I'm in Africa! If that's not a reason to blog I don't know what is. ^_^ I'm going to completely ignore that I went to a very fun convention in Pittsburgh (Tekkoshocon 06) that I never blogged about and move right on into this trip. In Africa! So, you might as yourself, why is resident geek/otaku convention addict Merrow in Africa? And where in Africa? Africa is a pretty big continent. Right now I am in Cotonou, Benin. I am visting my best friend who has been working for the US Embassy for the past year. Its been a long time coming (almost 2 years of saving up!) but I finally stepped on the plane April 30th. Let's begin this blog with the actual trip to get to Benin... 'cause half the fun (horror) of any vacation is getting there! The plan was, I was to fly from NY to Boston, then from Boston to Paris and then Paris to Cotonou. At Boston I was supposed to meet up with Shelly, my friend here in Benin, who'd been visiting home and was now returning. Benin is a French speaking West African country. I don't speak French besides the obvious, Bonjour, Au Revoir and Crossaint. Shelly does speak French, so you can see how this could make things a lot easier. The first snag hit at Boston. There is always a snag. I picked up my luggage (I had an extra suitcase full of food and other things Shelly and her husband had bought stateside and wanted to return with.) I then had to find gate e, where I could check onto the flight for France. I thought I was lucky when I found out it was only a Five minute walk outside. It got in line and there were a lot of people. I started to get nervous because my flight was at 5:30 and it was already almost 4. Someone from Air France started coming around asking when our flights were. I said 5:30 and as one almost the whole line stepped back to let me pass. When I got up to the counter they told me that the flight was closed!! It had been for about 15-20 minutes! I did the only logical thing a person could to at that moment. I burst into tears. I had no idea how to get in touch with Shelly and let her know what was going on. She was supposed to be up at the gate waiting for me. If I missed this flight, I faced the prospect of having to get to Benin all on my own. Now it wasn't the thought of flying to France that scared me, or flying from France to Benin. It was what happens when I get to Beinin? I can't speak the language, I wouldn't have any of the local currency (Shelly was going to change my money when I got there) and I had way to contact her when I got there. Luckily they explained to me that I wouldn't miss my connecting flight to Cotonou and would be able to meet up with my friend in Paris before I had a complete meltdown. I didn't stop crying though, because it was making people work faster. ^_^ I started out with one woman helping me and ended up with about 4 because people kept passing and going "She's crying, why is she crying?" They promised to let Shelly know where I was and that I'd meet up with her in France. As I got my new tickets and checked my bag, I got a call on my cell from Shelly panicking about where I was. I explained the whole thing and found out why I'd been locked out of the flight I paid for a month previous. Air Italia had apparently canceled flights for 2 days, without telling any of their passengers! They were all being re-routed onto Air France, which is why my seat was given up to someone else. Her flight hadn't boarded yet, so we talked about how upsetting it was that we'd be seperated for the 6 hour flight to Paris and how she was envious that I'd be spending time in Boston while she had to sit alone at the Charles De Gault Airport, which is much more boring. Then it came time for her to board her plane. At the gate they told her the message they'd promised to pass on and then asked her if she'd like to take the later flight with me! They even sat us together. All that panic and tears for nothing! Well... I like to think that it helped us get to sit together, but who knows. The flight itself was pretty uneventful. I read the bulk of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, watched the Chronicles of Narnia, and ate bad airplane food. We arrived in the morning at the Charles De Gualt airport, the only part of Paris I saw. Here is me, shopping in Paris: I think I'll stop this blog entry with that excellent photo of myself, sleep deprived, rumpled and being silly. Tomorrow I'll talk about my arrival in Benin and some of the things I've seen here so far.