Sylvia's Journal

It was a bit of a downer to hear about our new president while tea was served, an hour before landing. I had hoped, expected, wanted the pilot to get on the public address system and yell out ‘he won!’ (with all of us instantly knowing who ‘he’ was) but pilots are probably told to not disturb people who try to sleep (and I was one of them). When we got ready for landing and everyone was awake, we were told the good news by the pilot and everyone clapped. Still, I would have preferred to be with family and friends back home. I called Axel as soon as cell phones were permitted. It was 2:30 AM for him but he was still awake. Too much excitement! I think we all knew that Obama was going to win but we did not dare to say it aloud, lest we jinx the works. And so, with this election, I continue my perfect voting record.

What a day, yesterday. I finished my packing and my to do list by 10 AM. We went to the polls and then had a leisurely brunch at the Beach Street Café. We did a few more errands by foot and then took Chicha out for a long walk. She now has a collar that looks like a torture instrument with metal spikes that push into her throat when she pulls. Tessa and Steve think it is the best thing since sliced bread and will surely train her quickly to heel and not go after anything that runs or moves. I hate it and remember the days when I walked with her at the end of her leash, swerving from left to right, going after anything that caught her attention while pulling me along. I probably undid months of training then.

To assuage my guilt about using the terrible collar contraption we took a break at Singing Beach where Chicha was able to go collarless and romp around with all the other dogs, catch balls and sticks and run into the waves. It was a mild Indian summer day and one of the more joyful days I can remember.

And so, now I am at Schiphol and about to sit down for breakfast with my ex and dissect American politics. In back of me large TV screens show the map of the US with its red and blue checker pattern, more blue than red, luckily. I watched the crowd in Chicago and the excitement there and wonder about what’s happening in Kenya and whether they feel that he is also a bit their president.

Later, after breakfast – I picked a bad time to be outside the US. The only signs of festiveness are on the TV screens. Here, at the airport, life goes on as if nothing momentous has just happened – people stand in lines like they did before, the are worried about catching their plane, buy stuff – a normal day on Schiphol. I feel like jumping up and down and saying, hey guys, something great happened, we are going to be back on the rails in the US. I watched the festivities in Obama’s native village in Western Kenya – he is their president too, and all of Africa’s – I hope he has strong shoulders, it is a heavy load to carry in addition to all the messes he inherited elsehwhere in the world.