In transit

6-1-11

Chicago -> Brussels -> Freetown. 

Kyle showed me this video before I left and I found it inspiring. Love you everyone and I miss you already!

Today has been long. We flew through a day, literally. This morning at 8:30 we checked out of the hotel in Chicago, bused it to the federal building for out yellow fever shots (took way longer than was necessary) and made it to O’Hare. From there, we were on our own; well, all 49 of us. 

The plane from ORD to Brussels was long, especially after being on the ground with maintenance problems for an hour and a half, but free drinks came with it. I figured I should try to sleep since, that was going to be the ‘night,’ and we were flying into the sunset so it was getting dark. No position is comfortable on a plane, Elizabeth and I tried them all. We watched ‘Gilligan’s Travels’ (not recommended- possibly the worst movie ever). 

Brussels was a nice airport, from the 20 minutes  I saw of it. I was reminded I’m no where near Denver when we came up the ramp, saw a woman screaming with her hands above her head being held back by two TSA guards. Her 4 year old daughter with beaded braids in her hair was being swayed by an airport worker about 10 feet from the mother. The shouting and screaming continued as the guards drug the woman out of the checkpoint area and to nearby benches, the child then started crying as well. I’m not sure what was going on but before we boarded, I saw police and a drug dog. Yikes. 

Chelsea and Drew had no problem sleeping :)

The plan is now, to arrive in Freetown around 5-6pm their time. We have to stop and drop off some passengers in Banjul first.  From Freetown, we get on a ferry, try to get past the press that is awaiting our arrival, take our malaria meds and head to the hostel where we are not allowed to leave the premises for 4-5 days. I’m not sure if this is because of the malaria medication kicking in, or just to keep us safe in the most dangerous part of the country...?

Surprisingly, the other 49 volunteers are not as weird as I had them pegged. Imagine that, Facebook being deceiving. It is cool because we all have a common interest already. We are all bonding quickly and from what I can see there are no loners and everyone is one big clique. All of us being the around same age definitely helps. I met only one other from Colorado, Tammie, who went to Smoky High School and on to DU, but has been living in Chicago for the past two years with her boyfriend. 

My Address (till August 13th):

Kenna Peterson

Peace Corps Volunteer

PO Box 905

Freetown, Sierra Leone