En Route.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands - This journey began at 16:40 yesterday in London, Ontario. Or, well, it was supposed to begin at that point. Instead, I became very familiar with a near-empty airport waiting room and its shiny vinyl seats. This was after airport security became all too familiar with me, 'randomly selecting' me to receive the kind of rubdown you usually have to pay for in an airport.

Instead, after a flight from London delayed by two hours and consecutive missed connections, I now find myself sitting in the very nice Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam for an unexpected layover of eight hours. I won't, as a result, be spending a night in Nairobi, which will probably be easier. Logistics thus far have been a gong show.

Despite the delays and change of plans, I'm still on track to arrive in Kigali at the original time, which is a positive and means I don't have to change the time Jethro picks me up, which is good considering it's a two-hour drive to Kigali for him.

I'm not quite halfway to my destination yet, but I've pretty much been up for 24 hours and have survived the past couple of hours on some shortbread cookies (thanks mom for the package of goodies - the security guard in London got a big kick out of it, saying "someone has a sweet tooth.")

I tried to sleep. Really. I folded myself like an origami crane, contorted and creased, but slept like I was being jabbed with unexpected needles. Which is to say, not well. The odour of stale feet walked hand-in-hand with breath, aged like cheese, and dark snores drowned out the engine, carrying me to a daylight that lives several hours ahead.

Yes, such metaphors awaken from sleep deprivation.