The End

And here we are, with one final and overdue blog post.

The morning after returning from the Rift Valley, I flew to the Kenyan coast. There Rose had a friend in Watamu who I'd stay with for three nights. Watamu is a town on a gorgeous stretch of beach, and Rose's friend owns a yoga retreat center and hotel called Watamu Treehouse. Both Watamu and the Treehouse were incredible.

I could not have imagined a more picture-perfect way to end my gap year. I spent three days swimming, running, kayaking, snorkeling, relaxing, and eating delicious (and healthy!) food. I was put up in the Honeymoon room all by myself, complete with towels in heart shapes on my bed. The Treehouse has an open-air design and is built in and above the tree canopy, meaning fabulous views in all directions and constant breezes. Everything was beautiful.

One view of the Treehouse.

I then returned to Nairobi for a night, said goodbyes to the family, and repacked my entire backpack one more time.

The next morning I headed to the school where I'd taught in Nairobi. I had promised all the kids that if I was back in town while school was in session, I'd visit them. Two teachers knew I'd be by for a visit, and so the kids were told that I was coming. Unfortunately, they all thought that I was returning to be their teacher. They were quite bummed when I could only stay an hour, as I was leaving that afternoon to fly back to the US.

Upon arrival in Dubai after my first flight, I was told that my second flight was scheduled to depart in two days. I about burst into tears. However, I handled myself and we got things sorted. I made it onto the 15-hour flight I was supposed to take, and arrived in Washington DC twelve days ago.

As we flew over the United States, I saw housing developments, straight lines, and urban planning. Everything was perfect and organized - not what I'd become accustomed to.  When my cousin picked me up from the airport, I spent a bit trying to figure out which side of the car to get in on.

24 hours after arriving in the US, I found myself driving through downtown DC on errands. I was sort of in disbelief, leaning my neck out the window to look at the buildings, the people, the lifestyle, while trying hard not to crash. Unlike in Africa, there are so many driving rules in the US; actual rules of the road to think about, rather than focusing on cows and potholes and insane traffic. While I didn't drive myself on public roads in Africa, I always had the sense that people simply got themselves from Point A to Point B, in whatever way they could manage. They drove and hoped it worked out. I don't think I ever saw a stop sign.

After my time in Maryland with family, I hopped on a bus and headed up to New York City to catch my return flight from Israel back home. When I got off the bus in the middle of New York, everything was crazy. New York probably isn't the best city to visit four days after returning from months in Africa. I did not quite know what to do with myself.

I did get to thoroughly enjoy New York, though, all while sitting inside the airplane at the gate for almost six hours, due to terrible weather on the East Coast. Mom thought it was hugely ironic that I encountered this transportation issue as soon as I was back in the US. Finally, I made it home.

I've now been home a week. I overlapped with Jeremy for all of 32 hours before he headed out west to begin his bike trip. Their trip blog (https://lifeontwowheels2015.wordpress.com/) is absolutely fantastic.

Because I anticipate this being my last blog post, I'll try a bit for some sort of sentimental summary of my gap year.

Nine months ago I had absolutely no idea where I'd find myself in the world, who I'd be with, or what I'd be doing on my gap year. And this uncertainty despite months and months of research and planning. But this year has been crazy and wonderful, and it all came together in some way or another.

I've experienced, I've changed, I've grown, I've seen. I've formed perspectives and had eye-opening encounters. I've made wonderful friends from six different continents around the world.

It was really good. And I definitely have yet to fully process.

A few (random) highlights, some previously mentioned, some not, in no particular order:

Not sure how many times I may have
accidentally gotten married this year.

- I became best friends with the most fantastic 4 and 5-year-olds.
- I tried loads of food, including a confusing number of banana-related fruits in Honduras and tasteless maize meal cooked with water in Kenya.
- I picked up a bit of an English accent, mostly just to communicate with everyone I encountered in Africa.
- I traveled on public buses so full that my back was pressed against the door of the bus.
- I slept in a cottage surrounded by a herd of wildebeest.
- I visited Israel while the country was green (and snowing) and hiked in the north, missing "stray missiles" in the area by one day.
- I timed my showers right for a month so that I could watch the sun set on Lake Malawi from my open air shower.
- I acted out the parts of a flower with an amused sixth grade science class.
- I made 60 foam reindeer antlers and carried out part of a Christmas pageant.
- I went for a beautiful night run along the Mediterranean Sea.
- I filled an entire journal with writing about my time abroad.
- I found the best mandazzi in Malawi.

I'm absolutely thrilled that I took this gap year, especially with all its ups and downs.

I am still planning to attend Carleton College, beginning in September, and I am really looking forward to that. And I promise not to be the girl who only ever talks about her gap year and nothing else.

Thank you all so much for your support this year. It really has meant the world to me.