After our 14 hours of traveling we finally reached Dubai.  It was a long flight but after 3 full course meals, 2 snacks, 3 movies, a nap or two and some reading the time passed.  After arriving in Dubai we took a shuttle from the airport to our hotel which was just about 5-10 min away.  We were all looking forward to being able to shower, sleep horizontal and stretch our legs.  After checking in we got information on a two hour night sightseeing tour which showed you around the city.  With only one night we decided to do it as it sounded like a great opportunity and a way to see the major sights of Dubai.  Before we left for the tour we ate a buffet dinner of African food which included a variety of flavored beans, lamb like stew, chicken, fried fish and a variety of desserts.  After dinner we met up with the tour group and headed out.  The tour ended up being a great experience!  We went to Jumerah Mosque (one of the larger mosques in Dubai), Jumeriah Beah Hotel (where we got to put our feet in the Indian Ocean), Burj  Al Arab (the world’s fanciest hotel), drove around Palm Jumeriah (the man-made palm tree island), Atlantis Hotel and lastly the Burj Khalifa (the world’s tallest building).  At each one of the stops we had the opportunity to get out and take photos (see below). Driving to these places also gave us the opportunity to see the downtown areas, surrounding city and waterfronts.   At night the lights and buildings were beautiful and it was definitely an impressive city. Our impressions of Dubai are that it is a city centered around wealth.  It definitely met the ruler of Dubai’s goal to be the most luxurious travel destination in the world.  There were so many extravagant 5 star hotels, palaces and high end restaurants.  Everything was over the top ranking as the best/biggest/only one in the world.  We also learned that it is a melting pot of people from all over the world with only 20% of the population being local Emirates.  After a whirl wind tour we got back to the hotel around midnight and went straight to bed. 

                The next morning we left for the airport around 7am and boarded at around 9am.  From Dubai we had a 4 hr flight to Zambia where we had an hour layover before finishing the last 45 min to Zimbabwe.  After almost 2 days of travel and 21 hours of flying we finally made it to Harae, Zimbabwe!  We went through customs, got our luggage and we were greeted by Major outside the airport.  Major is the hospital administrator who has been working at Chidamoyo alongside Cathy (the nurse who runs the hospital) for 26 years.  He also had with him his 4 children who were there to greet us and were also going to be heading back to Chidamoyo with us.  They were all so welcoming and kind, excited for us to be here in Zimbabwe for the first time and for coming to visit Chidamoyo.  Leaving the airport we began the 5.5 hour drive from Harare to Chidamoyo.  The first 4 hours were smooth on paved roads but the last 1.5 hours was on a dirt road to enter into what they call the “bush”.  It wasn’t so bad at the beginning but after about 30-45 min it became a crazy bumpy and uneven road.  Major had driven this road thousands of time and he navigated it well but it was a long, very slow and bumpy journey.  This is also were the exhaustion started to set in and we were anxious to reach our final destination.  In the dark it was hard to see very far but every so often you would see a small hut with fences and cattle.  Major explained that all throughout this area there were small villages.  The people of this area were displaced from the low lands due to flooding and moved up to higher ground.  During this time the mission was developed and shortly after Chidamoyo hospital opened (around 1960).  The hospital was built due to the high need and patients that came from up to 100 miles away with burns, TB, strokes, labor and delivery, Cerebral Palsy and the normal medical injuries.  During our journey Major shared many stories with us about the surrounding villages and the history of Chidamoyo.   We learned that he had grown up in a small village about 12 miles from Chidamoyo.  He was a wealth of knowledge about the area and the people.   At around 2am we MADE IT TO CHIDAMOYO HOSPITAL!!! We were greeted by Cathy and in the pitch black were shown to the guest house which was complete with a small living room, kitchen and multiple bedrooms.  We quickly settled into our house and went to bed, excited to lay down and looking forward to seeing Chidamoyo in the light the next day.