Day 1/ Day 2- Because I Don't Know What Day It Is

This trip has already been such a blur. We are so SO SO far from Arkansas (and even farther from Oklahoma!). The plane ride over was very interesting- I sat by myself, away from the group, next to a woman from the Congo who works at a Chimp Sanctuary. Her plane back only leaves three times a week- that's crazy to think compared to what we are used to back home. I've never been on an international flight before except going to Mexico to go diving, which is just like a normal domestic flight so this 15 hour flight thing was a new experience. I took my time to go through all my music & movie options, and decided to watch "Hotel for Dogs", which I was really excited to see. I felt kind of stupid, being an adult & traveling all the way to Africa by myself and watching "Hotel for Dogs" and laughing out loud. I was scared to be bored & have to stay up for 15 hours, so I took Ambien and promptly fell asleep. Dinner was definitely subpar, and there was no vegetarian option. :( I hope that is not an indication of what this trip will be like, because in that case I will not be able to eat. About 4 hours into the flight, my speaker stopped working so I went to sleep. I woke up periodically to check the in flight status check to see where we were. The time difference is really throwing me off already.

When we got here, the airport seemed deserted. I couldn't believe all the signs were in English- its nice because it makes being here not so completely strange and foreign, if you will.

Seeing the giraffe with the Arkansas University sign taped to it made it finally seem real that we're here. I exchanged money, and received around 1300 Rand. The money here is so pretty & colorful, with animals and plants on it. I wish our money was a little more exciting, although I must admit the founding fathers are pretty all right. When we got to the hotel, there was some confusion regarding our rooms, but eventually we put our stuff away and I ended up in a room by myself. It took about 15 minutes of me searching for the lights before Dr. Adams finally informed me I had to stick my key in the box in the wall for the lights. I grabbed a jacket and we headed out to Graham's house. Driving through town, I was struck by how similar everything seemed to look to back home. Big billboards advertising things like Absolut Vodka, etc. Granted, it is clearly not the same here, as cars drive on the left (wrong) side of the road, but the night drive tonight has definitely not left me culture shocked if that was at all a concern.

At Graham's, I had a chance to facebook my sister and tell her I'm okay, so hopefully my family isn't too concerned. This is a big step for them. I'm the oldest, so I've had to deal with all the letting go and such my parents have gone through. Letting their baby go to Africa for three weeks was a big deal.

We received our fleeces and hats, and everybody suited up and looked good. Graham provided us with a wide variety of alcohol offerings of South Africa, which I think put people in a much better mood. It is much, much colder here than I anticipated, and I was definitely glad I brought a jacket.

Graham is a very interesting character, and I am excited to get to know him better. Everyone talks him up so much, I'm excited to know why. I'm really just excited in general- excited school is finished, and I'm off the plane and I'm in Africa - just excited and really ready to try new things & have new experiences and grow as a person. When I made my facebook status something about packing for Africa, Mayor Jordan commented and said something along the lines of have fun and come back with lots of stories to share. That is what I hope to do- grow and experience things and then take those experiences back to Fayetteville to help others.