Those of you
that read my blog last summer probably remember that I often named my posts
using song lyrics or titles. It looks like I’ll probably be doing that again
this summer! My bags are totally packed and waiting by the door, I’ve already
hugged most of my family and friends goodbye, and my passport and flight
information are ready and waiting! Tonight will be my last night sleeping here
in my own bed for a while. I must say I’m not particularly looking forward to
spending tomorrow night on a plane over the Atlantic Ocean, but it’ll be worth
it when I land in Africa.
So far in my
life I’ve been on my own for two flights- at the end of last summer, when I
returned from working in Grand Teton National Park, I flew from Jackson to
Dallas, then Dallas to San Antonio. I know that Wyoming to Texas and Texas to
Africa are very different types of trips, but I’m glad that I at least have
some experience traveling by myself. It seems like some of my friends and
family are nervous about the trip, thinking about all the things that could go
wrong, but I honestly still don’t feel any nervousness about this trip, just
excitement. The next few days will be full of firsts- first meal on a plane,
first full night on a plane, first time crossing international borders, first
time in Africa, first night in a hostel, and more. It won’t be easy to fall
asleep tonight due to this excitement, but I’ll do my best since tomorrow night
on the plane might not be too restful!
I think
that, so far in my life, the longest plane ride I’ve had has been about four
hours, from Jackson to Dallas. People I know that have been on really long
flights have all given me advice- wear comfortable clothing, get up and
stretch/walk around occasionally, etc. Thankfully, I typically don’t have much
trouble sleeping in “weird” places. I figure if I can get a full night’s worth
of sleep lying on the concrete floor of the main room at Cibolo Nature Center
during wildlife field research week, which I’ve done multiple times, sleeping
on a plane shouldn’t be too difficult.
The next
couple of days will undoubtedly be really busy going from plane to plane to
plane to hostel, so I probably won’t be able to make another blog post for a
few days. I’ll update everybody as soon as I can, though. This post is fairly
short, since there isn’t a whole lot else to say. I’ll see you in two days,
Africa. This post’s food for thought: “One does not discover new lands without
consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.”- Andre Gide
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