I nearly fainted right there in the Madrid airport when my G-mail Inbox flickered open and I saw its contents.
Fifteen hours earlier, I had flown out of West Africa, leaving behind my beloved friends and coworkers at Youth Creating Change of Ghana after three stunning months. The flight from Accra to Frankfurt was six and a half hours and I slept for a groggy three. My layover in Germany was two hours.
It took two more hours to fly to Madrid, Spain. When I arrived, bedraggled, the sun had just risen above the snow-capped hills (I didn’t realize Madrid had surrounding hills!) and I wasn’t sure if it was today, or yesterday, or both at the same time… but I did know that my head was a swirly smush. I began patiently waiting for my dear brother to reunite with me to fly to Portugal. It was then that I had the bright idea to use an internet kiosk.
HOLY COW! While I had been squished on a plane in Economy class eating bread and ham sandwiches, four things had apparently happened:
1. AroundTheWorldL.com was featured as the Blogger.com “Blogs of Note” blog of the day!
2. An interview with me appeared in the popular Boston Globe website, Boston.com!
3. As a result of this publicity, Google Analytics reveals that 1,514 readers visited this very blog in a single day! My previous highest-ever record was 400 readers. Amazing!
4. A heated debate had launched under my Boston.com article about my funding, motives, and character… and someone had professed their love. Meanwhile, my Gmail inbox was jam-packed with wonderful messages of support from friends, family, and complete strangers.
Again: HOLY COW!
I was shaking with so much emotion as I boarded the inter-terminal airport bus that I hardly noticed the 6’6″ man walking past me towards a free seat.
“HEY!” we both screamed at the same time, hurling into each other’s arms. It was my brother, David! HAPPINESS!
Since that joyful reunion, David and I have hopped a flight to charming Porto, Portugal (pictured, left… isn’t it pretty?) to launch our week-long Portuguese adventure. Already, I feel less dizzy and more whole, thanks to having my brotherly best friend here.
So this is all to say: changes are afoot. I am hugely thankful for this burst of publicity, and for all you wonderful new and old readers. Let us belt out a massive “Hurrah!” for change, progress, and growth in the lives of each and every one of us!
Photo Note: The first two photos of this article (taken somewhere high over Spain) are dedicated to the students and staff of YCC Ghana who kept asking: “But what does a cloud look like when you’re actually right above it?”
Aj says
Congratulations on a great day! Awesome… Even if the flying stunk ;)
Where are you going in Portugal? Let me know you travel to the Centre and South, I know some pretty hidden and delicious places to eat in :)
Safe and happy travels!
mingles says
Once I initially commented I clicked the -Notify me when new feedback are added-
checkbox and now each time a remark is added I get 4 emails with the identical comment.
Is there any approach you may take away me
from that service? Thanks!
Lillie says
Hello– Thanks for commenting, and it should be an easy fix to stop getting updates. In the email you are sent for follow-up comments do you see a line that says “click this link to stop getting these emails?” or “click to unsubscribe?”
chris says
I hate flying. Worse experiences in my life. I try every year not to go on an airplane, but somehow I do.
Kwabla says
Funny what can happen while you’re casually flying through the air looking at clouds. Congrats! You definitely deserve the attention.
Dave and Deb says
Congratulations on an excellent day!
Imported Blogger Comments says
Dave said…
Congratulations Lillie, that’s fantastic! And 1514 readers in one day is amazing, you must be buzzing with excitement! Given that most days my site seems to be closer to 15 than 1500, I can only imagine what it feels like! ;-)
Interesting debate on that boston.com article – there’s always one or two people whose jealously and limited world view seem to come out of the woodwork when they hear about somebody doing something amazing like your trip. Good to see that for every naysayer there were several people supporting what you are doing and why you are doing it.
All I can say is – keep up the great work!
April 2, 2010 12:12 AM
threeyeardreamer said…
Hey Lillie, great effort! What you’re doing is absolutly amazing. The photos and the stories are incredible, I can’t wait to read further about ur journey.
April 2, 2010 2:32 AM
moccafashion said…
You have a great blog! Keep the good work.
But I have a question for you, how do you know how many readers you have?
April 2, 2010 12:36 PM
Christine said…
How awesome! I just shared the Boston Globe article with a friend who is currently doing Teach for America in Boston–she thinks that she’ll never be able to travel on the salary of a public school teacher. Now she’ll see it’s possible!
April 2, 2010 6:26 PM
nodebtworldtravel.com said…
It annoyed me seeing the hater comments in the boston.com article. But that is to be expected. Ignore them and enjoy! You are the only one who knows your own motives. No need to even acknowledge them.
April 2, 2010 6:57 PM
Lillie M. said…
Thanks for all the lovely comments! Christine, thanks for spreading the word that we teachers CAN sometimes afford to travel.
Moccafashion, I get my website traffic statistics from wondrous Google Analytics, which is so powerful that it can even reveal the exact words people put into search engines to find my blog… pretty hilarious sometimes.
Thanks again, and keep those comments and questions coming!
April 3, 2010 1:17 AM
Pattaya Girls said…
great pics on your blog, the colours are soo vibrant.
April 4, 2010 12:36 PM
mikehedge said…
aaaaah! so super neat!
April 14, 2010 2:10 AM