We laughed, we cried, we laughed some more

After 30 hours of travel, I arrived back in Ontario yesterday afternoon, and hopped on one final flight from Toronto up to Sudbury so that the first person I saw post climb was my dad. I had spent much of the trip home thinking about what an absolutely amazing experience I had in Africa, and when we arrived at the Sudbury airport, my heart was beating almost as fast as it was when we reached the top of Kilimanjaro last Sunday. I was the first one off the plane and more or less ran into my dad's arms and started crying. I had been able to hold off the tears until that point, but in the 24 hours or so that I've been back, my emotions have been all over the place.

The memories are definitely going to last a lifetime, and although I’m a little worried about what might make it to YouTube and Facebook, I can’t wait to see the footage! Every now and then something pops into my mind, or I go through pictures and find myself giggling and trying to explain to whoever hears me what I’m laughing about (not exactly easy because for a lot of the stories, you really had to be there or they just sound nuts), but Aimee-Noel’s Top 10 List is bang on for hilarious moments and their context. The only other I’d add is learning the game of Giants, Wizards, and Elves to settle sleeping and showering arrangements...much more entertaining than Rocks, Paper, Scissors!

I keep running through the days in my mind in hopes of keeping them alive a little longer and not sliding back into reality just yet. I’m finding myself laughing, crying, and drifting off into my own little world a lot, and the tears really are of joy for what an amazing experience the entire adventure was. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed as much or as hard as I did while I was in Africa, and I can’t believe that in only 10 short days, our group became as close as we did. Since I’ve been back I’ve had a few people ask if I’d ever consider doing it again, and although I was one of the lucky ones who felt pretty good the entire climb, with only the cold being my biggest enemy on the final ascent, it was the people who really made the experience what it was, and I don’t think it could ever be recreated. I am incredibly proud to have been part of this adventure, and words can’t express how proud I am of everyone on that climb for what we achieved.