A wicked charley horse and The Fox and the Hound.

I'm currently writing this from the Delta crown room in the Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris! After packing 8 bags and flying for nine hours we're about halfway there. It's been smooth sailing. The flight was long, and I endured a wicked series of charley horses, but I think watching The Fox and The Hound and the Katy Parry movie kept me sane and made the time fly by Faster.I'm actually not that tired despite it being about 5:00 A.M in Salt Lake, and getting only an hour or two of extremely uncomfortable sleep. 

I only have about a five hour flight left to Bamako where our journey will truly begin. I'm beginning to get a little nervous, but for the most part I'm excited. Nervous, because I'm aware of the dangers that come with traveling to Mali and I'm worried about the culture shock. Excited, however, because I know that there will be many villages where we are recieved as warmly as my dad was when he traveled to Lofine last October. I'm sort of just trying to think of this as a big family reunion where you cannot eat or drink anything, and you stick out like a sore thumb. Above all, I'm looking forward to interacting with the kids that I know the Mali Rising Foundation has been trying to empower and serve through education for so many years. I have seen pictures and videos and talked about the people of Mali with my dad, at the charity auctions, and in my school's Global Awareness club where we are currently trying to raise money, but I can't wait to have my own experiences and stories and pictures. I told my dad the last time he was out here to bring me back some Malian soil to remember the people he met and the trip he had, but within the next ten hours I will be able to get some bring back some soil of my very own.

I hope for a very safe and influential trip! Next time I write, it will be from my final destination! 

Now I better go, I'm determined to find some tea and crumpets in this joint somewhere. Chiao!