EWB Ethiopia 2011

2011-05-17T07:26:00.000-07:00

Burj Khalifa

Got into Dubai about 830pm, the airport was massive, the size of a small city. With a roughly 10 hour layover we decided to catch the metro (about 7 dirham for a round trip). The first stop was the City Center Mall, mostly to get directions to the Burj Khalifa tower and Mall. Finally arrived at the tower about 10pm giving us about an hour to look around and take pictures before catching the last train back. The temperature was about 37C. The tower was closed, but still an amazing sight with the moon with illuminating the tower, and even the small fountain was a Kodak moment.

The metro was really simple, just 2 lines and 1 main line. Back at airport stopped at The Rupee Room in the food court, and I had the rice and pakora veggie. Then off to security and waiting for our gate announcement. Security when smooth, hardly anyone around at 12:30 am. Then some of us walked around until 2am, taking in the shops and seeing that not drinking saves a lot of money. It is about 30 minutes from one end of T3 to the other. It is amazing to see the contrast of wealth compared to Haiti and parts of India.

Dull, Dark, but not so Dreay Day

2011-05-16T14:47:00.000-07:00

Up by 4am, ah back to normal departure time, to head to WashU before leaving for Lambert. Check-in was smooth this time, but had to do some weight management again since my bag was 4 lbs over. So after my backpack gained 4 lbs it was off to security. The only snafu with security was their misconception that a netbook and table are laptops, that is another matter though. Now off to the 630am flight to Detroit for the first layover. The flight from Detroit to JFK was smooth until the last 20 minutes, when the turbulence got bad enough to shake two overhead compartments open. It was one of my more exciting flights. Once in JFK Todd and I wondered around looking for Emirates check-in, which was in terminal 4. After that I dropped off my bag and we took the E line down to Manhattan for about $7.50. I also realized AirTran != Air Train. After a bit of searching for a cheap place to eat, we finally came across a burger place and waited for Robin to make it downtown. Once we finished our game of Marco Polo with Robin, we walked around and stopped at Rockefeller center, Times Square, the Hersey Store, and touched central park. Also had to sample a street vendor's hot dog on the way to the park. The whole time downtown it was a lite drizzle, just heavy enough to watch the skyscrapers disappear into the mist. Then it was time to head back to the airport, and get checked in, it was about 630pm by this point. Around 720pm caught up with Morgan and Jennifer, our group was almost complete, just waiting for John now. Around 815pm made it through security and I tried a little tea from Pete's Coffee and Tea, while I read some of "The Price of Stones" and waited to board. While we waited we also had to get a group photo to indulge Robin.

The plane was a double decker Air Bus A380. The flight attendant in our section was helpful, and entertained at our awe of the plane and amenities, including a small case containing a tooth brush, socks, and could double as a small camera case. The plane also had over 1200 videos, music and shows on demand, which came in handy since the flight took us south of Iceland, over Northern Europe, then over Turkish and Iranian airspace. I took in some Shakira, Seinfeld standup, "The Mechanic", and "Waiting for Superman". The food was even better than campus food with options of: chicken korma, pan-fried salmon fillet, and Aloomethi. They also provided stickers for what meals you would like to be woke up for. Breakfast was even better: pancakes.

Day 1

2011-05-15T07:22:00.000-07:00

Last meeting to go over packing logistics.  As it happened, the combined weight of the first aide kit and incubator was 49 lbs.  So I passed of the first aide kit to have a little room for clothes.  Finally finished packing about 10pm.