Day #13

Call me a chicken if you want but I opted out of staying at the church after one night.  I realized that I am getting old, indefinitely. I realized that I can no longer sleep on the hard floor or go without at least six hours of sleep OR fight for bathroom space with 60 other girls at a time.

However, today I met my ten awesome 6th and 7th graders that are in my group! They are so much fun and I can not wait to see what the Lord has in store for us this week.

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Now, I must vent.

After 12 days of feeling great....day 13 was not so nice to me.

In the midst of the chaos of sleeping in a completely new place, with little privacy and little quiet.. the homesickness hit me and hard. I'm not blogging about it to achieve your pity or sympathy or to even make you worry, but rather to share with you every step (both good and bad) of this extraordinary journey.  Now I knew three months ago when I decided to partake in this trip that it was not going to be full of rainbows and happy times. I knew this day would eventually come.

However, despite the fact that all day today I thought about how easy it would be to just throw my hands up and say "I quit, take me back home", God still found a way to be persistent in my doubt.

Every night of the week of Holiday Club we have a revival service similar to ours at CBC. Tonight, during the FIRST night of the week, over 50 teens recommitted their lives to the Lord, breaking the chains and re-dedicating themselves. As I watched these teens, many that I have worked with, been in a group with and even developed friendships with, I just began to cry. And as I cried in overwhelming happiness and in awe of how massive this movement was, all of the sadness just seemed to be worthwhile. As we sang numerous powerful songs I felt a crystal clear message of God telling me "You're okay, tomorrow will be a better day".

You see, although God has blessed me with a sister that will let me cry to her over Skype while at work, and Jamie and William who never cease to amaze me in their encouragement and support, and parents, family and friends that care for me more than I ever realized, I have developed a similar support system here in SA. I have made friends who care for me and include me not because they have to but want to. I have developed a home away from home where I feel safe and comfortable. I have a family here that supports me and genuinely cares about what is going on with me and making sure that I'm okay. I am truly blessed to have met such great people here!

Tonight after the service, Mark Paul, one of the pastors and worship leaders that I've become friends with at Eastside took the time to hug me and tell me that he was glad I chose to come to South Africa. Regardless of if he could tell that I was having a bad day and was homesick, that in itself was God's way of showing me to just stick it out for a little longer. So thanks Mark, you are awesome!

I'm sure that this is only the first of numerous meltdowns and bad days that I will have during the next month and a half. BUT... I will choose to be patient and stand firm in God's word as I know great things are in store for me here in Pretoria.

Joshua 1:9 reads:
"This is my command- be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go".

I'm fine mom, I promise.

xoxo
Taylor

Day #12

Today has been a great day!

After church, I went to a braai for lunch with the Reyburn's. Cameron and Scott have really gotten used to me and I quite enjoy their affection. After the braai, we came home so that I could begin packing for Holiday Club. Tonight is the launch service and the first night of the week that I will be staying at the church with the rest of the leaders.

I also got to FaceTime with William and the rest of the youth group today during their Sunday School. Although the connection was terrible and I continuously repeated "Can you hear me now?.... What about now?" it was so nice to see their smiling faces... especially William!

Anyways, I probably will not have time to blog again until later on this week. Please pray for patience as I stay this week at the church with 100 or so other teenagers and young adults. Pray that we have a successful week as leaders and draw as many children to Christ as possible.

I'm about to experience my first storm of South Africa. Please pray for me for that as well as I am terrified of storms.

Talk to you soon.

xoxo
Taylor

Day #10-11

Sorry I didn't blog yesterday, I have been SO busy!

Yesterday was monumental because I have officially reached double digits in my total days of being in SA. Something else extremely noteworthy occurred yesterday as well. When I got in Robyn's car yesterday morning when she fetched me to go to church, there was a bottle in my seat. As I picked it up to move it to the backseat, I realized that it was a bottle of ranch dressing. Immediately realizing it was for me, I looked at Robyn, who had a huge smirk on her face. For those of you who do not know me... ranch is a big deal. I eat ranch on pretty much everything at home and if there is no ranch in the refrigerator, there's an issue. Although it may sound silly, surprise ranch really made my day.

We have just about finished up everything in preparation for Holiday Club next week, thank goodness! Today we had an all-day leadership training for all of those participating next week. Over 150 teens and young adults are pretty much responsible for teaching, worship and preparing. This is mind blowing to me considering that I come from a rather small church compared to Eastside. Anyways, it was nice to become better acquainted with the youth and also the people I will be working with next week.

Also, Adolf and I took several pictures together last night so that he could ensure that he would make another appearance on my blog this week. (Pictures below)

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Blogging has been much more difficult today than usual.  There are so many things on my mind that I can't focus on one topic and put it in words. I have also been extremely careful in the deciding of my blog posts as I feel that it could be much more powerful than originally expected or planned. You see, I've realized that a lot of the things that I am going through are also similar issues to those of others that have been reading my blogs. The feedback and random responses in efforts of outreach have been outstanding. I want my blog to obviously reflect what I'm doing here in SA on a daily basis but I also want to share whatever God puts on my heart each day.

In saying that, the predominant topic that has been on my mind lately is prayer.

Prayer is a common term but often done infrequently. I say this solely from my own experience. When I was younger, I would say my prayers with my parents each night before I went to bed. Similarly, I would pray the same old "God is great, God is good, let us thank him for our food..." (I actually say the same prayer for dinner to this day)

Anyways, the point I'm making is that as I grew up, prayer became less common at night or for any time for that matter. As I got older, I still attended church daily, was super active in the youth, tried to live life pleasing to God but rarely prayed. I lost sight of how important it was to just talk to God even if it didn't include anything important. 

To be quite honest with you, the thought of praying aloud in a group setting has always been pretty nerve wrecking to me. Even though I'm a pretty decent public speaker, praying in front of others just freaks me out. I always worried about saying the wrong things or stumbling through improper sentences as I spoke.

When my parents said their goodbyes to me at the airport before I left the U.S. I teared up momentarily but quickly tried to regain composure for the sake of my mom. I desperately wanted to be brave and strong for her as I knew that she was already worried enough. However, as soon as my parents disappeared out of site as the escalator lowered, I cried like a baby. True story. In that moment of loneliness, insecurity and just plain fright, I turned to the only person I knew in that airport- God. I prayed that he would strengthen my faith, allow me to trust him, and ultimately just be with me every step of the way.

God has a pretty funny sense of humor. When I first got to Eastside, Robyn and I were trying to figure out the best place for me during Holiday Club. Originally we discussed me being their “postman” which is basically a job that is all about prayer. You are the person that talks to the kids each day about prayer, and you are the person the kids come to pray with or to deliver notes to and from those that need prayer. As Robyn and I discussed it, I thought to myself “Okay God, I hear you loud and clear. You REALLY want me to work on my praying habits.” But then, Robyn said “Actually, I think it would be really cool if you just worked with the sixth and seventh graders”. Immediately I pictured God saying “I’ll cut you some slack this time” with a smirk on his face.

You see, even though I know God has great plans in store for me in helping others while I’m here, I feel like he also has plans for my relationship with him as well. Although it may sound silly, I have fallen in love with God all over again. He is the person that I go to for comfort, strength, guidance, knowledge, safety, support, and everything in-between. I am no longer afraid to pray aloud as I know that God will give me the right words to say even if I say the wrong thing, or stutter during the process. I find time for him every day, regardless of how busy I am or how tired I may be. God and I… we’ve become closer friends than ever before and for that I am so grateful.

Let God be that person for you.

xoxo

Taylor

 

 

 
 

 



Day #9

I don't think you'll need your boots for today's post but keep them handy just in case.

Last night after blogging, I had the privilege of attending a church service in Mamelodi, South Africa (30 minutes from Pretoria). That experience in itself just made every other experience thus far seem extremely insignificant. For my American readers, Mamelodi is a part of South Africa that is dominated by poverty. I can not even fathom to you what I saw last night because I'm still trying to wrap my head around it myself.  I won't go into detail because my mom's reading... but Mamelodi is one of those places that makes you re-evaluate any dissatisfaction that you've ever had in your entire life.

The church that we attended last night was an extremely strict Christian church. The men are required to wear a suit-like jacket and the girls must wrap their heads with a scarf and wear a skirt or dress. Upon arrival of the church, I envisioned what I thought the church would be like in the process of preparing myself. What a pointless idea. The church itself was in a tin-like building, enclosing 8 small wooden benches, a table, a few chairs and three candles. There was no flooring and it was merely the size of my room.

There's 11 different official languages spoken in South Africa, only one of them which I understand (English). At least three of the ten that I do not understand were spoken during the church service.

BUT...even though I was completely lost throughout the entire service (and I mean the e-n-t-i-r-e service), I was humbled and thankful to have had the opportunity to experience it.

In Virginia, my church and I have been extremely blessed. Not only do we have great members, we have two large buildings (one old and one new) that we use. So as I'm sitting on this old rickety bench, in a cold room lit by three candles, I thanked God over and over again. For the past 19 years I've had the resources and luxuries that people often dream about and yet I still become frustrated with God when things don't go the way I would like for them to. I've sat in my nice church, heated in the winter and cooled in the summer with comfy pews, lights and advanced technology. I've driven my nice car; never having to rely on walking for transportation, had a roof over my head, name brand clothes on my body and a warm bed to sleep in each night.

So as I thought about all these things I wondered, "What on Earth could I have ever been upset about?".

Here are these people that have limited if any of these same amenities but worship God with the same if not more passion than I do. Here are these people that warm themselves by fire, don't have indoor plumbing and walk if ever they travel and yet still praise God as if they were rich. People that are not angry for what they lack but grateful for what they do have. The world has become so caught up on "me, me, me" that we often lose sight of how blessed we really are. I guess sometimes it takes going out of the country for the realization to smack you in the face.

And so the transformation continues..

xoxo
One blessed American

Day #8

Put on your boots because today's blog is going to get deep. Today, I would like to share something a little more personal with you rather than just telling you about what I did in preparation for Holiday Club.

Over the past few days (although it feels like a year),  God has been working in unexplainable ways in my life. Not only has my faith been tested but I've been bombarded by all things new. I've been battling with the idea of sharing my personal thoughts and issues but I feel that it's necessary to share the transformation that I am undergoing.

I grew up in a southern baptist church. For my entire life, all I've ever been exposed to is the same church, the same type of music, the same denominational experience. However, at Eastside things are similar and yet extremely different. Although they use the same songs, with a similar sounding band....their way of worshipping is overwhelmingly new.

Hang in there, it'll all make sense in a little bit.. hopefully.

Growing up in a small, conservative church I've witnessed very few people dance or step out of the comfort zone of a worshipping Christian. What does that mean you may ask? It simply means that I've never in my entire life even raised my hand in the middle of worshipping or done anything other than sing in a mediocre manner in the church pew. Never, until this past Sunday night at Eastside when I shamelessly raised my hand during a song. Have I had intimate moments with the Lord during worship? Of course. But I've always been  more worried about who's looking at me or what they will think if I were to step out of the line for others to see.

So, being at Eastside.. I've been challenged in a great way for obvious reasons.

Now although I am well aware that there is absolutely nothing wrong with not raising your hand, or dancing a holy dance while worshipping.. I began to wonder what my real reason of  why I had not done these things.

Fear.

As I pondered my life as a Christian I became flooded with doubt and guilt. Here I am, in a different country spreading God's word but I am too afraid of what other's think to ever even raise my hand while singing. Here I am, a leader in my church, preaching to kids about how to be bold and courageous and I fail myself.

In my self pity and doubt I became discouraged and angry with myself. "What is wrong with me?", I asked myself. I began to feel unworthy of God and his many blessings.

But then, God reminded me in a very clear way that no, I'm not perfect.. but he loves me just as I am...even though I do and will continue to fail him. I felt this sense of calmness rush over me as if he was saying "My child... you worry too much".

You see, although I make mistakes and although I often take easy routes that are less pleasing to God.. he sees the good in my heart- he knows my intentions. His grace is so overwhelming as he made the ultimate sacrifice of his son just so we as believers can disappoint him time after time.

So I challenge you to step out of your comfort zone. If God tugs on your heart to raise your hand or to dance a little jig.. just go with it. Be oblivious to the looks or thoughts of others and focus on your relationship with God as I am trying to do just that myself.

God is within me, so therefore I will not fall.

xoxo
Taylor

Day #7

I'm more than likely going to dream about stars tonight. Instead of painting them, I actually cut them out today. It wouldn't have been quite so bad if my hands hadn't been so cold throughout the process. The church is literally colder than being outside in the sun. You see, in Africa... they don't have central heating. So that means they rely on blankets, body heat, hot beverages, lots of clothes and floor heaters. But it's fine, I'm slowly getting used to it...kind of.

Anywho, my Eastside friends have gone from calling me "the American" to just simply "America". How creative. One specific friend, Adolf, gives me a particularly harder time than the rest. He actually reminds me of a younger, South African version of both Jamie and William. He is extremely witty and likes to pick on me.

As I was telling him about how I blogged about the "ya'll a mess" story, he quickly asked "Did you put my name in your blog?!". I immediately responded with "Well.. no, I would never do that" (thinking that that was the response he was hoping for). Actually, he was quite disappointed and told me that I must blog about him each day. HA! I think he secretly wants to become famous in America.

I told him that in order for me to blog about him he must do something worth blogging for each day. He certainly did just that later this afternoon. He walked in on mom and I FaceTiming and I called him over so that I could introduce them. As he stood over my shoulder after they had been introduced, he quietly said "Can I say that she's a mess?". Laughing hysterically, I told him of course he could. So he then looked down at my sweet mom and said "I think you're a mess".

Cameron, the oldest of the Reyburn children, has started to pick up on my southern accent. He consciously pronounced zebra tonight at supper just like we Americans do. Where as Scott, the youngest of the Reyburn children constantly reminds me of my mispronunciations. For instance, tonight I went to tell him hello while he was in the bath tub. I said "Hi Scott, are you having a nice bath?" He quickly responded "No Auntie Taylor, I'm having a nice ba(aa)th. (Similar sound of a sheep).

Now I am off to a bible study group with Dalene and her husband, Murray. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day as mine is almost over.

xoxo
America

Day #6

One week down, seven more to go....not that I'm counting or anything.

Today has been busy, busy, busy. I worked at the church for the majority of the day. We are putting together all the décor so that we can start decorating the church sometime during the week. Eastside goes all out for their Holiday Club. Here in Africa they do not buy their vacation bible school materials from a distributor like we do in the states. Here, they create everything themselves- the drama, lessons, crafts, props, music and all decorations by themselves.

This years theme is "Movie Makers" so stars, glitter, cameras and spot lights are everywhere. Today, I kid you not.. I probably painted close to 250 paper stars. This would be a huge accomplishment if I didn't have another 500 or so to go. By the way, I'm so sorry I didn't post any pictures last night but you will find them below this blog. However, I do have one funny story to share with you.

Friday night, the Reyburn's insisted on bringing me dinner to the church after they realized they were not feeding us there. To avoid any inconvenience and them having to travel to the church, I was persistent in telling them I was fine and I would just eat a little something when I got home. But of course, they wouldn't listen. So in the midst of Dalene telling me that they were on their way to the church I responded with "ya'll are a mess".

Come to find out, the Reyburn's had never heard this expression before and had no idea that it was a phrase used when joking with friends instead of an insult. "Thank goodness for google" she told me. Anyways, last night when I went out to dinner with the rest of the young adults from Eastside, I told them this same story in hopes that they would have heard the expression before. WRONG. They thought it was hilarious. So all last night and all day today they have walked around saying "Ya'll a mess" (like us hillbillies should automatically say the expression with bad grammar). It has literally had me in stiches all day.

I told them today that it's all fun and games until you say "ya'll are a hot mess" as that is rather insulting to some people.

I'll let you know if I finish the paper stars tomorrow.

Ya'll a mess
xoxo

Taylor

Day #5

So today's blog is going to be rather short. Simply because it's almost midnight here and I am exhausted.

This morning, I attended Eastside's church service. It is very much like the contemporary church service that we have at CBC. They play a lot of the same songs with a worship band. After church, we headed back home where I caught up on FaceTiming with all of my friends and family. I also had the chance to FaceTime with my Sunday School class which I have missed oh so much.

Around 4pm, the Reyburn's took me to a local park like reservation where they have numerous trails that you can walk through to see various animals. We literally walked within a few feet from wild ostriches and zebras- it was extremely cool.

At 6pm, I went back to Eastside to attend their nightly service which is basically more for the youth. It was during this service that I was so nicely introduced to the entire church service as "the American". Which is completely fine. It's a mutual thing for them to pick on me as I pick on them as well.

After the service, I got invited to a little get together with the other young adults from Eastside. We went to a little restaurant called Cappuccino's where I got my very first cappuccino (it was delicious, by the way). I've made some great friends already and they were extremely helpful in ordering my food and also assisting me with paying in rands (African currency).

There's a lot to be done at Eastside this upcoming week in preparation for Holiday Club. I'll keep you posted. But for now, I'm going to sleep.

xoxo
Taylor

Day #4

Isaiah 61:1-3 reads:

"The spirit of the Sovereign Lord has filled me with His Spirit: He has chosen me and sent me to bring good news to the poor, to heal the broken-hearted, to announce release to captives and freedom to those in prison. He has sent me to proclaim that the time has come when the Lord will save his people... He has sent me to comfort all who mourn, to give to those who mourn in Zion joy and gladness instead of grief, a song of praise instead of sorrow. They will be like trees that the Lord himself has planted. They will all do what is right, and God will be praised for what He has done."

Today, I met members of the church that we will be working with for our trailer ministry week. I was able to spend time with their youth- getting to know them and just fellowshipping with them. We were there to train them and prepare them for the trailer ministry. The ultimate purpose of what we're doing is enabling them to do Holiday Club on their own without our help next year. We are assisting them in the establishment of a Holiday Club in general as this is a newly founded church in this particular community. It was a day unlike any other day I've ever experienced. It was a day filled with joy and laughter. A day of unity among various races, religious denominations, and cultures. In our preparation, we sang, prayed and shared ideas with one another.

On the prayer walk, I was accompanied by Katlego, a young girl in the group. We immediately "clicked" and talked the entire time during the walk. She was so patient in repeating her name with me 392,938,402 times as each time I pronounced it more incorrectly than the last. She finally said with a smile, "You can just call me Kat". It was so humbling to hear of her experiences and struggles and her newfound faith in the Lord. She showed me which shack she lived in and even introduced me to her mom on the way back.

After the walk, we made our way back to the church where we played an ice breaker game with the youth that will be assisting us with teaching during the trailer ministry week. As we played, there was a small girl who had fallen down while playing on the playground set and was crying. I motioned for her to come to me but she wouldn't. Later on, I tried my very hardest to get the little girl to at least crack a smile for me. I gave her oranges, played peek-a-boo, but still nothing would work. Finally, I tried the same trick I do with Drake to get him smile and she immediately began to smile and giggle. From then on out, she stayed in my lap, and then in my arms as we closed in prayer. It was so great to be able to share all of the love I have bottled up inside of me since I haven't seen Drake.

Today was merely a taste of what the trailer ministry week will be like and I could not be more excited.

xoxo
Taylor

Day #3

Happy Friday!

I realized today that I gave you a little bit of false information...my bad. For some reason I was under the impression that Holiday Club started this upcoming week on Monday. However, we still have one more week of preparation (setting up, decorating, registering, etc) before the Holiday Club begins. So, just to make sure we're clear- just one more week before everything begins.

• Holiday Club (June 30th- July 4th)
• Trailer Ministry (July 7th-11th)

Anywho, today was just a normal day. I worked at church for a little bit and am now resting a little while at the Reyburn's. I am going back to Eastside tonight to assist the youth with working on Holiday Club props and projects. However, I did find out today that I will be teaching the 6th & 7th graders for the Holiday Club. How perfect is that considering that's the age group of my Sunday School class at home?!

Tomorrow is going to be a pretty great day. In the morning, our trailer ministry team along with a few others from the church are going to the rural community in which we will be working in two weeks. We are traveling there to do a training session with their leaders as well as a "prayer walk". This prayer walk ultimately prepares the land and community for the upcoming trailer ministry events. As it was explained to me, the prayer walk is designed to declare the Lord's territory (rid of evil spirits) as we walk around praying, quoting scripture, etc. It is my understanding that false religions and witch craft are very common in South Africa, hence the prayer walk.

I must tell you that today for lunch I had a peanut butter and strawberry jam roll along with a pear. It was delicious! All of the fruits and vegetables here taste so much different than they do at home. Most of the produce bought come from local farmer markets and are not processed. It was odd to eat a pear that was soft and juicy instead of  hard and crunchy.

OH and Happy Anniversary, mom and dad!

xoxo
Taylor

Day #2 - Part 2

Two posts in one day, lucky you!

Today has been such a spectacular day. I was able to spend some quality time with the Reyburn's. We first traveled to the boys' "Zulu" lessons which is a language spoken here in South Africa. That was quite an experience in itself. While at the
lesson I  had my very first taste of traditional hot tea. It's quite popular to drink hot tea in Africa. In America, when we go to visit someone it is common to ask if one would like a soda or whatever else to drink. Where as here in Africa, it is almost a given to immediately begin to boil water in the kettle upon the arrival of your guest. However, I think I'll just stick to sweet tea.

Next, I traveled with Dalene and the boys to see some important buildings, sights, etc. Dalene was great with explaining everything to me so that I could have a better knowledge of the culture here. Once we got back, I was informed that their bible study group was coming over for the night to eat dinner and have bible study. Although at first apprehensive, it was such a privilege to sit in on the study. The faith that the couples in the bible group had was unbelievable. Sharing stories, testimonies, and even cracking jokes was such an uplifting time. To be surrounded by individuals so bold and confident in their faith reassured me that our God is such a great and mighty God who can connect people from all over just by being in the presence.

I know what you're thinking. "When does Taylor start working in the mission field?"...."When does the life-changing events start?".  Well, to answer your question, this week I'm mainly preparing for VBS for next week (completing props, creating name badges, registering kids in the system, etc.). Next week during holiday club (VBS) I will start working hands on with the church and the kids. The following week, I will participate in what they call "trailer ministry" which is basically like taking the holiday club program, songs, lessons that we did the week before out into the rural communities. It is this week that I will really get up close and personal with the more poverty stricken areas and really test out my missionary skills. As for the life-changing events, well... those have already began to occur and it's only been two days.

Enjoy the pictures!

xoxo
Taylor

Day #2

Good morning!

So much has occurred since I last posted. For one, my first braai was extremely successful and the food and company alike were great! Everyone here in SA has been extremely welcoming and for that I am so grateful My first host family, the Reyburn's, are fantastic and by far some of the best people I have ever met. They have two sweet boys that call me "Auntie Taylor" (sweetest thing ever!).

It is a bit chilly here so I am trying to adjust to winter weather again. I am also trying to adapt to the lingo as South Africans use different terminology for common words. For instance, the store is the shop, a sweater is a jersey, and they "fetch" and "phone" you instead of "picking up" or "calling". They are all interested by my accent and extremely curious about the states and what we do there for work, fun, etc. OH! I almost forgot to tell you- I tried several new food items last night and even ate a steak for dinner! Too bad I didn't have any ranch dressing. (:

Today is a new day, I shall rejoice and be glad in it.
Sending lots of love from South Africa,

Taylor

P.S. My camera has been dead but I am currently charging it. Pictures coming soon, I promise!

Day #1

It's around lunch time here and I've already gotten so much accomplished today. For starters, we were up early to travel to the church (Eastside Community Church) around 8am. When I got here, Robyn (coordinator of my trip) immediately assigned me with numerous tasks to start on as they are preparing for their "Holiday Club" week, which is basically like our VBS.

We took a small break not too long ago to travel to some of the markets and pick up a few necessities. Their shopping centers are quite different and everyone looks at me as if I have "I'm American" written across my forehead. Also, I still managed to pick a rickety cart.. even in South Africa, go figure.

The rest of my day looks to be just as busy. Robyn is soon sending me off to a "trailer ministry team" meeting and get together. Afterwards, I will be attending a "braai" which is basically a BBQ with unfamiliar African food. Great.

So far to eat I have eaten chicken noodle soup and potato chips, I'm so adventurous.  I'll be staying with my first host family- the Reyburn's starting tonight.

Pray for me as I am as lost as Nemo. The culture shock is overwhelming and the driving scares me.

Also, for those wondering the address to the church here is:
PO Box 37697, Faerie Glen 0043

xoxo Taylor

On African Soil

Wow! What a long and exhausting day! Not only am I physically drained but emotionally drained as well. I thought that Monday would be a piece of cake compared to Sunday when I said goodbye to such a vast number of friends and family (and Drake!). Boy was I wrong. Leaving the only two people that have been a steady constant in my life for the past 19 years was possibly the hardest thing I've ever done.

Amazingly, I managed my way through two unfamiliar airports, alone. I swiftly and successfully navigated my way through security, trams, and luggage claims.

The flight....well that's an entirely different story that I do not have the brain power to vent about. I will say that the food was awful, and the gentlemen who sat beside me kept me awake all 17 hours with the sweet sound of his snoring. However, I did have slight revenge when I woke up from a 10 minute nap in a panic from a severe nightmare of a plane crash, jolting in my seat and flailing my arm only to wake him up from his snoozing.

Anywho, I am safe and sound and trying to adjust to the major time loss. I'm ready for a hot shower and a bed! More to come tomorrow.

xoxo
Taylor