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Travel Day 1...


Woke up this morning and didn't want to get out of bed. I was so warm and so sleepy and it's summer so what do I have to do anyway. Oh that’s right. 

I'm going to Kenya.

I ate a last "American" breakfast of fruit and blueberry muffins with a good friend, who has been lovingly hosting me in her home between the end of school and my departure. We discussed hopes and plans for our respective summers, although they look quite a bit different. I was glad to have the extra time with her and the chance to see off several of my closest friends as they headed off to their summer plans. It's much easier to say goodbye to one or two people at a time rather than the whole group at once. :)

The four of us student team members met at the Wheels lab at 10:00 this morning to begin sorting and stuffing our gear. We shuffled around data collection binders and heart-rate monitors and clothes until each bag reached its 51 pound limit or got dangerously close to busting a zipper. About 20 minutes into our packing, a group of photographers and a reporter from a Longview newspaper squeezed into our lab space, snapping photos and asking questions as we stuffed and weighed our bags.  Once the final members of our team arrived, our faculty lead and a local family, we finalized our packing, ate a take-out lunch of Vietnamese pho, and loaded up the cars. 

The plan for the rest of today is to board our airplane from Dallas DFW at 6:00 pm and fly! We travel through the night and arrive at London Heathrow tomorrow morning at 11:45 am. 

I'm sitting now in the DFW airport, killing time and trying to fight off the enticing smells of airport snack-age. I've done pretty well so far, armed with an apple, some pungent spearmint gum, and my webcam. :) 


All set to go!
R.G. LeTourneau shades
Goofy pics
Matt, he's a professional sleeper.

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