"I thought I heard the pilot say I could sit in the cockpit...."

I was excited and nervous for my flight from Nairobi to Mombasa, a journey that represented SO much for me. I would finally be back in the town in which I was evacuated from 5 years prior, and get to reconnect with the host-family I suddenly left behind during political unrest. Of course, the flight was delayed and I waited anxiously for what seemed like forever. Then, when the flight finally did board, I was in the bathroom. I came out and everyone was on the plane, so I rushed out and ran up the stairs to the plane. I frantically searched the aisles only to find that there were NO seats left. "How did this happen?!" I thought. But I breathed to remain calm and stayed positive. For some reason, I knew it would be okay because it seems in Kenya, for better or worse, they are more flexible when people are in a jam, especially when it's not your fault. They would understand, I thought. The flight attendants were confused and told me to hang tight. My heart beat fast in my chest as I was afraid they would ask me to wait for the next flight, and I knew I'd have to stand my ground. And sure enough- the woman came back and asked "Please could you wait for another flight? We have no seats and one will come soon." - In my head I yelled NO WAY IN HELL LADY!! But I smiled, clenched my teeth and said "Sorry, no. I can't wait. I've been waiting all day. I can't get off, I have to be on this flight. It's really important." She looked worried, talked to the pilot and he said "have her sit with us. I'll allow it just because we have no choice, it's not her fault we made an error." I laughed and said to the flight attendant "Haha, I thought I heard the pilot say I could sit in the cockpit. That'd be crazy." She looked at me blankly and said "Sorry, that is the only seat we have, if that's okay." I composed myself and said "YES!! That's um, fine!"

I strapped myself in and locked the door behind me. I still couldn't believe how my luck just turned around from worst to best! The pilots, Khurram and Sylvia, pointed out the emergency exit above me and said unfortunately, the door would open right into my face, but hopefully we won't need it anyway. Then Khurram looked back and smiled- "Are you ready?" I nodded so hard and held my knees close since they were just about to touch the buttons in front of me. The giant plane moved with their moves and it was exhilarating. We raced down the runway, and then.... liftoff. Amazing.
 

Later, I secretly took pictures because I was afraid they would make me put away my camera so I wanted to snap a few in case. But he let me take as many as I wanted. He even told me to stand up to get a better view! As I peared out the windows with a huge smile on my face, Khurram suggested- "why don't you take some photos with us!" So we took pictures together and exchanged emails. He proceeded to show me his ipad with pilots' programs on them, which they also get to use for personal fun. All this happened while they put the plane in autopilot. It's a little scary how little they are actually controlling the plane themselves. It knows exactly when to do everything on its own- turning, ascending, descending, everything but take off and landing. Of course, they know how to do it all manually... just in case.

He explained to me what all the buttons were for. And narrated for me when he was getting the ice off the wings after going through the clouds. He pointed out the detector for a plane ahead and how we had to clear them by a certain distance. A flight attendant knocked on the door and gave me some orange juice and cookies and I made sure to gobble it down so I didn't spill it, as I was completely surrounded by buttons and levers.

As the journey came to an end, Sylvia did an excellent, smooth landing. She laughed as Khurram and I clapped for her. They seemed so excited for me to be up there with them, someone to share the experience with. They said they both had wanted to fly their entire lives and it never gets old. As I exited, I thanked them profusely for- not leaving me behind in the airport by allowing me to sit with them, that it was an experience of a lifetime that they get to have every day! The lessons I learned- Kenya is freakin awesome (I already knew that, but just confirmed it 10 fold), and to truly believe that things will be okay... sometimes more than okay, when you are in a jam. Things have a WEIRD way of working out.

I brushed myself off, grabbed my bags, and tried to be normal. The fun had just begun and I proceeded out the gates to look for my host-family- would they look the same? Would it be awkward? Would they remember me? My heart raced once again.