Since saying goodbye to American soil, a lot of crazy things have happened.
The Race life immediately began as my squad of forty-five people ran into airport struggles in Atlanta at 6 am. Three separate flights, a lot of backpacks and a few guitars later, we all made it to Chicago. All sporting tie-dye t-shirts, which got more than a few full-blown stares.
“Who are you guys? What are you doing?”
“We’re going to eleven countries on a mission trip for the next eleven months. What are YOU doing?” one of my squadmates replied.
Whoops. (It was too early to be that stressed).
From Chicago, we hopped on a plane to Delhi, India for fourteen hours. Each seat had its own TV and music player, and we were fed every few hours. Ketchup with cucumber sandwiches for breakfast? Ok, sure. Oh, you shook me awake to ask if I want the fish or the vegetarian meal? How about a few more minutes of shuteye?
I did get a few solid hours of sleep with the best neck pillow that my friend brought with her on the Race… only to discover later that I had in fact accidentally stolen it from her seatmate. Borrowing an Indian man’s neck pillow? Check.
Once we arrived in Delhi, we were greeted with a twelve hour (maybe fourteen? The hours seem to blur) layover. Naturally most of us migrated toward Starbucks and Dominos. Because when you’re in another country, you gotta eat local, right?
Many of us were unable to sleep due to the wacked jetlag and hard floor, so we decided to make a video instead. I’m the safety coordinator for my squad (a wonderfully glorified title that I’m using to my advantage) so we shot the first episode of the Safety Sarah Series. Stay tuned.
After a 4 am wakeup call the next “morning” (who knows what days are anymore), we flew to Nepal—our final destination! The journey here was nothing short of crazy, stressful and hysterical. G Squad is a wonderful group of people and I’d have chosen no one else but this family to travel and do life with for the next year. If anything, I’ll get abs of steel from all the laughing and weirdness that seems to emanate from each person.
But remember, guys, safety first!
