I'm in America! Not home yet, but getting closer...
The last plane ride was wayyy too long, but I met a great couple from Kenya who were coming to the States for the first time. I got to share about what I did in Tanzania for the last 7 months and they told me about themselves too! I think it was probably my last opportunity to speak Swahili as well, so it was very special and we had a lot of fun. As we stepped off the plane, the three of us were shocked by the wave of freezing cold air. I told them, "Pole, baridi sana hapa! Karibu America" (not grammatically correct, but literally translated as "sorry, very cold here! Welcome to America!") After saying goodbye to them, making my way through customs, long lines, and security again, I found the bathroom so I could brush my teeth and freshen up a little bit. First of all, I was pleasantly surprised at the lovely smell of the huge, clean bathroom. Secondly, I was thinking how nice it was to have toilets in a public bathroom instead of dirty holes in the ground. (I generally don't think squat pots are all that bad anymore, but the public ones are usually gross!) Anyways, the toilet flushed automatically which totally caught me off guard and scared me half to death. After that, I was prepared for the automatic sink, but not the nice warm water that came out! Warm water is very exciting. I came to my gate where I am sitting now and there just so happened to be a Wendy's right here, so I got myself a chocolate frosty...which I have been craving for a loooong time! It was delicious! Now I'm waiting for my plane to Seattle where my family will be waiting for me. It's been quite the journey and I'm sooo ready to see them!
Dear friends, family, and blog followers, thanks for all your support and prayers! They've made a difference to me and my time in Tanzania has been the best experience of my life. God is good!
Even though I'm almost home, I want to let you know that you're welcome to stay tuned to my blog! I still have many stories to write about and pictures to post that I never got around to doing before. So let's continue to share memories together! God Bless!
They just announced the first boarding call...so ready or not, here I come!
We are our way. Hold tight! Can't wait to see you.
ReplyDeleteIf it makes you feel any better, I got completely scared today by an automatic flushing toilet in the Business building on campus. Haha... :) Thanks for being such a faithful poster. I will definitely keep following your blog. You KNOW I'm one of your BIGGEST fans! Hugs to you! And welcome home!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you had a nice flight back to North America. It's always great to sit by interesting people, especially when they're from an area that is now special to your heart. Haha, yes bathrooms are very different all over the world. What has struck me the most, actually, is the disparity between icky and pristine bathrooms here in Korea. Some are just gross, even ones with toilets, while others are so fancy and high tech that I haven't been able to even figure out how to flush them (ahhh, so many buttons all written in Korean only!). Such craziness! I'm so happy you had a great experience in Tanzania! I had a wonderful time there and I've really enjoyed keeping up with Tanzania and Usa River/Arusha and Cradle and the babies vicariously through your blog! Thank you so much for updating so often with such gorgeous pictures!! I'll definitely be watching for any new posts. I still have so many pictures and videos from Cradle that I want to share. Maybe I should update my old TZ blog, too, once in awhile. Enjoy your homecoming! (PS - If you feel an impulse to hug the first black person you see after getting back home, know that you're not alone. There are hardly any in Kelowna and when I saw one I could barely hold myself back from running up to her and throwing my arms around her. Also, SEA-TAC airport shocked me. So many previous CoL volunteers had told me to prepare myself for the onslaught of white babies so I tried to mentally prepare myself for that as much as possible. What I forgot to do was prepare myself for Asian babies! It was such a shock to see so many of them in the airport!)
ReplyDeleteJust taking the time to catch up on what I've missed from being so busy! Glad your safely home now! I bet it was a huge cultural shock coming back after being away so long.. so glad that you have continued to post, like Melissa I am one of your biggest fans and always love to read your blog! :)
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