Dakar, I have arrived!

My journey was not short but any means. I left home in Mississauga Friday morning at 8am with the entire family. We celebrated Nanny Black's 80th birthday in Kingston. The goodbyes in Glenburnie were difficult as I left my extended family as well as Dad and Joshua. Mom and I continued on to Montreal where we spent Friday night and Saturday with family friends. It was a restful time after the chaos of packing and goodbye-get-togethers during the last few weeks.

My flight was scheduled to leave Montreal's airport at 10:10pm Saturday night. Mom, our family friend Viv and I were at the airport shortly after seven with a quick stop at Starbucks for my last caramel macchiato compliments of Jenn. Unfortunately I had to pay overweight and extra luggage fees, but otherwise I got checked in and through security in no time. Mom and I kept out goodbye very matter-of-fact, though I know that doesn't reflect what either of us was feeling.

My 7 hour flight to Casablanca was more pleasant than I had anticipated. There was no in flight entertainment but I struck up a conversation with the girl sitting next to me and the time passed quickly. She was a 28 year-old doctoral student at the University of Montreal. She was on her way home to Tunisia for a summer break. I'm sure our conversation was annoying to the passengers trying to sleep around us, but I was pleased to feel so at ease.

Over the course of the flight I discovered that the two ladies sitting behind me were also traveling to Dakar. I asked if they minded if I followed them to find the shuttle for our layover at a local hotel in Casablanca. We managed to get separated through customs, but I followed instructions and found my way to the shuttle before they did. The hotel was simple enough, unfortunately my room was not ready when I arrived...but the housekeeper was nearby and made it up for me while I waited. I was still not thrilled with the cleanliness but I slept on top of the sheets and got some much needed rest. My sleep was not deep because I was worried about missing the return shuttle but I was just happy to have somewhere to lay me head.

I was very thankful for the two Canadian ladies traveling to Dakar once we arrived back at the airport. It was quite a maze but between the three of us we figured it out. As content as I was to find the gate and wait for my last flight to Dakar, I was horrified to discover that my brand new Kindle was damaged and not working. I have since tried different things but to no avail.

The Casablanca-Dakar leg of the trip was not as comfortable or pleasant, but tolerable nonetheless. When disembarking the plane I noticed a lady with two small kids struggling with her carry-on luggage. She was an English speaker, so I introduced myself and she was pleased to have my help. On our transfer from the tarmac to the terminal we discovered that she and her husband are with Christian Missionary Alliance and they know teachers and families at DA. I was thrilled to see a friendly face. I helped her through customs and getting luggage. I benefited because they rushed her through with her young kids and I tagged along helping with her carry-on luggage. In the end it was a good thing I stayed close because her luggage did not come through the conveyer. I stayed with the kids and the other baggage while she straightened things out. Thankfully it had come on an earlier flight and was in a separate area to be claimed.

Dan, the assistant director at DA was waiting for me and brought me back to my apartment. I'm on the third floor of the Sand Castle, off-campus staff housing. It's a 5 minute walk from campus and houses at least 12 DA staff and their roommates or families. I crashed pretty quickly which was reasonable considering I had been traveling for 25+ hours with limited sleep and it was 2am.

Our apartment has two bedrooms. We also have a foyer, living/dinning room, kitchen, bathroom, and two patios (pictures to follow soon). My roommate, Kari, arrived later the same morning and we've been working on getting the apartment and our classrooms set-up before new staff orientation begins tomorrow.

So far everything has been great. The school provided groceries for our first few days and people have been very helpful in answering questions and offering help when it's needed. If you had been worried about me, you don't need to worry anymore.

Look for more posts about my first few days coming soon...