Day 1: 12/27/11

We left the church around 12:30 for Dulles. I sat down on the bus next to Emily Burns, a student at UVA, because I had not met her yet. We started talking and I already felt less nervous about not knowing everyone because she was so nice! Even though we were on our way to the airport, the reality that I was finally headed to Sierra Leone had not set in. Once the team got through baggage, we selected Chipotle as our last American meal and were on the plane to Paris three hours later. The flight to Paris was interesting to say the least. I had underestimated what sitting for eight hours felt like and was having a hard time falling asleep. For some reason, I was seated alone much farther up than anyone else on the team. A large extended Nigerian family was traveling to Nigeria together and I was seated in the middle of their group and next to one of the mother's and her nine year old daughter. They were very nice, but also have slightly different ideas of personal space. I was in the aisle seat, so when the woman scooted past me to sit in the middle, she stumbled and fell backwards into my lap. Unfazed, she sat down and placed her large purse in my lap so that she could get adjusted. Her daughter got in and out about every 5-10 minutes because she was playing with all of her cousins, which made it difficult to sleep. This was all bearable, but then things got to be a little uncomfortable. The mother was on the heavier side and was fanning herself constantly and kept saying how hot it was. When her daughter wasn't in her window seat, she would arch her back across the 2 seats and lift her shirt up to cool her stomach, exposing a rather large and in charge belly. There I sat, all alone, with no one on the team able to witness what was happening next to me. I kept getting the giggles because I would be watching my movie and forget about the giant belly sitting next to me and be as surprised as ever to look down and see it just chillin there out in the open. Some things you just can't get used to. Another moment we had together was when she lifted her legs across me to yes, pull down her panty-hose. But hey, I have to commend her for being so comfortable in her own skin- literally. She was a pretty nervous flyer and there was an Our Father every time the plane got bumpy. To her credit, she was extremely friendly (even if it was a little too friendly), and was genuinely interested in our trip, saying that she would keep us in her prayers. And she made that 8 hour flight to Paris unforgettable.