Well, it has all led up to this moment. Currently I am sitting at gate A20 with four bags surrounding me. Two belong to myself and the other two to Kate, who at this very moment just came back from a stroll around the airport. Seeing as we are about to be cramped up with legs tight and bent; our necks lacking support (no that’s a lie, we brought pillows). I can’t blame her for going for a walk before all of that. So here we are – excited, nervous, and waiting. Our arrival was as smooth as it could’ve been. A young, polite man helped us check in, making sure to the best of his ability that all was well. The TSA check-in took 10 minutes, if that – and with no issues! We are 3 hours early and have time to spare.
With my time, I write this first blog post to what I hope will be a weekly updated blog.
Kate, with her time, starts to read her 60 page introduction booklet to learn MercyShips practices and procedures.
I think its safe to say she has the easier task (kidding of course). Let me tell you, though, today is no representative of ease as to how the rest of the week has gone.
Sunday – The stress-filled pack-or-toss-Marie-Kondoesque-keep-it-or-store-it-panic-packing. Love it or leave it! If reading that felt like a lot then just imagine doing it (I’m sure many of you are more than familiar). We sold all of our furniture before the trip and stowed away the rest at Kate’s parent’s house (thanks for that!). Luckily mine and Kate’s parents helped immensely with packing, transporting, and moral support.
Monday - More of the same, finishing last minute packing and planning.
Tuesday - Mattress transport day! Kate and I moved 2 mattresses, box springs, and frames, all while getting our workout for the day as well.
Wednesday - The easiest day. Running some last minute errands and saying some last farewells to some good friends.
And a final farewell to my apartment and of course one last Moore’s dog with just chili and cheese!
Goodbye friends, goodbye Virginia, and goodbye USA for now. See you in 2 months!
And then came the, I don’t want to call it bad luck or misfortune.. let’s call it mishappenstances instead. Yeah, that sounds better.
Thursday - My day of rest and relaxation. I slept in until 12 and had my parent’s house to myself! I slowly crawled out of bed, gave my cat some attention (she was still scared of the change of scenery and was needing some reassurance), and made my way to the kitchen. I set the oven to 400 for pizza (they actually have a button specifically for pizza). I’ve had my eyes and saliva glands on this pizza all week and finally had an opportunity to eat it. You’d better believe I would eat the whole thing, with hints of shame thrown into the pepperoni. I sat at the table, absent-mindedly playing a game until I heard the beep from my parent’s brand new oven. It was ready to go. I took the pizza out of the box and plastic wrap and proceeded to open the oven in preparation for said pizza.
To my instant horror I realized that my mother had been using the oven as a drying rack for some recyclables. Bottles. Plastic bottles, to be precise. It was everywhere. Dripping, melting, leaking, smoking, and beginning to harden. Just like that my next two hours of planned R&R went towards a frustrating (and in the end some plastic still left on the bottom of the oven) clean-up process. I believe the pizza is still in their freezer, unwrapped to this day. That was Thursday.
Friday - A new day. I had received a new battery for my phone so it would stay better charged for the trip. Unfortunately, replacing the battery on a Samsung Galaxy s7 is easier said than done and after a quick Youtube tutorial it became evident that it was more effort than it was worth. Still, it did come with one of those plastic suction cup pieces to help lift off the back of the phone (you know, the little suctions that you find on windows to hold something onto it or maybe in a kitchen to keep sponges off the sink rim). Out of my curiosity philosophy I felt the urge to test it on my screen just to see how good the suction actually was. As I attempted to pull it back off *CRACK* went my screen protector. Okay – Fine. I’ll be getting a new phone when we get back anyway. I just left the battery alone out of fear of messing my phone up further. A few hours later I went to grab a charger, not realizing that said charger was attached to my dad’s brand new phone. They picked the wrong time to get all new things because *CRACK* went his screen (his actual screen) as his phone was flung to the ground on a dumbbell that sat below. Ahhh… that’s okay.. we’ll fix it later, I guess (no pictures, too heartbroken). For now I have to get everything ready for my trip to Harrisonburg tomorrow morning.
Saturday – All packed up and ready to go! I was decently sure I wasn’t forgetting anything, which is pretty amazing (and I still haven’t thought of anything I’ve forgotten). However (yes the fateful “however”), as I was unpacking everything 2 hours away in Harrisonburg I realized I had packed more than I meant to. Out of my coat pocket came the jangling of my mom’s keys. Oh please no. I had pulled her car into the garage the night before and had left them in the pocket.
Needless to say, this week has been a plethora of mishappenstances. Sitting here at gate A20, I know we have many more adventures in front of us. Let’s hope they don’t turn into “misadventures.” At least we’re together, Kate and I.
P.S. We just landed in Paris, France and are awaiting our final flight to Conakry, Guinea. Our true adventure begins next!