Naturally, getting this information triggered some emotions and anxiety for me. Some recurring questions such as "Am I doing the right thing?", "Will my family and dear friends be all right in my absence?", "Will I be happy and comfortable?" and so forth flashed through my mind like the shooting stars in the sky. My answers to these questions seem to be firm and unchanging "Yes".
Although I will miss my close ones dearly, I continue to believe this experience will be rewarding, and that it will mold me into a better person for many years to come.
So, anyway, enough of the tear-jerkers, heres the travel facts:
- I am to report to an historic hotel in Philadelphia by 12:30p on October 1st.
- I will register and have all the orientation and stuff all day until 7:00p that day.
- We will depart the hotel at 2:15am on October 2nd by bus to JFK Airport in NYC.
- We will depart for Johannesburg, South Africa at 11:15am October 2nd. The flight will be 15 hours non-stop into October 3rd.
- From Johannesburg, we will fly to Nairobi, Kenya at 8:15a. The flight will be 4 hours non-stop.
As for my baggage, here are the restrictions:
- Total of 100 pounds combined, with no bag exceeding 50 pounds (did not say how many bags, but I assume 2 plus a backpack)
- Total of 107 combined linear inches (h + w + l) with no bag exceeding 60 inches.
I have purchased, collected, and accumulated my travel items. All that is left are a few items, mainly clothing, to purchase. The next challenge is that I no doubt will end up deciding what items to leave behind after all once my bags are full.
As of today, I have 31 days left to enjoy America.
