Made it, Finally!

Well, a lost bag, a mix-up at the check-in desk in Lisbon and a canceled flight later, I have finally made it to São Tomé!

TAP USA and TAP Portugal had trouble communicating with each other, and the message about my laptops had somehow not traveled from the former to the latter. I had smartly (or perhaps luckily) decided to check in a whopping four hours ahead of time, and well worth it- it took nearly two hours of Skype calls from my computer to TAP USA, a really frustratingly busy supervisor at the check-in desk to Portugal and a series of frantic emails to finally get my computers on the plane.

Of course when midnight (departure time) rolls around, the flight is cancelled due to technical difficulties!!

So now I have a lost bag, a tired ego from fighting with the TAP Portugal officials, and a 24 hour flight delay. Things turn out for the best though- I'm put up in a beautiful five-star hotel in Lisbon, I make a few friends with some Portuguese political campaigners and therefore have dinner buddies, and actually spend a really nice day being a tourist in Lisbon (and showering, arguably the best part).

When I finally arrived in São Tomé, the adventure was not quite over. Waiting at the baggage claim for nearly two hours, my São Tomean friend Kilson came up from behind and surprised me. It was great to see him (and have an extra pair of hands). He's also a smooth talker, which was exactly what I needed as I approached customs.

The uniformed men were kind but firm. They asked me what was in the boxes. I told them I had educational materials for the São João School.

"What kind of educational materials?" They asked.

I took a deep breath. Kilson began to explain, having actually taught a class with me last fall. "They're small computers made for children."

"Yes," I jumped in. "They're used so they have very little value, but they are specially made for children and donated by Americans to be used at the São João School."

"Oh, so they're like the Magalhães?" One of the officer asks, referring to the XO laptop's Portuguese cousin, as we take a computer out and show him.

"Yes!" Kilson and I exclaim in excitement.

"Well, in that case," the officer continued, "they stay here."

Oops. Wrong answer, maybe. But that's ok- I had a backup- a letter from the Embassy of the USA with the official embassy seal, as well as various other letters from donors and other people involved in the program. I showed him the letter and repeated again. The computers are already used, they're not worth much, they're donated to the kids at São João, it's a program that is supported by the embassy, etc. etc. The officers tell me to leave the computers then and the embassy can come and pick them up.

I reminded them that the nearest American embassy was in Gabon, on the mainland. He took the letter and went to his supervisor.

When his supervisor came over we explained again. Then Kilson said the magic word. "They're gifts," he told the supervisor. "We already have a program going and now we're just expanding it. The school isn't paying anything. They're gifts."

The supervisor puts the computer back on our carriage and says nothing. "Let's get out of here," Kilson says urgently, "fast". We break for the door, knowing there's only a short amount of time before maybe the supervisor changes his mind.

Dany, Ned's (the director of STEP UP) driver and my friend, is outside the airport waiting for us. Miguel, the head computer teacher, is there as well. Both of them were there yesterday morning too, before they learned that the flight had been cancelled. It's a sigh of relief when we finally get back to Ned's house, a breeze coming right off his dock onto his porch and windows.

We open up the boxes of computers and they have made it without a scratch.

Too...tired...

Lisbon. I know this airport too well.

Didn't really sleep on the plane, due to my inability to put my seat back because of the size of the woman sitting behind me. SATA also successfully lost one of my bags- basically the one that had all the clothes, presents and toiletries in it! So I have a bunch of bags filled with computers to keep me going...but I will get there dirty as all hell and not having slept in three days.

But then again, this is where all the really great stories come from!

I'm also very lucky, as my cousin, Marina, works in the lost and found in Lisbon, so she's been helping me look for my luggage. Imagine her surprise when she saw me- I didn't even tell her I was coming because I knew I was just passing through and felt bad that I wasn't coming for a visit! She's always pretty collected though, so after her initial shock it was back to normal.

Can hardly keep my eyes open, and still have a solid 9-10 hours before checking in. Trying to find a cute little spot where I can plug my computer in and watch movies all day (thanks Polly for the genius suggestion).

See you in São Tomé, hopefully with all my [now four] bags in tow!

20 minutes to showtime

It's 5:40pm and I'm leaving my dad's condo in Newburyport, MA for the bus station so I can catch the 6:30pm bus to Logan. When I get there, Nuno Puím himself, the director of SATA (USA branch) will be waiting for me so that we can get those computers on the plane.

I'm not worried about the travel from Boston to Portugal; that will be easy. I am a little bit worried about going from Portugal to São Tomé, because I have a lot more luggage than I was expecting. One of my suitcases heavily surpasses the 50lb weight limit that there will be in Portugal. I'm not sure how to avoid it at this point. SATA needs me to have my computers in boxes, and TAP needs me to have my computers not in boxes but in suitcases. So...I put computers in boxes and those boxes in my suitcases and when I get to Portugal there will be a *LOT* of rearranging (including stuffing computers into my carry-on laptop case and my purse and the like to reduce the weight of Mondo Orange Suitcase).

So tomorrow morning, I'll be the girl in Lisbon airport hanging out in the women's restroom with open suitcases all over the place, shifting computers from one bag to the next, and trying to make about 30lbs disappear into thin air. I've made it this far; I refuse to believe I can't do it. Who cares if science is against me?

Will report more tomorrow morning. It's going to be a wild ride- that we cannot doubt!

See you on the other side of the Atlantic-
B

Two Days!

Trying to "hot wire" a few of these dead firmware XO laptops. Two days until São Tomé and things are really pulling together. Don't have the basic Etoys learning puzzles that I was hoping I would get from Waveplace. Thinking it might be necessary to live without them, or to do something else this summer with less of a focus on Etoys. Hmmm....

Anyway, if you know anyone who would like to donate to the cause, we are still wholeheartedly accepting donations (now and for the years to come) so please contribute if you can.

Thanks much!
Beth

9 Days!

Can't believe we're almost in São Tomé! Just heard about some people doing the exact same thing as I am but in Kenya (100 laptops, looking for 500 more). Hoping for a great networking and VISITING opportunity. Would love to see what they're up to!

IT WORKED!!!!!!!!!

Beth and 25ish laptops are going to São Tomé!!!!!!!!

THANK YOU TAP, SATA AND EMBASSY OF SÃO TOMÉ FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP!!!

Checking off the shopping list

As of today we have exactly two weeks to showdown.

Some issues with the Ambassador of São Tomé to the USA (whose name I will not mention) who told me he'd write me a letter that I can present at customs to prove that the laptops are donations, but now has gone back on his word. Luckily I have some backups- three letters written from various people involved in the "laptop receiving" process. I'm also hoping that one of my friends can come to the airport when I arrive and explain to the customs officials what I'm doing.

Miguel recently emailed me telling me that a whole bunch of the students' chargers were not working. Luckily, we have a lot of them in the STeP UP office and he was able to go there and pick them up. Woohoo!

The teachers have taken the computers back from the students temporarily while they go through final exams and before the computer classes start. Not sure how I feel but I'm happy that the teachers are taking an initiative that they feel responsible for.

Other things on the "to do" list:

• Find fundraising options for my project, potentially involving other people who will help to fundraise for us
• Print out a bunch of learning materials I have assembled in Portuguese over the past few months so that teachers can have them
• Sweet-talk Staples or some other place to print out 120 color certificates for our students in São Tomé when they finish the summer program
• Finish translating the Etoys lessons in Portuguese, get Etoys games and translate them too so that we can have some Etoys fun this summer
• Re-write my funding proposal and print it, to give to UNICEF and the Ministry of Education
• Make said appointments with UNICEF and the Ministry of Education
• Find E-books for children in Portuguese, if possible
• Figure out how to get my luggage onto my TAP flight in Lisbon without paying enormous fees (got it waived in Boston but Portugal will be a whole other puzzle)
• Potentially download Quicktime Pro (or something else that works in .ogg format) so that the kids can make their own movies that can go onto their XOs
• Get some last-minute funds
• Look into hiring someone full-time in STP who can take care of things while I'm gone. A mentor of sorts??
• Stress like crazy
• Be super excited to head back to São Tomé!

If you can help with any of these things, please do let me know.