After a week of orientation I was ready to leave for Kenya, but the weather wasn't looking to good. I was never worried about this "Hurricane" Irene since I am so used to hurricanes, but the Northern folks that hardly ever get hurricanes were making this small hurricane (if it can even be called that) into a huge disaster! Flights for Monday were already getting canceled starting on Friday! Which was crazy since the storm wasn't hitting till Sunday! When Irene finally hit late Saturday night, it was only a tropical storm, bringing only heavy showers and some wind. Irene was gone by lunch time on Sunday!
Even though Irene was gone most of the international YAV flights were canceled, but Kenya and Northern Ireland was still on! When Monday finally came around I was ready to leave and ready to get to Kenya, but while I was at breakfast I decided to check the flight status and Kenya's on schedule flight was now CANCELED!!! I was really upset and went to tell Bridgette right away. The activities for the rest of the day were canceled since flights had to be rescheduled. I was really upset and didn't know how to react to this situation so I just sat hoping that we would get to leave soon. Finally Tricia (another Kenya YAV) came to tell me some news of our rescheduled flight; I was thinking it was good news instead Tricia told me "We are leaving on Saturday!" I couldn't believe it and I really couldn't believe that we would have to stay another week at Stony Point! (I loved Stony Point but it is so far away from everything!) Luckily Liz Wall (a Northern Ireland YAV) said that her dad could possibly get us a place to stay at Princeton Theological Seminary, which would be a great change in scenery and we would be a lot closer to civilization! Next thing I know we are on our way to Princeton, NJ!
Even though Irene was gone most of the international YAV flights were canceled, but Kenya and Northern Ireland was still on! When Monday finally came around I was ready to leave and ready to get to Kenya, but while I was at breakfast I decided to check the flight status and Kenya's on schedule flight was now CANCELED!!! I was really upset and went to tell Bridgette right away. The activities for the rest of the day were canceled since flights had to be rescheduled. I was really upset and didn't know how to react to this situation so I just sat hoping that we would get to leave soon. Finally Tricia (another Kenya YAV) came to tell me some news of our rescheduled flight; I was thinking it was good news instead Tricia told me "We are leaving on Saturday!" I couldn't believe it and I really couldn't believe that we would have to stay another week at Stony Point! (I loved Stony Point but it is so far away from everything!) Luckily Liz Wall (a Northern Ireland YAV) said that her dad could possibly get us a place to stay at Princeton Theological Seminary, which would be a great change in scenery and we would be a lot closer to civilization! Next thing I know we are on our way to Princeton, NJ!
While in Princeton, NJ we were able to enjoy most of the things around town. We went exploring the cute little town of Princeton and we even took a tour of Princeton University! It was a great little town with just enough things to do for a week. During the week we were also able to go to NYC! I have never been before so I was extremely happy about being able to go! After spending a day in NYC; from going to Times Square, FAO Swarz, central park, the MET to riding on the subways and taxis I was so tired and couldn't wait to go to sleep! As the week winded down and we were again doing laundry and packing getting ready to leave for Kenya yet again, I kept on asking myself if I am completely ready to go to Kenya now! Am I ready to go to a different country and live there for a year? After a week of a vacation didn't think that Kenya was real anymore! I didn't think I was really going to be living in Kenya for a year!
Finally it was Saturday and we were all ready to get to Kenya finally! We left Princeton, NJ about 8 hours before our flight in order to get there just in case there were any problems with our flights! We thought that would give us PLENTY of time to sort out anything that might go wrong. We arrived at the airport around 1:30pm for our 5:50pm flight! However we couldn't check in till 2:30! So we sat around waiting for check in to begin. Finally it came time to check in and I prayed that everything would go smoothly but as soon as I went up to the counter there was a problem; with not only my ticket but all of the Kenya YAV tickets! From that point, now about 2:45pm, I was on the phone with United trying to get our tickets for this flight! Something happened with our tickets, we were confirmed on the flight but we were never reissued tickets! So each time that I called United I kept on being told that everything was set and we should now be able to check in and every time we went to check in we were still not able to! Finally, now about 5pm two of the tickets in our group (Tricia and Amelia) were able to check in and run to the gate to catch the flight! David, Amy and I were stuck not making our flight and dragging all of our stuff to a different terminal to talk to United! After dealing with United, the three of us that were left finally got a flight on Qatar airlines (which was the best airline ever!) that would get us to Kenya on Monday at 6am, Nairobi time.
Finally after many hours of traveling we were all in Kenya! The unfortunate part about arriving in Kenya on Monday at 6am was that Phyllis would make us stay awake ALL day to help with jet lag! Kathryn, a previous YAV that is still in Kenya for a little bit, was in charge of keeping us up all day! It was a rough day but now after a week I am glad that we were pushed to stay awake because now I am all set with the time change!
This week we have been introduced to Kenya a little bit at a time, with site seeing at a view point of the Rift Valley (which was beautiful!) to staying with a Kenyan family for a weekend! This week has been great and I can't wait for what is to come in the next year! I just got back from a weekend in Tigone, a small town about 30 mins west of Nairobi, where I was with my Host family! My host family will be a great resource for the next year and I will definitely be talking to them throughout the year! I had a great weekend and definitely felt like I was apart of the family! I now have a Kenyan family; a mom, dad, a three younger siblings: two sisters and a brother. I loved my time with them and I felt so welcomed and apart of the family!
Now that my first week in Kenya is over I have several more weeks to look forward to! I am already beginning to be more Kenyan with time and living a simple life. Soon I will have to do another Kenyan thing and that is washing my clothes by hand! I am looking forward to what the year is going to bring!
Sorry this blog post is so long but I have not been able to just sit down and write a post since I got to Kenya and there is just so much to tell! I haven't taken too many pictures but as soon as I get some I will definitely post them! I look forward to sharing this year with everyone!
Also I am still in need of raising support for my year here! I still need just about $5,000 more to reach my final goal! If you can give any amount even as small as a dollar it would be most appreciative! Any amount will help! The link is on the right hand side of my blog; the link will take you directly to my donation page. If you would like more information please google YAV PCUSA and it will take you to the website!
Asante sana for taking time to read about my journey! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment