Arrival ...

Saturday, January 3^rd. 2009

The first wave of nostalgia hit me as we landed at Harare International airport.  Although not as international as it once was, it was nostalgic nonetheless to walk off the aircraft and into the main concourse late on the Saturday night of our arrival from Johannesburg.

Many of the bulbs that would normally bring brilliant light to the comings and goings of travelers who ventured there were not functioning.  As eyes adjusted to the gloom, we noticed a group of civilian-dressed people sitting behind a two-countered desk, bantering and visiting together.  Thinking this was a preliminary step to the formalities of immigration and customs, we made our way there.  After paying for entrance visas, a reminder of altered status from resident to visitor, we continued on our way.

Without any further ado, we collected our luggage and were swept up by a couple of porters who led us directly through the “nothing to declare” route into the public receiving area where we saw friends who had come to meet us.

The second wave of nostalgia arrived as we stepped out into the balmy Zimbabwean night.  After loading our collective personal and additional luggage, we piled into a double cab pick up truck and made our way out into the darkness. 

Mandy wrote, “Personally, I would have preferred to arrive during daylight hours so that I could see my surroundings clearly.  Arriving at night unnerved me, and I found myself suspicious of the dark that hovered beyond the reach of our truck headlights and the occasional functioning street light.

I kept reminding myself ‘He who has led you hitherto will lead you all the journey through’, and I was thankful that my Father knew exactly where I was and was watching over me.  They say that ‘ignorance is fear’, but in my case a consistent tracking of in-depth news from my earthly homeland had enlightened me enough to know what dangers potentially lay beyond the ‘safety’ of our vehicle!

Forty-some years of memories prompted by such familiar surroundings, fragrances, atmosphere, and balmy night air, flooded my mind and emotions as we traveled well known roads to our mission’s headquarters on the opposite side of the city.  

I noticed the ‘new’ procedure of negotiating intersections where robots (traffic lights) were either non-functional or partially functional, but always confusing. Even when the lights were present and working, they could not be relied upon. Sometimes, only the ‘caution’ light would be working from one approach, and only the ‘go’ light working from the opposite approach.  At other times, the lights on all four corners (if there and working) seemed to have a mind of their own.  Worse case scenario was evident at a few places where all four lights were green at the same time.  We soon learned the best way to navigate across intersections was to keep one eye on robots directing the other approaches (wherever possible), and the other on any vehicles coming from the sides! .  As Bud said one day, in the course of a trip across town, ‘The thing that dictates the flow of traffic in Zimbabwe these days is personality!’ It seemed the more aggressive drivers had no problem making progress as they nosed their way into the fray and emerged on the other side without a scratch. Thankfully, Kiersten, our seasoned driver, knew what she was doing that night!”

The third wave of nostalgia washed over me as we traveled.  With head hanging out of the left rear window, I inhaled the familiar fragrances wafting on the night air, and was transported back to the socio-linguistic groove that welcomed me as a long lost friend.

Mandy had a slightly different reaction … “I was immensely relieved to enter the gated and walled compound of our destination, and to find that the electricity was working.  Soon I found myself unwinding as the tension released it’s grip on my body.  A cup of herbal tea in hand I sat up in bed under the mosquito net while an infusion of peace and ‘rightness’ in my world flooded in.  I slept soundly.” 

So, after a forty-hour trip halfway around the world, we slept well for what remained of the night.  The whine of mosquitoes venturing back and forth on the outer surface of the netting securely tucked around us was a final welcome as we drifted off to sleep.