Our three weeks at home were a whirlwind of activities. We hosted a party, went to a party, shopped, contacted property managers and insurance companies, toured storage facilities, and celebrated Christmas. We also spent a lot of time thinking that it was really cold. It was a vacation where we really enjoyed the people that make our lives so rich.

I will admit that it felt really good to drive again and regain a feeling of independence. Both Gina and I managed to navigate through the streets of Tacoma with out using any of our Nigerian driving skills: no honking, cutting people off, or running through police barricades. Although it seemed like the only places we really drove to were fast food restaurants and Target. I am convinced that if the Tacoma School District ever stops sending teachers to Lagos, the yearly sales total of the Tacoma Target will drop substantially. Emily and Jacob seemed to believe that a day without McDonald’s is like a day in Lagos, and, I will admit to more than one trip through a Taco Bell as we were out and about.



It is not as if we have done without anything in Lagos. We have lived quite nicely, however, when we were presented with multiple grocery stores, bookstores, and sporting good stores it is amazing how many things we truly needed. I had thought that the main expense of this Christmas vacation would be the flight home. The stack of debit card receipts stuffed in the calendar proved me wrong. Very, very, wrong.
It was especially good to watch Emily and Jacob catch up with their friends. My worry was that the time away would create some awkward moments for them as they tried to reconnect with their friends. They both jumped right back into the mix. In fact, we were quite proud of Emily. She took some of the African art we had collected into what might have been her class at Washington-Hoyt, and she talked with her old classmates for a half an hour. Her confidence certainly got a boost when she appeared at the door and was greeted with cheers of “Emily! Emily is here!” Jacob was able to put his newfound love of soccer to work on New Year’s Eve. He spent the night playing soccer with his gang of friends in Jana’s front yard.


Once the fun of the holidays passed it was time to get to work. Preparing to leave this time was a test of all our organizational skills. We had a list of things we needed to bring back as well as organizing our house into two piles: what we could live without for the next couple of years, and what we would want to have access to next summer. For Gina and I that wasn’t too hard of a task, but it required a lot of tough decisions for Emily and Jacob. Can you imagine how hard it would be to decide which of your 73 stuffed animals you will need next summer? Which Matchbox car is worthy of space in the suitcase and which one can be garaged until we are home for good? We all survived the process, although Thursday night before we headed back to Lagos there were frantic phone calls to the moving and storage company in attempts to save Jacob’s valuables: a blanket, two stuffed lambs, and a stuffed bear.

It was difficult to pull out of the driveway Thursday night, knowing that we would not be back in our house again.

Once again, we all braved some very difficult goodbyes at the airport, on front door steps, and in cold dark driveways. Those last few minutes with people that are so much a part of our lives are achingly difficult. Yet, there would be no goodbyes without the support of family and friends. Their love and encouragement have allowed us to take this great adventure.

The flight to Amsterdam was uneventful. We left on time arrived on time, and managed to leave nothing on the plane. We killed several hours in the airport, and Emily and Jacob managed one more order of Chicken nuggets. The flight from Amsterdam to Lagos was long and uncomfortable. I managed to get the worse seat on the plane. A big metal box on the floor in front of me that limited my legroom and a teenage girl next to me that looked on me as a personal pillow. The other part of the uncomfortable feeling might just be that there was no fear of the unknown this time. We all knew what we were going back too.

We arrived back to the compound at 10 pm Saturday night and we were exhausted. We unpacked a little and tried to stay awake a bit longer to get our bodies set to the new time zone. The plan worked for Gina and I. The kids need more time to reset. During the first week back, Jacob fell asleep at the dinner table three times, and was up and ready to go to school at 4:20 in the morning four days that week. Next time, we will break the return flight up a bit more. It was just way to ugly.
Now it is the end of January and we are back to weekly tennis lessons, cub scouts, choir, and hundreds of other activities. The first weekend home we played in a softball tournament all day Saturday. Something neither one of has done in a long time and we certainly felt it Sunday morning. We have been to a College night party complete with drinking games, a shrimp feed that left us with stuffed bellies and big smiles, and a celebration of Kansas statehood. Gina hosted book club night for the compound ladies that is really just a long wine fortified happy hour. We are deep into planning a spring vacation that includes a cruise down the Nile River.

Lagos is not really home, but it certainly gives me something to blog about.

When we last updated our blog we were headed back to scenic Tacoma for holiday festivities. Getting home was an adventure in patience. It was a 56-hour trip from the front door of our flat to the front door of our home in Tacoma. If you have some time for extended reading here is the time for the trip home.

Friday Dec. 18th 4pm Lagos Time: The Rainbolt family exits Flat 6 with four large suitcases and four overly stuffed carryon bags. A majority of the compound was taking the first flight out of town, which meant that one of the coasters was piled with luggage and the other piled with people. The loading was accomplished with speed and precision and soon we were face to face with the first challenge in getting to Tacoma: The infamous Lagos traffic. As we have earlier reported Lagos traffic is a mysterious entity that ebbs and flows with the whims of goats, okoda’s, busses, horses, and toilet seat salesmen. We have made the trip home from the airport in as little as 25 minutes. Today we would spend close to 2 ½ hours to make the same trip. Some of the obstacles would include a dump truck changing a flat in the middle of the road, a car practicing perpendicular parking, and a camel.



Friday Dec 18th 6:30 pm Lagos Time: The Rainbolt family encounters Nigerian Customs. It seems that many of the Christmas gifts we purchased at the local market were indeed Nigerian treasures, and because of their cultural significance, we would need to have receipts for them. Of course we didn’t have any receipts for them so there was going to be a slight problem. At this point the “expediter” stepped into “help”. It was an interesting way to help. His strategy seemed to be to annoy the customs official so much that the official sent us on our way so he could fully concentrate on yelling at the expeditor. We quickly zipped up our suitcases and hurried to the check-in counter while the two men continued to yell at each other. We then hurried through immigration while the yelled at each other some more.

Friday Dec 18th 8:30 pm Lagos Time: The Rainbolt family has now walked through every duty free shop in the Lagos airport as well as checked out the menu at both restaurants as well as spilled two bottles of pop.

Friday Dec 18th 10:30 pm Lagos Time: The Rainbolt family has cleared the second security checkpoint and eagerly waits boarding the plane in 10 minutes.

Friday Dec 18th 10:40 pm Lagos Time: See above

Friday Dec 18th 10:50 pm Lagos Time: See above

Friday Dec 18th 11:00 pm Lagos Time: See above

Friday Dec 18th 11:10 pm Lagos Time: See above

Friday Dec 18th 11:20 pm Lagos Time: We are on the plane! We have seats! We have in seat entertainment systems. We are on our way!

Saturday Dec 19th 6:30 am Amsterdam Time: The Rainbolt family exits the plane to a blast of cold air: something we have not felt for several months. Jacob and I do have to make a quick trip back to the plane to retrieve his lion watch. That sounds like an easy task but there are a lot of people on one those planes, and those jet ways are very narrow, and it was like swimming upstream. It is a successful mission and we stored our carry-ons and decide to head into the city to kill a few hours of a layover. We also got to stop at a cash machine, another simple pleasure that we have missed, but another adventure in itself. Did you know that if you don’t use a pin code for a period of time that you are likely to forget the pin code?



Saturday Dec19th 7:30 am Amsterdam Time: The Rainbolt family is freezing his or her respective hiney off. It is dark, cold, and there is not a restaurant open anywhere. We eventually find a bakery that is open and we crowd in with Maria, the Slater’s, and DeeDee Davis to warm ourselves over a cup of hot chocolate and quietly celebrate our return to civilization. After breakfast we help out the Dutch economy. Souvenir stands magically open as we pass by and things we have not needed to buy for months begin to appear to us. Stocking caps, gloves, soccer jerseys, obscene T-shirts, chocolate bars, and small cute purses join are ever increasing luggage collection. Knowing that we will face another round with Customs, we insist on getting receipts.



Saturday Dec 19th 10:00 am Amsterdam Time: The still freezing Rainbolt family and one sizzling hot debit card board the train to head back to the airport. Schipol Airport is unlike anything we have experienced in awhile. There is a train station, orderly lines, fast food, slow food, bookstores, clothing stores, French fries with garlic sauce, and as far as Emily and Jacob are concerned: a gift from above….A McDonald’s Restaurant. Marie makes her traditional pilgrimage to Burger King. Kara and Gina find an espresso stand. I myself manage to down some French fries before the next round of airline food. Properly prepared to face another 8-hour flight we head into the terminal to collect our bags, stop at McDonald’s and get on the plane to Seattle.

Saturday Dec 19th 11:00 am Amsterdam Time: The Rainbolt family is in crisis. The flight to Seattle, which was to leave at 2 pm, has been delayed. Delayed until 9 am Sunday morning, so is that a delay or is that a cancellation? We check at the info desk and they send us to the ticketing desk, the ticketing desk says there is no way to get to Seattle today so the send us to the Customer Service desk. At that desk, we become “stranded passengers” and we receive our coupons for a hotel, food, and the “stranded passenger” toiletry kit. We grabbed our carry-ons, got Emily her chicken nuggets that she had been asking for the last hour and a half and boarded the bus to a typical airport hotel. After battling camels, Customs Officials, and 6 hours of a late night plane ride, we were demoralized at the thought of not getting home Saturday Night.

Saturday Dec 19th 12:00 pm Amsterdam Time: The Rainbolt family discovers that dorm food can be served all over the world, including airport hotels in the Netherlands. Gina decides to head into Amsterdam with DeDe, Kara, and Maria. Emily, Jacob, and I chose the nap option.

Saturday Dec 19th 1:00 pm Amsterdam Time: The Rainbolt family minus one sleeps.

Saturday Dec 19th 3:30 pm Amsterdam Time: The Rainbolt family discovers that we remember how to watch TV. We also find out that 24 hours in the same clothes become bearable if you can take a shower at hour 19. Although we had hoped to be on the way home at this time, it has worked out to have a longer break. We feel rested and energized.


Saturday Dec 19th 9:00 pm Amsterdam Time: The Rainbolt family stretches out in beds that seem quite luxurious and in a room that is not wired for Mosque music.

Sunday Dec 20th 7:00 am Amsterdam Time: The Rainbolt family waits patiently in the lobby as an entire hotel attempts to exit through a single revolving door. We all flashback to a Lagos go-slow. We make it to the shuttle and to the airport one more time. Our flight is still listed as delayed so there is another moment of panic, but we recover when we see that the departure time has not changed.

Sunday Dec 20th 8:30 am Amsterdam Time: The Rainbolt family has cleared the second security checkpoint and eagerly waits boarding the plane in 10 minutes. (Sound familiar?)

Sunday Dec 20th 8:40 am Amsterdam Time: The Rainbolt family is on the plane.

Sunday Dec 20th 12:00 pm Amsterdam Time (we think): The Rainbolt family quote of the day: “For a an International flight that was delayed 19 hours there is certainly a distinct lack of free alcohol.” (Original source of this quote wishes to remain anonymous so her reputation as a caring mother and excellent teacher is not tarnished)

Sunday Dec 20th 10:00 am Seattle Time: The Rainbolt family is back on home turf.

Sunday Dec 20th 10:40 pm Seattle Time: The Rainbolt family learns that bags carrying excessive bags of plantain chips must be x-rayed before leaving the airport. We also learn that arriving in Seattle from an international departure point means you get to pick up your luggage not once but twice. Now how cool is that? At the second luggage carousel, we meet up with Lynn, Scott, and Sean.

Sunday Dec 20th 11:30 pm Seattle Time: I’m driving again! There are no horses on the freeway! I have barely controllable urge to honk the horn. I have even seen street signs. The differences between 1st world and 3rd world are becoming increasingly evident.

Sunday Dec. 20th 12:10 pm Seattle Time: We have been in Tacoma for all of 15 minutes and we are already are on our third drive-thru: Starbucks, Taco Bell, and McDonalds. Can’t say enough for commercialization and capitalism.

Sunday Dec 20th 12:35 pm Seattle Time: The Rainbolt family enters 5713 with four large suitcases and four overly stuffed carryon bags. The adventure in patience ends and we spend a wonderful evening with friends and family. Jana, Greg, Daly and Sam show up with a wonderful Mexican Dinner. (Way better than Taco Bell). Fred and Joyce have a Christmas tree waiting for us to decorate. My parents, Jackie and David, arrive not much later with the cats, Cortez and Zola. We are truly at home.