Back from the Mothaland: My first few days

I have been back in the U.S. for 3 days now and I am adjusting well. The whole last month in Kenya I have been worried about the transition, but the truth is that everything is more or less the same as it was when I left a year ago. Sure the Freestate Starbucks has changed its looks, but everything else is the same as how I left it. The first thing I did when I got in the house, was grab my bike and take to the streets. I have been waiting for this moment all year. Sure my parents thought I was crazy for riding my bike up and down the street in the dark, but see, my bike is my symbol of freedom and it has been gone all this time. In Ikotos, I rode Jordan's bike to get water from the borehole, but its just not the same as the open (paved)road. The other symbol of my freedom is my Honda. This morning I kidnapped my sister and drove to Starbucks, and then the Bowie Town Center while listening to some tunes on the radio. My parents were worried that I would have trouble driving again, and that I would drive on the wrong side of the road (Kenyans drive on the left), but driving is like riding a bike-- you never forget. ;) Later, Veronica and I went to the pool in Annapolis, which was a lot of fun after a year of no swimming.



The Sunset over Africa from the planeRewind a bit. The plane ride over here was interesting. Carolyn and I were sweating bullets to see if my bags would be overweight, but the guy at the counter in Jomo Kenyatta didn't say a word. So, I looked back at Carolyn, who was waiting and looking through the glass outside and gave her two big thumbs up. After a 4 hour flight, I was in Dubai(The UAE).
It was hot, as in the temperature. I was wearing a jacket and a scarf, which was quickly removed. The first thing I noticed upon walking into the airport was a Dunkin Donuts-- weird, eh?
Later, after I had passed through my first set of x-ray machines and walked through the airport checking out the stores and food court, I realized that I had forgotten my little, fleece, travel pillow back at the x-ray machine! So I quickly made my way back to the escalator I had come down and fortunately there were stairs to go backwards into the exit area of the x-ray zone. I must admit that I felt kind of silly asking a bunch of security guys about my pillow, but I just couldn't see leaving it behind after carrying it all the way from Sudan. Although I went back, I was sure that it had been thrown away; however, they found it within minutes. Embarrassed, I thanked them and moved quickly back down the escalator and over to the Dair Queen (yes, DQ) to get a milkshake. Having a cold with a sore throat, it felt great to suck down something cold and yummy. In the airport, I was pretty proud of myself because I could understand the flight numbers said in Arabic, and could say "thank you" (shukuran)in Arabic. That is the extent of it though, because Juba Arabic is such a shortened "Mexican" version of the language that I was too embarrased to say any more than that, and couldn't understand what they were saying either. Fortunately, everyone spoke English, including the loud speaker. Paris could learn something from them...when I was there in 2003, they didn't even translate to English.
At the airport, I had a 5 hour layover so I checked out all the cool stores. You have to understand that this airport is like being in a shopping mall. There are even cars in the middle of the floor on raffle. (Erica, I know you're laughing at me right now). In the last remaining hour, I walked past a girl checking her facebook on her laptop and asked if there was wi-fi. Apparently the entire airport is wired! Sweet! So, I sat down at a table and emailed and Skype-chatted to my little heart's content...until my battery died, and then I sat on the floor by an outlet until they called for boarding.

The flight was 14 hours long! I watched 3 movies, 6 episodes of "The Office," 6 episodes of "Flight of the Conchords," listened to my i-pod, dozed off to sleep a few times, walked to the bathroom about a 100 times, and ate several meals. At one point I stood in the back by the kitchen and had a conversation with 2 older gentlemen from the Middle East. The cabin crew got to know me and by the middle of the flight I was pouring my own water in the kitchen. The girl sitting next to me never got up the entire time, but I couldn't stand sitting that long! By the end of the flight I was counting down the minutes. In NY, it was raining and we had to wait to pull into our terminal. Once through customs and in baggage claim, I quickly paid for a cart (in Africa the carts are FREE)and waited for my turquoise hibiscus flowered duffel and huge, blue tin trunk from Kenya. That was also kind of embarrassing. People were looking at me funny and one guy commented on the trunk. The trunk has little outlines of Kenya spray-painted all over it with silver paint.

At Pearl River, the debriefing went super and so did seeing my Mom and sister. The debriefing was 3 hours long-- so long that Veronica was convinced that they had sent me back to Africa. However, I didn't think it seemed that long and actually enjoyed it. After the debrief, we spent a few more hours in Pearl River before driving home.Most of the wait was because of me. I just couldn't think of getting back into a vehicle for another long duration of sitting. However, the trip went well and finally I was back in Bowie, which brings us up to the above mentioned first events in Bowie. Today, I also went to the hair dresser and cut "swoop bangs." I added this picture especially to show my friends in Africa. Once I train these bangs to stay, I'm hoping they will look better, and lose the bobby pin. Grad school here I come!

So, those are my first few days back in America. I think I'm blending back in well, although Veronica says that I slip into my African accent now and then. I'll keep you posted with other events to come. Especially my schedule once I find out when I'm speaking at Trinity Lutheran and in Shepherdstown. A few people have written to ask when I'll be through the Eastern Panhandle and finally in Morgantown. I will post that here once I figure it out. For certain though, I am looking forward to seeing all of you state-side folks!