life

Sorry everyone...for being the world's worst blogger this summer! It's been too long. But I've been enjoying precious time at home with my sweet nephew Aiden, great home cooking, and Sundrop and Whatburger too! I've enjoyed time with brothers and sisters and family all over the place...the beach, Florida, Puerto Rico, camp, S-town, and K-nap. I'll post some fun pictures soon. But for now...my brain is in a fog, and I'm sitting on the cold Cairo airport tiles, eating something that resembles rice, but is not quite. I've already done 4 planes, and I've got 2 more to go before home sweet Kigali greets me and I face those hills again! I've already lost one bag in Athens, so I hope to remain with this one!

I left yesterday at noon, and it was hard. :( Hard to say goodbye. It was too tough listening to Aiden sing "the Emmy song" one last time in the airport. I shed some tears, but quickly wiped them away so he could know one more time just how happy he makes me. He's loved looking in my eyes all summer....even when he's being scolded....and saying, "Emmy, I got blue eyes like yours. I make you so happy, Emmy!" :) He sure does.

Ok, we gotta change that subject. too sad for now.

It's weird the things that strike me in airports around the world. An airport is my favorite place for people-watching. I love witnessing celebratory reunions, and I also am sad watching tearful goodbyes; even though I don't know the people.While I sat at baggage claim in Athens today for 5 hours waiting for my bags to arrive, I played a game with myself and tried to guess which destaination they were arriving from based on their appearances. I'm so curious about other people, and love seeing the flavor of another country in their eyes, their clothing, and their gestures. Athens is not a fun airport, neither is Paris or Cairo.... but no matter the vastness or dinginess or stickiness of many airports, you can always witness LIFE in them! Life is going on all around me. Just like in Rwanda. You can be a witness to everyday activities on the roadside, in the marketplace, on the dusty dirt roads headed up to Musanze. Instead of driving on a highway in the States where everything is whizzing by you, you can actually see life being lived!

Right now, I see a group of about 20 grandmothers, dressed in their beautiful, white hooded veils and robes, squatting on the tiled floor next to me and sharing flat bread and homemade shwarmas they brought from home. I see the young engaged woman in the full Muslim burqua, dressed all in black, with only her smoky eyes glowing through. I'm sitting outside a coffee shop. I went in earlier for some Hibiscus tea, and the young male shopkeeper was alone. He had taken off his apron and placed it down on the floor in the rear of his shop, and knelt down over it, reciting his daily prayers, facing Mecca. I didn't want to disturb him so I left and came back for the tea later on. Everywhere I go, everywhere I am seeing people praying; many prone on the ground, some kneeling. I think to myself...if only I could be that faithful in praying! If only we could pray that faithfully, with such dedication. I try; I do. But often times, I confess, I'm just plain lazy. Last year, I would often wake up at 5am to the loud, annoying Muslim call to prayer, and just bicker over and over again at the unpleasant wake-up call. Perhaps this year, I will stop getting upset at being woken so early, and embrace the opportunity to pray as well!

Now it's two hours later, but still 3 to go until my 3am flight to Ethiopia. The Cairo airport is the only airport I've been in where they love to scare you by seizing your passport upon arrival and not giving it back until you board. It's strange. But it's happened every time I've passed through here. Tonight, I was leisurely hanging out in a hallway, when an airport security guard frantically ran up with my passport yelling, Emily! Are you Emily!? I calmly answered, Yes I am. He acted like he was so out of breath chasing after me. But I didn't feel too bad; afterall, I'm the only blond-haired, blue-eyed person in this entire airport! And he told me to hurry and run behind him because I was about to miss my bus. So I ran behind him and we bypassed security (theres not really any here, except the taking of passports upon arrival!)  And I remembered this from last time. It was still 5 hours before my flight, but they were taking me on a bus to another part of the airport to a small tiny, smoked-filled waiting area where I am now. And they escorted us in, and of course took my passport again. I just asked the man if I could step outside the room to use the restroom, and he chuckled and said no because I didn't have a passport. Then he laughed and said it's ok because he didn't have one either. That's what the Egyptians call security. No bag checks. Only passport seizing.

This is what I like to call the Egyptian torture room, because from here you can see the McDonalds golden arches and Cinnabon in the distance, but you can't get to them! We're trapped in the passportless glass smoke bubble!....with nothing to do but watch life. :) and wait for the plane to carry me home...