Traveling can be spelled with one or two l's

I'm writing from my newfound workstation at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI, if you will), a walled compound housing a diverse group of Kenyan, American, and non-denominational researchers. The CDC's facilities are here, in an amazingly modern building that is somewhat posher than those in Atlanta. I am enthusiastically prevented from entering it unless I have an appointment.

The flights that deposited me here were very long and very dull, though otherwise unremarkable. The massive Boeing 747 which successfuly landed in Naiobi has an upper deck, while the 777, despite a wingspan of 60.9 meters, does not. The 777 which carried me over the Atlantic does, however, have brilliantly comfortable lounge seating with luxurious, fully reclinable seats. It also has a cramped economy section, where I sat. Curiously, the 777 is, according to Boeing, also the first plane to have a rose named after it. "The rose is deep purple-red with a citrus-like fragrance," and "was developed by Olympia, Wash., Western Independent Nurseries."

I found the propeller plane that carried me from Nairobi to Kisumu at an irrationally early hour to lack both comfortable seating and an ability to inspire me to breed rose hybrids. When it came time to board, we were waved through the gate onto the tarmac and pointed in roughly the general direction of the plane. My fellow passengers and I wandered around the parked aircraft as if trying to find a forgotten car in the long-term economy lot. After an aborted attempt to board a flight to Mombasa, we succesfully found the turbo-prop and were rewarded with locally roasted peanuts.