May 25 2011
Going to Africa
Heading to JFK airport in New York. We are 2 hours into the trip and Annada is doing great. No one got much sleep the night before, though.
Dinner on our way to Africa. Roughly 12 hours into trip. And despite our expectations, the food was tasty. Meme watched Annada so we could eat. Meme was a godsend :).
Annada finally went to sleep. They kept the cabin lights on until around 11 pm (4 am Africa), which made it hard for Annada to sleep. But she did lay down after dinner and didn’t wake up until our descent. 14 hours into trip.
When she woke up it was because I picked her up as we descended. For a few minutes she looking around in a daze (it was 3:30 am Orlando time). Then she stared to yell, “Africa! We are here in Africa! Mommy, we are going to Africa!” You could hear a collective chuckle and awww from the 40% of the plane that understood her.
5 pm African time (2 pm Orlando). To stay awake, we went to the beach after unpacking. They had horses to ride! Annada’s ride was about 10 minutes and cost around $1.
They also had beautiful fully grown horses you can rent to ride bareback. My mom and I have dreamed of riding a horse on the beach since we read Black Beauty. I really hope we get to go back and ride!
Everyone has been wonderful. A older woman on the plane even found an extra blanket and covered me up while I was sleeping (Annada had the blankets).
I tried to thank her when I woke up. It started off a chain of events I am realizing will be normal: I say one word in Arabic (I know 3-4 tops), the other person goes off in Arabic. I look confused. They switch to French and I am surprised to discover I kind of understand (where did I pick up any French?). I try to think of what to say and realize I am speaking Spanish. They smile and go off in Spanish. I start say, “La” (no). They laugh, and we go back to where we began – hand signals.
It makes me want to enroll Annada in language class ASAP.
The view from our apartment. The outside of buildings may not look very nice, but the apartment is beautiful inside – marble floors. There are 6 of us sharing and apartment this summer. Our friends even set Annada up with pack n play and Dora sheets. She just went to sleep – 36 hours since sleeping in a bed. I’m next!
Annada looks pretty happy on a pony – you should get her one !
Glad you all arrived safely. Thanks for updating the blog.
I’m glad you guys arrived safely. I hope your trip is super-successful!
Evie, you and mom should definitely ride horses on the beach together. =D