An exciting opportunity and a daunting task; go to the US for 10 days to attend an educational conference on admissions and have the chance to tell 450 colleges about RVA kids. The daunting part was to not get jetlagged so I could be lucid.

My flight left at midnight on October 2. I arrived in London at 6:20 am and left London at 9:30am to fly to Chicago. I had a four hour layover, and my brother drove all the way from Iowa to have lunch with me. It was a highlight like you couldn’t believe; my brother is the funniest person on the planet, and he loves to eat almost as much as I do. It went by too fast, and I’m sure I was pretty incoherent, although my brother would be the first to tell you the difference between me coherent and incoherent is pretty marginal.

The flight to Pittsburgh was delayed three hours, so I got there around midnight. I slept good and proceeded to the training session of software RVA had just been given by some kind friends in Texas. It was excellent, and I was excited to be in America. There were seminars after the training that were superior, and I went to bed excited and nervous, because I had LOTS of appointments.

In fact, I was meeting with nine different colleges between 6 and 9 am. Someone asked if there was ANY way to meet with me Thursday morning, and I told him my schedule, so he asked `What about FIVE am?’ Why not, so I met with him at 5am and had great meetings during a great day. I missed one of the meetings, and was so disappointed, and then the college in question sat next to me on a shuttle bus and I got twice the time I would have otherwise. It was a large bus; it was just a miracle she sat next to me.

Friday was the college fair, only for college admissions officers. I brought 450 RVA calendars, and had RVA bracelets for all the colleges. It was impossible to see them all, although I gave it my best shot, with me running between booths saying `We are a 100 year old school in Kenya with 3 National Merit scholars in a class of 80 and we have baboons on our campus.’ Say that 400 times and see what it does to your head. I wondered about whether it had been worth it, and then I got this email:

I want to tell you an amazing story about the bracelet you gave to me and my colleagues at the Oglethorpe University table during the counselor’s fair. I changed my return flight 3 times, and there must have been a reason. Here is the story. As we are about to take-off on my flight from Pittsburgh to Atlanta, I noticed the flight attendant gesturing towards me. Thinking that my seat belt was unbuckled I checked, it was okay, then I looked at her again and she asked if I went to Kenya or Rift Valley Academy. I said no. She further explained that she saw the bracelet with the Kenyan colors and the initials RVA. I told her I met you. She said she attended RVA.

I had another appointment with an important college, and they asked `Why should we accept this kid?’ What I wanted to say was that she was brilliant, and she had seen the worst of Africa and it made her not bitter or cynical but more determined to come back and help, that she was fluent in the language of the Orma people and that she was going to change the world. What I did was embarrassing: I started weeping and just said `She is such a great kid.’ The counselor kindly said I was an eloquent advocate, but I was kicking myself; these kids are so remarkable, but I struggle to articulate it.

Got to see an old friend from RVA, and then it was time to go to North Carolina and see my younger sister for a day. Another old friend from RVA came by and we all had breakfast, and then my sister and I power shopped. It was so great to see her, and she and her husband were so kind to us.

They dropped me off at the airport, and then it started to slow down. I got to Chicago, but then my flight went on the runway and sat for two hours before they brought it back for repairs. They put me on another flight that would leave in four hours, which meant I would miss my flight from London back to Nairobi.

The flight was interesting: I had a nun in training on my right and an older Nigerian woman on my left. I fell asleep, and then lightening struck the plane. Both women grabbed my hands. The soon to be nun yelled `Sweet mother of Jesus!’ The Nigerian woman yelled something about a mother, but it was a slightly different spirit from the nun. They started laughing at me because they claimed that when they grabbed my hand, I yelled `I’m sorry honey; I’ll get Katie.’ I had to explain that I had selective male hearing at night; somehow I never hear my daughter unless I get a poke.

The plane was fine, but both women still had my hands. I asked the Nigerian woman for my hand, and she told me `Not until we land.’

Almost 49 hours later, I finally landed in Nairobi. None of my luggage made it. While at the conference I had talked Brown University and Middlebury College into visiting RVA, and this was the day that they could come. It was a great opportunity for our students, but I’m sure that I made a superior impression on no sleep.

We got the luggage today, and everything made it except the Cheetos, which is the only thing Ben asked for. Something often gets stolen, but this was a sad thing for my little boy. It is part of the deal of living here.

But it was a great conference, and I would do anything to help these kids get into college. Was it worth it? I will let you know in April; that is when the colleges will let us know.

Your pal