Saturday, February 15, 2014

All ready to go, packed the last minute toiletries, put the bag, jacket, and my African violets on the front porch. Packed the peanut butter and jelly sandwich, apple, and carrot sticks for lunch in the backpack, put coffee in the travel mug for the drive to the airport, and sat down to eat breakfast. Jeanne arrived a few minutes early and put the items on the porch in the car. I quickly finished my cereal, grabbed my coffee, and got in the car for the drive to the airport. We made great time on the 40 minute drive and arrived at 7:50 for my 10:04 departure. I made a comment that I needed some papers from the backpack and that it was in the back of the SUV. She stated she had not put it in the car, and at that moment I realized I had not done the final check and it was still at home... The backpack had my camera, visa papers, and some other critical items and I could not leave without it. Jeanne found the nearest airport exit and did an amazing drive back in 30 minutes despite fining ourselves behind a Los Angeles Police Department van and the construction on the 405 northbound limiting traffic to 2 lanes and violating many traffic laws. We were back at the airport in just about an hour. Amazing! The Delta check in line looked to be about two blocks long, but I didn't have a boarding pass since apparently I needed to do a direct check in. A helpful employee directed me to the priority line with about 15 people. I got checked in and through security and to the gate and on the plane. The LA-Salt Lake City fight was fine, changed gates, had a brier and recharge, ate the sandwich, and boarded the next flight. I got some reading in, finished However Long the Night, the story of Molly Melching and the NGO Tostan and started God's Little Bit of Woods by Sembene Ousmane, another of the recommended books, and got a little sleep.

As we got close to NY the announcement came over that there would be a delay in landing due to snow and bad weather conditions. I hadn't spoken to the man in the next seat who was wearing what looked like an airline uniform until then. He had been watching movies most of the flight and looking at pictures of his children. . He was a private pilot who flew corporate jets and told me his 10 month old had been a 30 week NICU graduate. So we had a very interesting discussion about neonatal intensive care. However, while all this was happening, the 1 hour and 15 minutes between connections was slipping by. As we neared the time I was supposed to depart on the next plane, and we had not landed, I voiced my concerns. There was a woman from Ireland behind me with the same predicament. Her neighbor had a phone app to check flight status and was able to tell both of us that our departure times for the next flights had been delayed about an hour which alleviated our increasing anxiety. The flight crew did request that all of us making international connecting flights be allowed to depart first and that went smoothly.

I left the plane at gate B32 and started walking to gate B22; another man from the plane was walking the same way. We started talking. He was from Dakar originally, but now living in Washington State and returning for three months for a visit. We walked together to the gate. Most of the people at the gate appeared to be African. I found a small group of people who looked like they might be part of the AJWS group. As I had guessed correctly, I introduced myself, took a well needed "break that refreshes" and joined the group. As the 10:15 departure time approached, there was no activity to board the plane; just a time change on the overhead screen indicating the plane would be leaving an hour later and there would be gate change like back to B 36. So we all hike down the corridor to the new gate. By that time I had figured out that if we were getting on the plane that I had missed dinner. Dining places were closing, but I was able to get a turkey sandwich at the La Brea Bakery. See it made me only minimally nostalgic for Los Angeles, the home of the original La Brea Bread Bakery, as I was so excited about the trip and adventures to come. I did inquire if Nancy Silverton had made the sandwich and was nicely informed that the sandwich was freshly made, that no, Nancy Silverton had not made it, but that she had visited the Bakery and was involved with its management. (Nancy Silverton is a well-known Los Angeles chef who more recently has partnered with Mario Batali to open a very high end pizza establishment in Los Angeles, Pizzeria Mozza. While eating the sandwich, I met up with the woman from Ireland that had been sitting behind me on the plane from Salt Lake City and Stuart, one of the AJWS staff people on the trip. The woman from Ireland was in the same situation with her plane not departing and her gate changing. We chatted for a while; she is a chemical engineer and had been in St. George, Utah testing and buying equipment from surly Americans who had never met a woman engineer before. I had been to St. George once, remembered there is a Walmart and a Howard Johnson's there, but also that it is near the turnoff to Zion National Park. She had been able to visit Zion and do some hiking there. Then I chatted with Stuart who is V.P. of AJWS Communications, former journalist, worked in the Clinton Administration, and has done work in the healthcare world. We chatted about a number of things and I shared with him my Russia pictures on the www.offexploring.com web site.

I joined the group along with all the other passengers at the new gate as we patiently waited to board. Well, that never happened and there really was no announcement. 11:00 came and went, the sign changed again I think to 12:99. No plane boarding. Then we were redirected to return to gate B22 from whence we had come. Information was provided in part from the Delta agents when queried and in part from the pilot who was present and with whom Ruth was maintaining close contact that the plane was present, but the parking crew would not come to Gate B36 and would only park the plane at B22; thus the reason for our return.

At 1:00, I asked the Delta staff what was going on. I was told the plane was in a hangar and that another plane had taxied by and broke down and they were waiting to have the broken plane towed away. Other people heard that the only runway that was plowed and open did not provide access to the Delta terminal and was interfering with planes moving to the terminal. So there we were. They also mentioned in was 18 degrees outside. I started talking with a woman sitting nearby who is from Dakar, an educator, who is the African coordinator for UNESCO for early childhood education. She had been in New York at a United Nations meeting to set international goals and sound a bit frustrated, feeling that a common goal for all the world would not work. She told me she really likes to be out in the communities to work with the people and hear what their needs are. I shared that I had just finished reading the book about Molly Melching which concluded with her emerging interest and work in early childhood education. My new friend told me she was good friends with Molly. At the end of our conversation, I found Ruth and introduced the two to each other.

Well, the plane did arrive at the gate and we all were so "excited" as we boarded around 2 AM. That took some time. We had slow passage through the jetway which was not well insulated from the cold outdoor elements. Overhead baggage was stowed. I had a window seat. There was a Senegalese woman on the aisle who spoke no English or French. We were lucky to have the middle seat empty. From my seat, I could see the wing which was mostly covered with a thick sheet of ice. I knew we couldn't take off like that so once we were all in place and ready to go the plane needed to be de-iced. That happened and we were off moving down the runway. I fell asleep (fortunately) somewhere along the way thinking or dreaming that we were on our way to Dakar. The next thing I was aware of was the voice of the pilot. "Ladies and Gentleman, we did all we could. We boarded the plane, loaded the baggage, got the plane de-iced, and taxied down the runway. We were ready to take off when the air tower told us we did not have a current flight plan on file as required by FAA regulations of 1/2014. We contacted Atlanta, but we only had 3 minutes to get the new flight plan filed and it wasn't going to happen." So back to the gate, and we all had to completely disembark from the aircraft. By the time this was completed it was around 4:30 AM.

Within a half hour or so of that fiasco, we were told a new crew had been located, that our scheduled departure time was 8 AM, and we should all be back at the gate at 6:30 AM. Apparently the huge delay had "timed out" the crew and had they continued to work they would have been over hours allowed by the FAA. At this time, Delta became generous in its own unfriendly way, with the gate agent stating "If you need a food voucher, you can get one here" and handed out $10 vouchers for food. I thought this would have been much better phrased with something like "Delta would like to give all of you a food voucher since we are sure you are hungry" or something like that. Of course, hardly anything was open except Peet's Coffee across from the gate, but at 6 AM, the airport started to come to life. I walked up to a bakery and got some orange juice, a yogurt parfait, and a Cheese Danish (I was so angry that this seemed very appropriate.)

I came back to the gate, not to miss the 6:30 AM boarding. 6:30 came, no announcement about anything, only two women came by handing out blankets. Was this a not so subtle clue that we weren't going anywhere and the idea was to take a nap? We kept our eyes on the monitor and after some time, our departure time changed to 12 PM. No announcement, no information. Up to this point in time, people had been subdued and well-behaved, but this latest change was pushing some people over. Quite a few Senegalese, some with young children, congregated at the desk and some angry words were uttered. Change of shift had occurred, so the staff at the desk hid behind a façade, stating that they had just come on, didn't really know anything, accompanied by many "I'm sorry"s, and rather inappropriate comments that they wouldn't or couldn't get any information unless people would "be patient" and return to their seats.

Some people grouped at the opposite gate to write a petition. I don't know what came of that. One man showed us a paper he had been given at the desk which documented the delay with a reason code. I got angry and approached the desk to ask them about this document. I was told it was available but only upon demand but that if people really wanted to know what to do about documentation related to the delay they should call the Delta 1-800 number. I asked if they would announce any of this information because some people may not know. I was told point blank, no announcement would be made, and no information would be given, but that if someone wanted this document they could come to the desk with boarding pass to obtain it. I decided to start a campaign to inform and mobilize as many people as I could to request this document from Delta. A number of people (including me) did approach the desk to do this. However, what really came out of this was my opportunity to talk to many of the plane's passengers and have some really interesting conversations. So in the process of doing this, I learned that the next day an international World Vision conference on water and sanitation was to begin in Dakar Some of the attendees I met: 1) a couple from the Midwest, he a former CPA who now works with some family foundations in partnership with the Hilton Foundation to build wells in Senegal and surround countries including Mali and Niger; 2) two women from Drexel University, Dean of the School of Public Health and a political science professor who is Provost for the university's global affairs program; 3) a Ph.D. public health research scientist from Ghana who was presenting a talk the next day. Then I spoke with a Canadian woman who has lived in Dakar several years, has a Ph.D. in history and anthropology and does research in some areas of public health. I connected her with the man from Ghana. She had been in the U.S. interviewing for an academic job. The young woman who had a bachelor's degree in education from UC Berkeley and had been working for two years with AmeriCorps had moved home to live with her parents in Sacramento while she was applying to graduate school. She was going to Dakar to visit a friend. She asked why I was going and I told her about AJWS. Turned out she had done and Avodah project in NY with AJWS and had previously met Ruth Messinger, the president, so I connected them together.

Some people in our group had a much easier time of falling asleep and were clustered together on the floor under the Delta red blankets, like a summer camp out. Other people in the group had their own unique experiences chatting with passengers. There were a number of children on the flight who remained very well-behaved. One very tall thin man was traveling alone with a very young baby firmly attached to the front of his chest, and there was another woman with an infant probably about one month old.

As the morning wore on, we were finally told (again) that a new crew had been located and would be flying in to arrive at 2:12 PM, and that the pilots were on sight. After hearing this, our group retreated to the Marcus Samuelson restaurant around 10:30 for a real meal and a chance to formally meet and "begin the AJWS trip." There were the three men, Stuart mentioned above, and two other men, Jay, who lives in Los Altos and does venture lending, Stuart, an anesthesiologist from Florida who now does volunteer medical work. The rest of that little group included Ruth, the AJWS president, Julie, Director of Experiential Education for AJWS, Carol and Karen, cousins, and Gene (f.), a retired primary care physician who is involved in some interesting volunteer activities.

After eating, we returned to the gate to continue to pass time. An announcement was made that the crew was really on its way, flying in from Atlanta, and would arrive at 2:12. We were actually told when they landed and shortly thereafter the pilots appeared as did the new crew, all to a round of applause. We had to go through the boarding process all over (although the checked luggage had stayed on the plane) and finally took off around 4 PM for an uneventful flight to Dakar. Most people tried to sleep as much as possible. We were given dinner, a small breakfast, and headphones. I watched the movie "Gravity" in the early part of the flight and through dinner and then went to sleep. I was very glad I had not paid any more good money for that movie. True to form in the midst of a much needed rest for all, Delta turned on the overhead lights and announced the duty free cart was coming through.

We arrived in Dakar around 5 AM Senegal time, obtained our biometric visas, retrieved our luggage, met our guide, and were taken to the hotel. Stefanie, the NY AJWS staff person and Rosalie, the Senegal AJWS staff person met us in the lobby, and had us all pre-checked in. After brief introductions and some information about the day's activities (which would start in a few hours) we all went to our rooms for a few hours of welcomed sleep.