OLDEST SON OF AN OLDEST SON – VOL. 2

 

In my mind, the conversation went something like this:

“So… I’m going to Africa.”

“Say that again.”

“I’m going to Africa with a journalist who is doing a story and wants my video blog to be a part of it.”

“Africa. You mean the small town in Delaware County, here in O – HI – O. Right?”

“Nope. NAI – RO – BI, KEN – YA.” 

“SAY THAT AGAIN?”

Your oldest son going to Africa, using a couch surfing website, is a little unnerving. Going with a free lance journalist – a bit more unnerving. Usually, when journalists go to foreign lands, they are funded by the news organizations they represent and are accompanied by several people and lots of equipment. This time, uh… not so much.

But, Adam was going. He wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to see a part of the world that very few Americans will ever see. London first, then on to Nairobi and Malindi (with a safari thrown in there somewhere), back up to Paris, then Venice and then back to London very briefly, before coming home to the States. The airline tickets were remarkably inexpensive for that amount of travel. All the “couches” were lined up. (I still shake my head when I read that last sentence.)

I have to admit there were a few evenings when I felt anxious about his safety. (I can’t imagine how the parents of combat soldiers must feel.) It wasn’t fear, just concern. It is certainly common knowledge that Africa has many third-world countries where law enforcement barely exists, if at all. Visualizing Adam carrying so much expensive equipment through the streets of Nairobi and Malindi gave me pause. It looks far more glamorous and a lot less dangerous in the movies.

We videophoned when he was in London. After that, I did not hear from him for several days. Then he was finally able to connect via internet cafes with very slow connections in Nairobi and Malindi, which made uploading his vlog entries nearly impossible.

As I write this, Adam is now in Paris, where running and hot water are in abundance, the streets are paved and there is (thank you, Jesus!) high-speed internet. We videophoned last night. He then asked me to point my PC’s camera towards the TV in my office so he could watch the Lakers-Magic game (game five of the finals) where later that night, Coach Phil Jackson won his tenth NBA Championship and the Lakers won their fourth. The game started at 8:00pm est, which was 2:00am in Paris.

UPDATE: As promised, here is video of our conversations via videophone when he was in London, Paris and Greece. (The trip to Greece was a last minute change of plans.) I gave him the original footage and he did the editing, which saved me a lot of time. Truth-be-known, he’s much better at it. 🙂

Adam’s vlog entries for this trip are great. You can read them here.

His videos are spectacular. Here are some of them.

Obviously, Adam inherited his adventurous spirit from me. As you can see, I too enjoy a trip to the wild.

As for the animals – how are you not scared speechless seeing this?

And don’t tell me you’re not trembling watching these guys eat.

Being the fearless person that I am, I’ll be going back very soon.

Sincerely,

 

 

www.MichaelKontras.com