And so it begins. I get a call early in the morning from Amy Sullivan, an employee of SFS (not sure what she does exactly), who has informed me that the group flight to London from Nairobi has been cancelled due to weather. I check my info online and tell her that I am scheduled to leave on time. She them tells me something that the novice traveler would likely pee themselves at the thought of. Traveling to Tanzania alone. That’s right ladies and gentlemen. I will be traveling to a third world country without a single acquaintance. Scared? Nah, come one, the core of man’s spirit comes from new adventures; this is going to be an exciting one. I headed for the airport around 2pm on a typical overcast day in Washington, DC. Awake half because of adrenaline, half because of caffine, falling asleep was not in my sights in the near future. We arrive at the airport and check-in bags. Of course, the money hoarding airline companies try to trick me to paying for my luggage. Good thing I’ve done my homework. I tell the man that online, you can fly two bags for free to Africa. He calls his manager and he says I am correct. (Congratulations Elliot, you are officially better versed in oversea baggage charges than the man who works the counter (if my Dad is reading this I will let him know that my arm is in a cast for patting myself on the back)) Getting through security was nothing short of painful. I had to watch a security guard destroy my previous nights work (he tore through my entire carry-on, and I may add that it is not easy to fit everything into it). Annoyed, but relieved, I made my way to the terminal. My backpack evolved from normal hiking back to carrying a boulder on my back very quickly. 


By 3:30, I am ready and waiting at my gate for a flight that is going to board in two hours. I picked up my phone and decided to start calling everyone I felt needed to hear my voice before I made my way across the Atlantic. I spoke with my self declared sister Sarah, my grandparents, parents and a good friend from home, Matt. To my delight, everyone is in good spirits and living their lives to their full potential. Before I know it, it’s time to board the plane, however there was barely anyone at the terminal. Yes my fellow friends, my flight to London was deserted. I had an entire row to myself where I could sleep…or so I thought. I am living on adrenaline. I did not sleep on the plane ride once. By the time my eyelids begin to give signs of exhaustion it was to late. We had crossed the Atlantic and were minutes away from Heathrow. Looks like I won’t be falling asleep until my flight to Nairobi. 


I arrive in London. It is overcast (what a surprise) and the temperature in average. About 45 degrees F. Drowsiness is really starting to set in. The customs line seems endless, but eventually I make my way to the front and get through. My next challenge is getting myself from Heathrow to Paddington. I decided that it is more economical to take the Underground. After a long winding road to the entrance, I catch my train and am on my way to see London. I get my first glimpse of London from the ground and it looks pretty much the way I imagined. Old, red brick houses, soccer (or should I say football) fields, morning traffic and lot’s and lot’s and lot’s of British accents. I stick out like a soar thumb. I am wearing old blue jeans, running shoes and a black windbreaker. Everyone else essentially looks like they came out of a Brooks Brothers store. Finally, I make it to Paddington. Exhausted, but a bit relieved, I am excited to be here, and look forward for the day to come.

And so it begins....tomorrow

Is there really a world out there that still goes back to our evolutionary roots? Is there really a world out there where people live off the fat of the land?
There has to be.
Tomorrow, I start my quest to find such a place. Tomorrow, I go to Africa. This morning I woke up and went right back to the comforts of my bed. The blinds kept my small room darkened until I saw it fit to make it light. Pressing the snooze button to my alarm and trying to decipher what was lucid dreaming and what was actual dreaming crowd my mind. It is my last day in the states. I should be up trying to gobble down the greasiest foods I can find and embrace all that America has to offer me. Instead, I doze back into and let my mind run wild.
The alarm sounds. It is 12:30 p.m.
I stumble out of bed, shower and get ready for my final day. Not much is actually happening the day before, but to my mind, there is more happening than in years passing.

My thoughts vary from moments of ecstasy to depression and everything in between. Africa, the place with so much political unrest and corruption, surely something will go wrong. The thought of being robbed at the airport and being sent to a Tanzanian prison for being an American have crossed my mind. These thoughts are quickly balanced with the thought of what I will see. The sights that I will see when I am there will be in my mind's eye for the rest of my days here on earth. A new chapter in my life is about to begin. I am about to embark on something that most college students will never experience. I am blessed. What if I get eaten by a lion. That would be a hell of way to die. Would people remember me, what would my funeral be like. I bet it would be big. I'm going to own the jungle, I'll probably walk out of that place with a lion's hide on my back and a necklace full of exotic teeth.What if no one cares that I'm gone. Will I be missed? Will there really be people that are interested in what I'm doing? Is this good for what I want to do in the longrun? What if something happens when I'm abroad that will change my life forever? Am I ready for that change? Will the return be as miserable as my return from Israel? Am I qualified enough? Am I ready? Have I learned everything I deem necessary to learn before I leave? I bet the people on the trip are going to be really down to earth. I hope they have a lot I can learn from them.

In sum, what I really want to accomplish from this trip are a few things. I want to live nature. That is, I want to be at one with the earth. I want to understand more about myself. I want to learn about other people, ecosystems and Africa. I want to learn other ways of living this crazy thing that we call life. I want to add a new lens to my mind's eye. I want to experience something so drastically different that my life will never be the same. I want to be reborn. And so it begins.....tomorrow.