Flight

There is always give and take. I feel that in my case I am taking a lot right now and others are giving to make it happen. I mean this in many ways, the financial gifts I have received, the tangible items I have received, everything that will be done for me in Kenya, and the fact that I am taking myself out of many peoples’ lives for a while. This is definitely hard. I can name many people and a few in particular who have let me take myself away, but not easily.

My mom, dad, sister, and best friends took me to the airport this afternoon. I don’t think any of them did it willingly. They all were very reluctant to let me go, even Alivia whom I don’t even get along well with. I discovered it in different ways but I will keep that between me and them. Needless to say it wasn’t much of a fun drive or check-in. Going through security was like having a piece ripped out of me. But I know that it will be for the better, eventually. There are just some things that you miss out on while experiencing others things and that is what is going to happen now. These next few months are going to be very difficult but I am hoping they are fun and keep me busy so that I don’t think about what I have lost very much. I’m hoping something similar happens at home for everybody else.

I had to wait a little while for the plane to board which gave me more time to think about what I was leaving behind. Not fun I tell you! I just couldn’t wait to get there so that I could have something to take my mind off of it. After boarding I took my seat, a window seat next to an older man. For a while I just tried to sleep but that didn’t work to well so I began to watch movies and mess around on the little computer/tv screen we had. Eventually the man and I started talking, nothing too exciting though! Finally we arrived in Amsterdam.

I quickly found my next gate and tried settling in and calling home. However I had no cell service and couldn’t figure out the pay phones! Eventually I gave in and bought some WiFi minutes so that I could let everyone know I was here safe.

I still had no idea how I was going to be picked up, just that someone would be somewhere at the airport waiting for me.

The flight to Nairobi was long but not too unbearable, I really thought it would be much worse. I sat next to a boy (young man, I suppose) who grew up in Nairobi and was going to school in Chicago. We talked a little bit and I learned a few things. The plane food was pretty hard for me to eat. Everything was covered in some sort of sauce or marinade and I do not like that. I got here just after 7 and the city was all lit up, it was already dark. After getting off the plane I had to go through immigration and find my luggage. The airport was very small compared to home. Outside, near the baggage claim, it looked like the set of the Today show or something, there were so many people crowded in a small place holding signs. I pretty quickly found one that said Daystar University and made my way over. I met Sylvia, a lady who works with connecting international students.

We brought my stuff to the school van and met Lora there. Lora is from Michigan and will be staying at Daystar for a whole year. We talked pretty much the whole way back which is quite unusual for me upon first meeting someone. Driving was pretty scary, many times it looked like we were going to be in a head on collision. Nairobi is not the place to begin driving!