I MADE IT!

I’m here at last! Oh man flying for that many hours really gives you a good idea about how big the world really is! So I started out my travels in Boise where I then flew to Minneapolis. That flight was super fast. Just a quick 2 ½ hours and I was there. Not to mention it was early in the morning and I slept the entire way. Once I arrived in Minneapolis I found my gate and then had a whole SIX hours to sit, sit and sit. Luckily I talked on the phone with those back home for the majority of it, caught up on some journal writing, and read a bit. Next thing I know I’m on a flight to Amsterdam and at this point I realized there was no going back. I had a window seat (which I choose before I left, but I don’t know if I’d do it again) and I had the privilege of sitting next to a guy named Yos, from Holland. He was nice enough, but kinda laughed at me when I asked how far from Amsterdam Holland was… Apparently they are one in the same?!? Idk I’m still A LOT confused on that one. The flight to Amsterdam was 8 hours long. But it felt like forever. I’m not sure if it was because it was dark or that it was pretty warm on the plane but either way I thought I was going to suffocate. The did a good job feeding us though and surprisingly all of the food was delicious. Kudos to those flight attendants for all they do. Landing in Amsterdam was probably the scariest part of the whole trip. But it quickly went away when I found my gate and ended up sitting next to  a very large group of church goers who were going to South Africa for a 10 day mission trip. They were from Missouri and had the thickest southern accent I think I’ve ever heard. But in no way did it compete with all the other foreign languages I was hearing around me. Haha J While I was sitting there I noticed this other girl who looked to be about my age who I heard say “I won’t know where I’m living until I arrive”. At that point I had a feeling she was with the same group as me which was such a relief. While boarding we ended up standing right next to each other and I asked what she was going to South Africa for. Her response “I’m volunteering for a company called IVHQ” oh man talk about prayers being answered! From that point on I knew the rest of my travels would be a piece of cake. It was such a relief knowing that someone else would be getting picked up from the airport with me! The flight to South Africa was a piece of cake. Despite it being 12 hours long, it went 10x faster than the 8 hour flight to Amsterdam. Perhaps it was that I had an aisle seat, or that I swear the seats leaned back 6 inches farther, or that I slept the entire first half, but no matter what it flew by! Once again the food was great and I didn’t go hungry a bit (much unlike right now). Landing in Cape Town felt so surreal, almost like it was happening. Going through Customs went super smooth and baggage claim was even easier. Thank goodness my luggage didn’t get lost! Then came the moment I was most nervous about. Would there really be someone there to pick me up? But then I saw it a nice white sign with DTR/IVHQ and my name written across it. And if I thought I might be intimidated by who was holding the sign I was totally wrong. Standing there was our Program Director Tim and another volunteer named Hilary. I felt 100% completely comfortable. We loaded everything into the car and I got offered the front seat, which was a bit embarrassing when I went to climb into the “passenger side” which was really the “drivers side”! Everything here is backwards. They drive on the wrong side of the road and go around round about’s the wrong direction. We arrived at our “volunteer house” which is really a three bedroom apartment that about 9 of us are living in, within no time at all and I got un packed and fell into bed. Now it’s about 6:30 in the morning and I’m the only one up. I’m anxious to get to a store so I can buy a cell phone and call home, and to also get to a internet café to get all of this posted. Feeling a bit homesick, but I figure that’s to be expected! So far all is well in South Africa! 

P.S. Did I mention I could see the ocean from our front balcony? Hooray for being near the ocean once again!