Koko's Trip to Kenya

*Acknowledgment: Thank you, Uncle Wally, for helping me fix all of my technical errors on this blog! I told Mom, "You have a really SMART brother!"

Welcome to my corner of Maryann's blog - allow me introduce myself. My name is Koko. 

(This is me!)

  I am on a trip with the missionary family to Kenya (trust me, they are a rowdy bunch at times!). I was referred to a specialist in Kenya and was told to see a psychiatrist. ...yippee...  The trip there was uneventful for the most part (except when Tristan thought he had left me on the plane halfway across the tarmac so that the whole family ground in reverse to fetch me!). But let me begin at the beginning.

 The Crowe's, good friends of ours, drove us to the airport for our trip. They are great people! We even created a WhatsApp group so that all of us could keep in touch. 

 Going through security in the airport was a nightmare. Mostly for me. I had been placed in a party bag for the youngest child, Christianna, whose birthday would be taking place in Nairobi. It held all of her gifts and me as well. When we went through the second security check that was before our gate, that bag was ripped open by a harried security officer and disemboweled quite thoroughly. My head was separated from my body at one point, and she even ripped my shirt off! How rude. Maryann and her mother (we'll just call her Mom) had to carry my parts to the waiting area and put me back together. It was quite embarrassing!

Waiting for our plane

 Once we boarded our Ethiopian Air plane, everyone moved into "air travel mode." Tristan told everyone how to make the screens respond if they didn't work. Maryann passed out mint gum to all takers. Aidan took a deep breath and told everyone he wasn't going to throw up. Christianna asked why her screen wouldn't let her watch a movie yet.

They said the meal was amazing for plane food!

  It was my first flight. Everyone except Aidan said that it was a remarkably smooth and pleasant flight. Tristan and Maryann were allowed to watch X-Men: Apocalypse, and told me that it was quite clean... for an X-Men movie!

  Our layover in Addis Ababa was... typical, I am told. Thankfully Maryann had brought Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix so no one complained since she read it to them. I must say, it was very good! Extremely entertaining.  

Our second flight was smooth but tiring; there were no movies, only music that wasn't very good. There was one station that played 20's music so most of the kids listened to that. But it was a unanimous agreement that everyone was happy to get off the plane. 

Here is where it gets interesting. Everyone was waiting for a second bus to arrive (the first had left for the terminal full) when Tristan clapped his hands to his face and said, "I left Koko on the plane!" Christianna gasped in horror and Mom urged Tristan on as he dashed back on board. He was just disappearing inside when Mom clapped her hands to her face and said, "Wait, Koko's not on the plane, he's here!" and pulled me out of my bag. Panic ensued for a moment, but Tristan ran back with his carry-on just as the bus pulled up. It was amusing to watch!

Tristan coming back

It felt nice to be needed... or missed. I was missed!

Because it was 2 a.m. in Nairobi, everything went very quickly. After filling out a mile-long piece of paperwork for everyone, we made our way to baggage claim (the easiest one they have experienced yet, I am told, and they have experienced quite a few!!!). The rest was smooth sailing. We found our mission appointed driver, loaded our stuff in the rickety van ("Why do we always get the rickety van?" was the phrase of the hour), and made our way across Nairobi.  Thankfully it was only about a 3 hour difference so no one was too tired (yet). As an omniscient narrator, I can tell you what happens next (I was in my bag). 

 We were five minutes out of the airport when the driver pulled over suddenly. There was a general cry of outrage from all of the kids in the back but when Dad called out from the front seat to look to the left, no one was complaining. Who would complain if you could see six live zebras standing by the road! Apparently the game park was right next to the airport and the zebras had somehow jumped the fence. We all sat and stared at the zebras for a while until the driver pulled out again and we continued our journey.

Note from the Editor: Can you believe Mom had enough energy to take this picture while everyone else was sleeping?!

  The rest is pretty predictable. We arrived at the Hampton House (I know... the Hampton House!!!). There was a little confusion about which flat in the apartment to put us in, but the guard figured it out and we crashed inside. 

Everyone was sacked out.

I had very weird dreams that night; first that Mom was doing something with a big machine, and then that she was guiding a man through a great swamp around me. I had a very rude awakening... that I wasn't dreaming!

The flat had flooded that morning when a slow leak from the bathroom pipes gushed water through all the bedrooms and the hallway. The washing machine was whirring as she multi-tasked and brought the plumber in to look at the problem.  Then Maryann woke up.

  After the luggage was moved and all of the work was over, people started getting up.  The flat we were moved into was actually nicer than the one we had been put in. All's well that ends well. 

  To Dad's delight, free coffee was served in the lounge (cause for celebration!). We bought some muesli at the front desk for breakfast, and our first full day in Nairobi, Kenya began.