Part 2 here.
Finally, November 15 arrived. Each of the people going had been given stacks and stacks of Spanish books and lesson plans, plus bottles of medicine, vitamins and similar items. We would be flying to the Dominican Republic first, since it is easier to enter Cuba from there than it is from the US. We were allowed two suitcases, but going into Cuba they could only weigh 40 lbs each. So I packed as few clothes and personal items as I could. It felt odd packing shorts and t-shirts in mid-November!
We were leaving the church parking lot around 5 a.m. to drive to Philadelphia for our flight, so I took the car. Hubby would come pick it up later in the day. I left him a note on the front seat: "I love you!"
Someone had provided a big truck for carrying all the luggage, and all the people crammed into the church van. We would be picking up a couple more people on the way, and meeting still more in Philadelphia. In all, we were a team of 27. Tim had hoped 10 people would go!
And now, I get to share some pictures! This is the vehicle that picked us up from the airport:
Here we are all crammed into it. The seats next to the aisle had little foldout seats attached to them; that's why it looks like there's no aisle.
We were staying the first night at a camp which belonged to the organization we were working with. It was gorgeous there, although hot and sticky.
We spent the evening re-distributing all the materials everyone had brought and weighing suitcases, to be sure no one would exceed the amount they were allowed to bring. Lots of people went swimming in the camp's pool that night. I had a migraine, so I just curled up on my bunk and tried to sleep.
It wasn't very comfortable. The air was thick and heavy, and even though there was a ceiling fan, the power in the camp cut off periodically, leaving us sweltering. I think I only slept out of sheer exhaustion.
The next morning, we crowded back into the bus for the hour-long trip to the airport. We were on our way to Cuba!
More soon!
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