in transit

As of the morning of July 1^st, I am in Cape Town! The route involved an eight hour flight to London, a seven hour layover, then another twelve hour flight to Cape Town.

I am grateful for safe and fairly easy travels, friendly encounters at the airport, and, most of all, a loving family to see me off at DIA. 

Again, as study abroad is my very first time in another country, I was a bit anxious to navigate travelling on my own, but I survived! The London Heathrow airport was rather easy to figure out compared to some other states I’ve experienced, and I actually quite enjoyed my seven hour layover—plenty of people watching to do.  I was even a part of some others’ people-watching experiences. As I sat outside of my gate waiting to board, I overhead some little British boys trying to guess what kind of accent I had, until their mom soon scolded them with, “Shut it! I’m sure she can hear you…” Yes, yes I can. I decided to keep quiet just to leave a bit of mystery.

I was also able to experience several other friendly faces while travelling. The first was a Missouri girl standing behind me in a line for a good half hour before she started up a conversation. She turned out to be around my age and was returning from a three week study abroad program in Venice. We had planned on grabbing lunch together but unfortunately that line took much longer than expected. Also, I had a great little conversation with a Polish guy working behind a small café. He recognized that I was from the states (the second I opened my mouth of course) and asked why I would ever want to live so far away … I definitely plan on faking a British accent a few times on my way back.

The last of the few was a very sweet native South African girl who sat next to me on the plane to Cape Town. We comfortably spoke at various points throughout the twelve hour flight, and I learned that she hoped to visit Hillsong Church in Cape Town very soon, so there is a good chance that I might see her again. And, it’s funny to think of it—I did not even know her name for a good twelve hours until just moments before we were to exit the plane. It’s strange how you can invest time in someone, albeit short, and realize that you may never see them again. Or maybe you will in a few decades, who really knows? I think travelling accompanies this air of uncertainty, especially on a trip like this where I will encounter so many new people over the next four and a half months. If anything, the same goes for college and other temporary experiences as well, you will meet people from across the nation—maybe even across the world—that you may have very well never met if not for [fill in the blank]. Sure, technology has made keeping in touch incredibly easy, but there is something about seeing a person's smile face to face that bares a bit more of a pleasant weight.

Nevertheless, I am curious to hear these stranger’s stories if even for a moment. There’s nothing better than to encounter something new. And, when we are able to comprehend that the stories we see in worldwide headlines are actually affecting someone as an individual, that is when our lives become about a life. 

Now that I am settled in, I am excited for what is in store.