I Remember

After spending less than 24 hrs in Philadelphia, we all boarded a bus heading for JFK International Airport. My first visit to New York City, and I spent the whole time in traffic on the highway. From my very limited experience with New York, I must say that I don’t get the appeal. New York was polluted, cold, trashed, busy, crowded, and ugly… No thank you.

At the airport, our group met up with another Peace Corps group going to Malawi and we all waited for hours to board the flight heading for Johannesburg South Africa via Dakar Senegal. The flight itself was way better than I originally imagined. Between the naps, the interesting conversations, the massages (I sat right next to Debbie who happens to be a massage therapist), the various movie and video game options, and the gourmet vegetarian meals, the 17 hours passed quickly and pleasurably. Towards the end of the flight we even flew right over Namibia, so it was exciting to see various geographical features like the Etosha Pan, plateaus, and the vast span of untouched land.

When we arrived in South Africa we were greeted by Lejeune, a very sophisticated, intelligent, and cultured woman, and also the Health APCD (Assistant Peace Corps Director) for Namibia. She instructed us to exchange some of our US money for South African Rand and then accompanied us to our hotel for the night. We ate dinner there, socialized, and then went to bed. Partially because of the jetlag and partially because of the malaria medication, I woke up around 3am after sleepwalking around the hotel room. I tried to go back to sleep, but the effort was futile. So I got ready and went downstairs to wait for the others.

After we all finished breakfast, we headed back over to the airport again for the final stretch of our journey. The flight from Jo’Burg to Windhoek Namibia was fairly short, and very crowded. There was nothing really special about the flight, but I remember the excitement I felt as we were descending. The excitement I had when I saw the country that I had been chosen for. It was more beautiful than I could have imagined. It was lush and green. It was perfect and untouched. See, Namibia is a place where issues like smog and pollution don’t really exist, where development hasn’t scarred the majority of the land, and where nature is still respected, guarded, and protected for all that it has to offer.

I remember the thrill and rush of anticipation as we were about to disembark the plane. I remember walking out the plane door and down the metal steps to the paved landing strip. I remember the cool moist breeze, the crisp clean air, the perfect temperature, and the rolling rain clouds. I remember feeling that I couldn’t have been sent to a more perfect country, and was yet again reminded that there is a reason for everything. I remember being thankful that I did NOT get the country I wanted because I would have missed out on one of the most unique and beautiful places on Earth. And I remember knowing that this was where I was meant to be.... I remember those first moments when I arrived in Namibia… when I arrived home.