London, part MCMXLIXX

Back in London... thought I'd be 'adventurous' and take the Heathrow Express instead of the tube... turns out Paddington Station is pretty much in the middle of nowhere - unless you hop back on the tube. Heh. So much for that 6 brits.

So I'm back in the Leicester square Starbucks, pretty much the only place in tourist-ville that takes Visa (Just think, I was salivating over a King Burger, only to get rejected at the transaction. Shame. Not sense wasting good money on the exchange to cold hard pounds.) Why Starbucks? Because Heathrow is about exciting as a bed of nails, and I've got a seven hour layover. And I've walked half the downtown core already, and this one's right next to the tube station... anyway. Now that I've got the guilt off my chest...

Before I left I got an interesting comment from Chris - roommate extraordinaire and previous trip's sound recordist... that it just seems normal that I'm heading back to Africa. Not that it's routine, but prep for these trips is like a familiar pair of shoes. Slips on nice & easy and doesn't require a lot of stress or extra thought. That's good for a lot of reasons... one being my mental time can be spent improving the story instead of sweating the details.

I feel blessed. Africa a half-dozen times in a couple years, and what I do has a small part in changing things. (One of my other documentaries has really hit home, and I hope this one will too.) I get to do what I'm built for, in a way that is strategic and honors God (esp. the whole caring for the widows & orphans bit). And it's something unique... connecting to the heart, not just the head, about stories that matter. Africa is a totally different world from our pavement paradise, but it's only a few hours away. Only a little more than driving to Edmonton, yet these global neighbours are so far outside of most of our minds.

Anyway, this post isn't saying much... blame it on the jet lag. I'll post again after I hit the red dirt.