Time To Go Home

Well, my two weeks in Kenya flew by. Saturday I had some time to go the Maasai market in Nairobi and buy some gifts for my family. I didn't want to buy run-of-the-mill stuff, but real African-made gifts. I think I found some nice things. For my wife - who let me go on this two week excursion and took care of the kids by herself while the toilet was backing up and snow was coming down! - for her I got a 1.6 karat tanzanite trillion. Tanzanite is a gemstone that is pretty rare and only found (so far) in Tanzania. (Hence the name!) Since Kenya is right next to Tanzania, I got a pretty good deal on it, I think. So when I got home I took it to a jeweler and got it mounted on a pendant for her.

After church on Sunday, it was time to pack and head to the airport. My flight was not until late Sunday night, but Dr. Quill and Kantor Resch were leaving in the afternoon, so I took the van with them. That gave me some time to relax, walk around the airport a little, and do some reading.

The flight home was looong. No longer than the flight there (although on the way home they routed me through Detroit!) but it seemed longer. I guess the excitement of going overseas for the first time and getting there helped on the way over. Coming home I just wanted to get home and see my family - so that made it seem longer. The flight from Nairobi to Amsterdam was 8 hours, and then from Amsterdam to Detroit another 8 hours - then all I had was a bit over an hour to Washington Dulles.

Going through customs at the airport was interesting. I did not have too much to declare, so that was okay - but one of the questions on the entry form was: "Have you been around livestock?" Well, in Kenya, everyone is around livestock all the time! Cows, chickens, goats, and donkeys have pretty much free range everywhere I went. So, they asked me about that - and the agent chuckled when I told him why I marked "yes." I had to go through a special line and put the bags through a separate screener of some sort, but made it through without a problem.

My family came and picked me up - I didn't have to wait too long - and they treated me to a nice welcome home dinner at a restaurant called Texas Roadhouse. If you haven't been to one, go! They have very good steaks, which was quite a delight for me after two weeks of Kenyan food.

Tomorrow: Final Thoughts