One Bag Only?!

I am currently sitting in my friend's house in Marseille, France. Its gorgeous and just a couple of blocks away from the Mediterranean. Ah-mazing to say the least. But I wanted to share with you my last hour in Malawi because, well, it seems Africa had to get the last word.

You can ask Anna Marie, but I did a pretty good job of packing. She had to help me make some tough decisions on what to bring home, but overall, I did okay.

Some of my co-workers came to my rescue though because they said they would bring stuff back for me in February when they come to the States for a visit.

So, with that in mind, I packed my two bags just under 50lbs.

I was really proud of myself.

And then we got to the airport. I was already emotional because I was going to have to say goodbye to the Laffoons. Anna Marie was actually letting me hug her, so that was a sign right there we were both pretty emotional.

I got up to the ticket counter, put both my bags up, and the African looks at me and says,

"One bag only."


Uhh...Anna Marie keeps asking me, "Are you okay?" and I couldn't even answer I was in such shock.

Then, the guy turns to me and says, "To take the extra bag, it will cost you $650."

So, then the tears just start pouring down my face. I couldn't take it anymore. Luckily, one of my bosses and hero for the day comes and takes over.

She pulls both my bags down and leads me over to the side of the airport. We then proceed to open both bags and take out only the things I need to take for my Europe trip and she agrees to bring some stuff for me home in February.

After all that, I'm coming home with 2 pairs of shoes, 4 outfits, some toiletries, a couple of t-shirts, a scarf, and some underwear.

Yep, that's it.

I'll see the rest of my stuff maybe sometime in Feb. or March. Praise the Lord for friends who are willing to bring some stuff back for me, or else that situation could have been REALLY bad.

That just means I get to buy more new things in Europe, right? :)

Oh Africa. You really do always win.