Home.

Well, that's it.

I am officially home. My African adventure is over and it's time to transition back into my "normal" life, whatever that really is. I am both excited and apprehensive to say goodbye to my month overseas... but more than anything, I feel proud. I'm proud of myself for adjusting to new situations, for traveling alone for the first time, and for embarking on a trip that pushed me far out of my comfort zone. I'm proud of my immune system for holding up for four weeks without even the slightest hint of a cold. I'm proud of my hair for being awesome enough to attract attention, yet just un-awesome enough to force me into taking several bucket showers.

The last few days of my trip were a whirlwind. Meghan and I met up in Kigali and ventured to Nyungwe National Park to go camping in the middle of the rain forest. It truly was just as amazing as it sounds. The next morning, we went on a monkey-viewing hike in the forest and even convinced our guide to let us walk across the rain forest canopy bridge without paying. Our hike was physically demanding and a little bit scary at times, but more than anything, it was fun. We also visited Butare, the main university town in Rwanda. In Butare, we were able to treat ourselves to two "American" meals at restaurants aimed toward tourists. I don't think I need to explain how awesome that was. On my last day in Rwanda, Meghan and I rode the bus back to Kigali and ran a few errands around town. Our time together was brief, but it was full of great conversations, shared laughs, and fabulous memories that more than made up for the scheduling difficulties we ran into. I was sad to say goodbye to Meghan... especially with the knowledge that I won't see her again for more than a year. Here are a couple of photos from our time together in Rwanda:

Nyungwe National Park at dusk.

Meghan and I got walking sticks. We are that cool.

Rain forest!

Please enjoy the grammatical errors on this Rwandan water bottle. 

The plane ride(s) back to America went smoothly, aside from the unexpected stop in Uganda during my first flight from Kigali to Amsterdam. Other than that, however, I managed to pass the time by watching movies, sleeping for tiny pockets of time, and daydreaming about the entourage that awaited me at the airport in Detroit. I even made friends with an old Indian woman, who gave me some sound advice about life and told me to call her if I am ever in India. In Detroit, I waited in a passport control line, passed through customs, and burst through the sliding doors of the waiting area. Even my extraordinarily high fatigue levels couldn't hinder the awesomeness of seeing my parents, my best friend Kendra, and Matt on the other side of that metal barrier rail. Hugs, food-sharing, and laughter followed. And now I am home. 

I want to thank each and everyone one of you for following my travels, leaving your thoughts (both on this blog and via email/Facebook... it's ok, I know that the internet is hard for old people), and encouraging and entertaining me as I made my way through this journey. One of the greatest feelings is being an entire world away from home, yet still feeling like the people you care about are right next to you. I hope you took something away from my blog entries, even if it was the just the knowledge that I will continue to make lame jokes, regardless of which continent I am on.

I love you guys. It's time for my next chapter.

Matt, me, and Kendra at my "welcome home" lunch in Ann Arbor!

I got TWO cakes. I love my BFFs/family.