Catch the Wild Llama
She said, "the news gives these people a bad rep but they are very nice. When I travel through Qatar, I wear a scarf and sleep in the mosque."
It is very unfortunate that I was terrified to travel to another part of the world because of war and my nationality.
There are so many horror stories on the news, and that's all that I knew of the Middle East.
Upon arrival, I received a hotel voucher and left the airport to stay in the city.
It was very nice. One of the richest cities in the Middle East!
Sleep was kind of like trying to catch a wild llama. Possible but difficult.
The group occupying the room next door was celebrating something... all.night.long. I mean, good for them, but I couldn't sleep with the loud music and voices.
The next day, my flight departed from for Kilimanjaro Airport at 10:45am. On the airplane, I didn't hear another person speaking english, unless they were speaking to me. I didn't even know what half of the languages were.
Arriving in Kilimanjaro made me feel like I had made it home. My baggage didn't show up and I had to stand in line for an hour to get a visa and was slightly nervous I wouldn't get accepted because of the South Africa ban.
But I made it. A man stood outside with a "Make A Difference" sign. I smiled at him and he said, "you must be Em-ah-lee".
We got into a rickety green van with bars between the passenger seats and the driver seat.
The sun set golden orange behind a few tall mountains to the west. Mt.Kilimanjaro reigned supreme to the north like King Kong. Acacia trees line the highway with large patches of wild sunflowers waning this way and that as the sunlight quickly faded away.
It took about an hour to reach the guest house. A man holding weapons unlocked large metal doors with chains and nodded to the driver. We entered and he closed the gates again. There is a body guard on grounds every night.
Inside the house, I met a student that was a part of the MAD program and is now attending Duke University. He is returning for an internship and to teach Swahili. He will be my teacher!
I also met an asian woman with a European accent that resides from Australia.
We had rice, curry and local chapati for dinner. So good!
Now, it's 5 am and I've been awake since 3am. This whole 8 hour time difference might take some getting used to.
Em-ah-lee...thank you....I'm checking FB way to often these days anticipating your updates. I'm praying for you to be safe...and to live your life for Him to the fullest capacity. He has called you, He has kept you and He will sustain you!!! (And your mama too☺️)
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