We landed safely in Paris at 0820 Paris time. Assuming there was no delay in Nairobi, we would have had 3 hours 40 mins to wait in Paris but due to the delay this was shortened to about 1 hour. We managed to get through security and to the gate with time to spare to buy breakfast. We realised it cost about the same to get breakfast in Paris as it was for all of our meals for a day in Kenya.
Matthew then decided there would be time to quickly grab a packet of crisps before boarding the plane. Not realising the vastness of the airport and the slowness of the servers in the shop, he then had to sprint across the airport to find the desk was about to put in a final call! Luckily he arrived just in time to board the flight before it left him behind!
The flight to Edinburgh was smooth and enjoyable. We arrived at the time expected- 1105 UK time- to be greeted by all of our parents in the airport with special balloons made with "welcome home" and our Kenyan name written on the front. It was a happy, tearful moment when we were finally reunited with our families. We then proceeded home. And it was great to be back in our own beds and have hot showers.
The End.
Not really though. There is a meeting the first week back to discuss the trip with parents, the pupils will be presenting assemblies once the term starts, as well as staff talks during the November inservice days. The exchange will also continue of course with the reciprocal visit next August where four talented Meru School boys will come to stay with us for two weeks. So the partnership is very much to continue.
We will all post reflections on the trip in the coming weeks and a new blog for the "Meru-Grove Visit 2012" will be set up in the near future.
Long live the partnership.
We would all like to thank the two teachers, Marjorie Kerr and Fiona McIntosh with all our hearts for the kindness, company, laughs, love, and dedication shown to all of us throughout the once in a lifetime trip. They are the ones who made the whole thing happen and we have to give many thanks to them for the fantastic experiences they gave us.
Getting emotional myself now as I write this- so I must sign off! Sleepy again now despite snoozing for over 13 hours last night!
Kwaheri
Matthew xxx
2 comments:
Thanks MAtthew for all your kind words! You have done a great job setting up and maintaining the blog. Thanks to everyone else for contributing and for all teh comments. It really was a very special trip!
We can't thank you both enough- you have been wonderful people.
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