What’s That Sound?

You never know what you may travel with when you fly while overseas. When we lived in Vanuatu, many times when traveling to remote islands we would be asked to carry flats of eggs on our laps. Others have seen people carrying live chickens under their seats. Often there are bags of produce that are being brought from one area of the country to another. That may be the majority of a person’s luggage allowance.

Yesterday, our family hopped on a plane to fly to another island for a ground breaking ceremony for a Bible College dormitory. As we sat on the tarmac in Lae, we heard birds chirping. Unsure if maybe a few birds had flown inside the plane while the doors were open, we wondered what the crew would eventually do about this! (Here we almost never enter and exit the airplanes via jet bridge, it is usually via stairs that attach to the open door of the plane and we then walk to/from the airport on the tarmac.)

Finally, we realized that the sound we were hearing was not a few rogue birds that had managed to get into the plane, but that the plane must be shipping chickens! Baby chicks to be more specific. We continued to hear the “Cheep! Cheep! Cheep!” throughout the flight. As we landed and disembarked the plane, our suspicions were confirmed. There they were being unloaded onto a cart, boxes and boxes of baby chicks to be transported and distributed here on this island! You just never know what may be flying with you through the skies when you are flying throughout the islands!