We are home! Well, kind of. We arrived at JFK airport in New York late in the evening. Customs, passport control, and airport shuttle pick up and drop off added to the time it took to finally get a chance to lay down. It was nearly 1am by the time things settled down. Our bodies are still on European time, 6 hours ahead, so needless to say, we are very tired.
The day started out great, though. A nice little breakfast at Sahra's cousin's house had me really missing home. After weeks spent in albergues, hostels, and hotels, we are all pining for a semblance of home and we certainly felt it here. However, we couldn't linger too long because we needed to get back into the Copenhagen city center for a bit of souvenir shopping before heading out to the airport. We also needed to say bye to Sahra.
Whenever we met other teachers or people on vacation this summer, they would give me a what would become a familiar tilt of the head and crinkled face in the expression of confusion when learning that we were traveling with students. I'm still trying to sort out what exactly has motivated me to spend that last few summers trekking and biking with teenaged students in tow. It certainly isn't easy and there are times when I really wonder what I'm doing. I told Sahra once that I feel like a fool 99% of the time for doing things like this, but I also feel like a genius for that 1% for when everything comes together. Those are precious moments and they always seem to make all the trials and tribulations worth all the time and effort for me. I have had several moments like that on this trip with each one of the kids saying or doing something that made me immensely proud. However, that is just for me. I am the beneficiary of such events. Sahra was here without the benefits of such motivations. She came simply because I asked her to be here. I can't thank her enough for helping me out throughout the whole process. For the months leading up to the journey, I would ask her questions about metro systems, airports, schedules, hiking strategies, and lodging. This was literally every evening. As we began the journey, I continued to ask her questions about the same things. Navigating the cities was made so much easier knowing she was there to figure out subway ticket systems, or what kinds of attractions we could do for the day. She also orchestrated everyone's first taste of Europe in Copenhagen, Denmark and she continued that today by making sure we got to the airport safely by escorting us there.
So what can I say to someone who donated 50 some odd days to help make sure our summer adventure in Europe was as amazing as it was?
Thank you, Tak, Merci, Gracias, Danke, Grazie? Take your pick. She deserves all of them.
So farewell, (briefly as I will pick her up at the airport in Portland on the 18th) to Sahra and the rest of Wonderful Copenhagen and the rest of Denmark. We traveled and visited many places in Europe this summer, but we only felt at home in Denmark.
We have no plans for New York tomorrow other than sleeping in and heading over to the airport for our date with Oregon. See all of you very soon!
James
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