#raineyasha blog – day 1
After weeks and months of preparation and anticipation, the day had finally arrived. A few anxious goodbyes were exchanged at the school gates before the journey to India commenced with a bus down to Dublin Airport, leaving behind the safety and familiarity of the Rainey’s red brick walls! With luggage checked in, (a few cases nearly topped the 30KG limit!), and boarding passes in hand, we made our way through Dublin Airport as an army of orange t-shirts, to catch the 3:30pm flight to Dubai. Of course, we couldn’t miss an opportunity for a Burger King, which would be the last taste of beef we would eat for a while! Boarding the Boeing 777 Emirates plane, the feeling finally set in that after a year-long wait we were only hours away from our final destination; Delhi!
The plane to Dubai was certainly not your typical flight as we were treated to a wonderful array of food including, to our surprise, ice cream and chocolate dessert. However, after 7 hours of sitting around, it was refreshing to finally land and get our first taste of Dubai with all its bling and glamour. Another memory will be the feeling of intense heat which hit us like a wave as soon as we took our first steps out onto the tarmac! A short shuttle bus drive took us from the plane to the airport entrance and it wasn’t long before we’d all successfully passed through another airport security check.
Different from previous years, we were given a food pass which allowed us to eat anywhere we wanted in Dubai airport for free; to a certain extent of course. Although we had a 3 hour wait before our next plane to Delhi, it was relaxing to sit in such a peaceful area with its own fish pond and air conditioning, a stark contrast to what we expect India’s airport to be.
The tiredness began to hit us as soon as we boarded our second Emirates plane yet, due to our tight schedule, Mr Healy was determined to plough on forward. Four hours later, we had finally made it to India. Our racing minds could not stop thinking about what lay ahead, however we were all sure we would try our best to make a difference throughout the oncoming days and to walk hand in hand with the children of the Kusumpur Slums.
- Amy Parke & Andrew Hawe
