LilongweAway: The Waiting Game

Airlines. They're so great aren't they? Yesterday I tried to check into our flights online and was able to check in to United but the Ethiopian Airways check in service wasn't working. So I called Ethiopian Airways and their response was, "Oh that thing, yeah that doesn't work." But honestly, they said it in really the nicest way before telling me to be at the gate 3 hours before departure. Then I called United to make sure that our bags would get to Lilongwe without us being able to check in on Ethiopian online. The customer service rep told me, "Oh, you never checked in on United." So that made me feel great considering United had just sent me the confirmation email from my check-in. Turns out they would need to see our passports before giving us any boarding passes.

Lessons learned:
Get there early
Don't freak out
Be nice even when the person on the other line tells you that you didn't do the thing you just did
Weigh your suitcase before leaving (42lbs for Amblessed and a winning 47.5 lbs for me)

Amblessed came over to our house last night and the dogs happily greeted him. Nala made sure to hang out on the bed in the guest room with him and be in his Skype call with his girlfriend.

The alarm clock sounded at a rousing 3:30 AM this morning. We got up and Joey chauffeured us to RDU. Checked into our 6:00 AM United flight and made it to Dulles. We hopped on the Dulles train shuttle over to the international terminal and here we are, playing the waiting game until our 11:15 flight to Addis Ababa on Ethiopian Airways. There are quite a few Ethiopian women who are waiting for our flight wearing traditional clothing in the most beautiful colors. Now we wait to board...