Dad cleared his throat You kids need to calm down Before we go you’ll both have to go to the doctor
I looked at Tomas nervously I wasn’t a fan of doctor’s offices Why I asked You’ll need all your vaccinations updated and we’ll need to see about anti-malaria protection Dad said Marisol it’s no big deal I shrugged it off Sure no big deal I repeated trying to convince myself it was true The next few weeks were a flurry of activity We had doctor’s appointments for our vaccinations It wasn’t so bad Mom took us shopping for outdoor gear and new hiking boots Dad mapped out our homeschool work and loaded books onto our tablets Just because we were going to Africa didn’t mean our studies stopped With our bags packed we headed to the airport It would take us a full day to get to Nairobi Kenya From our airport in Chicago we’d fly to Atlanta then cross the Atlantic Ocean to the Netherlands and from the Netherlands we would fly south to Africa As we boarded the airplane Mom said I hope they don’t lose our suitcases Dad joked Oh well you’ll just have to shop some more in Nairobi Mom rolled her eyes at Dad Very funny sweetheart You
know I don’t like to shop Mom said Really Dad laughed as he pointed at all of us decked out in our new hiking boots and khaki pants We looked like tacky tourists decked out in our safari costumes That was enough shopping for a lifetime Mom laughed It will take me a year to pay off the credit card bill for all these outfits I couldn’t tell if she was joking or serious I knew going on safari was expensive an unreachable dream vacation for many people around the world We were very fortunate Since this trip was part of Mom’s job some of our expenses were paid for by the university You don’t have to remind me Dad said When we get back to the States I’ll need to find a second job to pay for this trip I could be a historian by day and a waiter by night The full day wasted on planes was the most boring time of my life I read a few books took a few naps and ate all of the snacks in my carry-on bag Tomas did exactly the same thing The planes didn’t even have any decent movies for us to watch just old kids movies that we’d seen years ago When we landed in Nairobi the next day we were sweaty and tired It had been a very long trip Mom pulled out her map Let’s find our hotel I think we could all use hot showers and a nap in a real bed Mom flagged down a taxi and gave the driver instructions to our hotel
