How Tunisia Changed My Life

At that time, I felt like a rookie sky diver preparing for his first plunge. The cabin door opens to reveal the extreme distance of his fall, which leads to either sheer excitement or eventual death. The naivete that sheltered his fear disappears at the sudden reality of the moment. By then, of course, it is much too late to turn back. The very thought that this was his idea seems absurd to him, and he feels like the only person on the face of the planet. And so he closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and

I rushed over to check in and retrieve my boarding pass. Lately a lot of planes have been going missing, which is all I could think about the whole time. “Flight 23 is now boarding.” I carried my carry on baggage onto the plane. I looked down at my boarding pass and realized that I was already at my seat. There was a man sitting in my designated seat. I was too nervous about the flight to even question him. I sat down next to him. I looked out the window and noticed in the distance that dark cumulus clouds were being formed. There was a strong wind that hit my side of the plane, furiously shaking the whole aircraft. Having hope was the only thing that came to mind every time negative thoughts would

The plane took off and were in the air leaving the place I had only ever known. I remember when my parents told me and my two brothers that we would be moving to the United states. At the time I didn’t know where we would end up or how we were even getting there. All I knew was I would be in a totally different landscape with a lot of ethnically different people whom I have never met or seen before.

Until now my experiences in this country had been very special to me. For the first time, I had to be away from my family. I was forced to make every decision without being reliant on the wisdom of elders. For the first time, I saw and spoke to

I flew from Las Vegas to an airport close to the Caribbean rainforest, this was my first time on a plane, I never would have imagined it would be to start my dream job and go to an exotic place. I mean, who could ever get so lucky on their first assignment. I was expecting to get sent to the middle of a hot desert or a humid rain forest infested with flying and biting bugs. I knew it was time to start my adventure when I got off that plane, but it was also time to start my adult life as well. The plane ride was full of me asking myself questions about this trip that I really could not answer. I kept asking myself what would I encounter when I reached the tribe, would they be accepting of me, would things be hostile or friendly, will I be able to adapt well enough to their style of living to be able to complete my assignment. I could not stop thinking of all the ways this trip could play

Born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia I was brought up learning that hard work and dedication can lead me to any of my goals. All through my childhood i thought i would never leave ethiopia. Mom lived in america, although there were times i missed her i could never think about leaving my family in Ethiopia. One day my dad had gotten off the phone with my mom and called me over to him. It was at this moment i heard the dreadful words “we are moving to america”.

Right as I a walked out the airplane I heard unfamiliar language being spoken around me. People were buzzing around as my heart started to beat fast. My life started to change dramatically, then it struck me it was around 18 hours

His 18 years of life crossed his eyes instantly. He started to become nervous and insecure gradually as the airplane was elevating in the air, and he was afraid that the airplane might drop. He could hear the wheels rolling on the ground loudly and it was unpleasant to him. Fernando’s body was reacting. He felt compressed in his chest that his lung was too large for his chest, so he had trouble of breathing, and his heart was pounding rapidly against his rib cage. During the trip, the airplane met a turbulence, so he began to feel more anxious and fearful. He felt that everything in his body wanted to leave him. His blood pressure increased, so he became agitated. Soon he started to feel dizzy and light headed. He was about to lose control of his body; therefore, he grabbed the seat handles tightly and pressed his feet intensely against the floor to prevent his body from shaking. Meanwhile, he was being extremely quiet, and all he heard were the turbulence, his heart beat and heavy breathing. As Fernando described, the ocean view out of the window was beautiful, yet he could not enjoy looking at it at all.

It didn’t hit me this whole experience was real until I crossed the threshold of the departure bridge into the cabin. I was scared and I was nervous. Moving to New Zealand was easy. I was three and there was still time to make friends. This time, however, I would be walking into a classroom of kids that already have their friend groups sorted. I would also say excited but the other two emotions definitely overpowered the excitement I was feeling. My only knowledge of the house we were moving into was about an hour’s worth of a camcorder walkthrough from some relatives. It looked nice enough on video, but I was apprehensive as to what it looked like in real life. I’m not sure if it was because I had just spent 24 hours in either an airport or an airplane, but when we pulled up to the house I was amazed. I looked better than what the video portrayed and any nervousness I felt earlier melted away. I was excited to start a new chapter of my

You are in an airport waiting for your plane to arrive. You've never flown before, and are more terrified than you can ever remember being. Everyone has told you the supposedly comforting statistics - "millions of planes take off each day and there's only a handful of crashes," "flying is safer than driving." You know rationally that there is no reason to be so scared, but regardless your heart is racing, your palms are sweating, and you're light-headed. Simply the thought of being up in the air, out of control, makes you feel faint. Finally the flight attendant announces that your plane has arrived. But as all the other passengers line up to get onboard, you grab your luggage and walk straight out of the airport,

Unlike many of my peers, I was not content to use this period as an opportunity to get drunk and sleep in a different corner of the globe. Not that I’m trying to come off as superior or condescending, I have no right for that. I started off in Europe just like everyone else, moving from Paris to Rome to Zurich to Vienna to Berlin and then Prague, indulging in the careless excesses that tend to characterize these trips. But at the same time, I wanted more than that. I wanted to ride the back of an ox drawn cart down a withered trail to places my fellow townsfolk would have never laid eyes on. I wanted to slum it in the homes of destitute village inhabitants despite the fact that I could easily afford a four star hotel. I wanted something new, something unseen, some amazing forgotten

Heart beating fast, breathing hard, running for my life. Was this the end? Was my life near its deadline? I was in mid thought before it had struck me.

In the fall of 2014 I was presented with the opportunity to go on a missions trip to Zambia. We had a few meetings about this trip and interest grew. Next thing I knew it was March of 2015 and I was headed off to Haiti. Plans had changed but I could never have imagined what great impact this would have on my life.

When I flew to Haiti I was unsure of what to expect. From a bird’s-eye view, I saw a beautiful landscape with a vibrant ocean surrounding the island. Upon arrival, I saw poverty, run down buildings, and very little people with actual homes; however, I saw smiles, laughter, and happiness among the people. I’ve traveled a lot throughout my life, but this trip gave traveling meaning. Experiencing their culture and customs gave me a broader perspective on other lifestyles and what they endure.

My journey the day I left my home country in search of a better life was not as pleasurable or exciting as I expected. Although it was not a long flight, the accumulation of unexpected vicissitudes during the trip made my dream of traveling an absolute nightmare. Not only my sadness to be leaving my family behind, the uncertainty to fly alone and for the first time, or my inexperience with the procedures at the airport contributed to this calamity, but even my neighbor on the plane added his bit of sand in the affair. All this situation was such traumatic to me that I even considered never daring to fly again.