with extreme headaches and made the hard decision not to travel. I am really going to miss not having her with us. I stayed with the group while everyone was arriving and went in the check in line with Jen, Destiny, and Rachel to help with their bags. 

Once Jen was done checking in, I learned everyone else had gone to the security check point. Because I was with a group that all had TSA passes for security, I went ahead of them so I could get through security. Thankfully, the wait in the line was not long. When I arrived at the gate, I didn’t see anyone I knew. I was deciding if I should just go get food or wait until I found people when four of them walked by and found a table nearby to sit at while they ate. I joined them and slowly the rest of the group did too. Leaving Seattle we only had 14 as some were already in Turkey at the layover and others are meeting us later. A couple of us decided to go to the store before boarding the flight and the guy in the check in line saw me and waved. We stopped to say hi and laugh as he said my friends probably wondered how we knew each other. 

Once we boarded  the plane, I was on an aisle row. I did ask for the aisle or window. The couple next to Algena moved back a few rows as the plane ended up not being full. So, Algena told me to sit with her. Then she suggested I move back a few rows because there were three with nobody in them. That would give both of us the ability to lay on the seats to sleep. Sadly, about 30 minutes into the flight someone came to my row, but that still left an empty seat in the middle. This gave me the ability to still get comfortable and I actually got a little rest. There was a little girl in the row next to me that had the whole row to herself. Her mom was one of the flight attendants. She made up a bed for her daughter and kept checking in her throughout the flight. After we landed, Rachel (in front of me) and I asked how often they fly together. She said it was the first time. I was very impressed with the girl. She sat there perfectly the whole time.