The Sunday Mail
Anesu J Lioga (Form 4)
Littlerock International School
On Monday the 31st of August 2017, some of our students at Littlerock International School embarked on a 17 hour flight from Harare to Paris; with connecting flights via Lusaka and Dubai. The students said their final goodbyes to their parents, fellow colleagues and teachers at the school premises. Shortly afterwards we departed the school campus at 1500hrs for Harare International Airport.
As we arrived at the airport, we took our belongings and disembarked from the bus. Our patrons Mrs Dahwa, Mr Chirevo and Miss Mitti distributed our passports and travel wallets. The Emirates check-in window had opened and we proceeded to the check-in desks and immediately advanced to the security check.
Once everyone was checked, we went to the passenger holding area as we waited for our flight that was due for take-off. Everyone’s face lit with expectation and excitement. The flight was delayed by a few minutes but eventually we boarded our flight to Dubai that was scheduled to depart Harare at 2055hrs. We took off and when we were 20 -30 minutes in the air, we were offered dinner. Shortly afterwards we slept through the flight and we woke up a few minutes before we landed in Dubai. As soon as we landed we hurriedly headed towards the check-in desks at Dubai International Airport (DXB) because it was 20 minutes into the check-in window time. Without taking a breather, we boarded the Dubai to Paris flight which was 6 hours long.
We touched down in Paris at Charles de Gaulle International Airport at 13:30 but we waited for about 30 minutes for some items that had not arrived. Once we retrieved the luggage we exited the airport and took a bus to go to the Disneyland Hotel Cheyenne. The Patrons gave us time to refresh, freshen up and relax until we took the shuttle bus to Disneyland to have dinner. From there, we went back to the hotel and it was lights out at 22:00.
The next day, early in the morning we had a wake up-shake up session of exercise from our hotel to Disneyland which took us about 30 minutes. We walked back to the hotel and we freshened-up and we went straight for breakfast at the Chuck Wagon Cafe. Afterwards we went to Disneyland and entered Disneyland for shopping and rides. We were exposed to French couture.
At 14:00 we met up at a central point and looked for a place to have some French lunch- Chalet de Marinette. An hour later, we continued our shopping sessions as we ventured through Main Street and Disneyland Park and we had more rides and continued with our shopping. We did this in three different groups. We then met up at our designated point of assembly at 18:00 for us to head to La Cantina restaurant at Santa Fe Hotel where we had a buffet dinner. We marveled at how at this time it still looked like day time since their sun set at 22:00! When we were done eating, the juniors went back to the hotel and the seniors went back for some rides they had missed during the day.
Day Three; we woke up to a slight drizzle so wake up shake up was cancelled but we met up at the usual time for devotion and the briefing for the day. We all went to our respective hotel rooms and prepared for the activities of the day. We had a short breakfast and we immediately left for a train to go to Val d’Europe. It took us 15 minutes to get to Val d’Europe. As we arrived we rushed over into the mall to visit Sea Life Aquarium. We toured the aquarium for about an hour seeing the different species of fish worldwide. With little time left, we shopped in the malls while we waited for lunch time and we split into our usual groups which made us lose track of time and unfortunately we missed lunch. We still went back to Disneyland and did some shopping that we did not finish off until we had to go for dinner at La Cantina. And as usual the older group went to Disneyland for rides and as soon as they returned it was lights out.
Finally on the last day, we woke up very early and we freshened up and started packing our belongings and we left to go to the hotel reception for check-out and left our bags since we were to go for our last activity. We took a bus to go to the train station to catch a train to Central Paris. Our last activity was a tour of Central Paris and all its attractions which included the magnificent Eiffel Tower, Place Charles de Gaulle (named after their airport), Notre Damme Cathedral, Champs-Elysee and many other historical monuments. Much to our surprise we saw famous football athlete Neymar Jnr who had been sponsored by his football club, PSG, for an appearance in the most expensive street, Champs-Elysee.
Our tour was conducted by Foxity, a company that specializes in city tours and it was an all inclusive tour. When the tour was over, we walked back to the train station in order for us to catch our 2000hrs flight. We experienced a slight delay in going to the airport but we managed to catch the check-in window right on time and we proceeded to the immigration stands and thereafter the security check. At around 19:45, we boarded our Paris to Dubai flight which was 10 hours long and we arrived at DXB at 06:00. While we waited for our flight from Dubai to Lusaka, people had 20 minutes to do their last minute shopping in the duty free shops in the airport and once our check-in window opened, we checked-in and boarded our four-hour flight. Once we arrived in Lusaka, we stayed seated as the Lusaka passengers took their luggage and disembarked. Thirty minutes later, the pilot and cabin crew prepared us for take-off for Harare which was going to be another 30 minute flight. Once we arrived in Harare, we passed through immigration and got our passports stamped and got out from the departure gate and we received a warm welcome from our parents as they awaited us with bright smiles and teary eyes.
Our parents were so elated to notice that we brought them special gifts from Paris. It was really touching to notice that most students did not just selfishly buy their own personal stuff, but they remembered to buy a little something for their colleagues, parents, siblings and even teachers at school.
We would like to give our gratitude to our school administration for organizing such a breathtaking and educative trip for us. We hope to have a similar or even better experience next year when we have our major international yearly trip.
Littlerockers-Brave thinkers and doers!
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