Emmanuel's Visit Day 1

I waited patiently for the plane to arrive. The light rain pattered on the glass window as I watched the gray sky. My cheek pressed against the cold, smooth glass. I was at LAX to pick up Emmanuel Osofu Yeboah, who would be staying with me for the next week.

Suddenly the sound of an engine aroused me from my thoughts. A large plane that said Air Uganda on it's side emerged from the dark clouds and alighted on the runway. After about 15 minutes, the passengers started to emerge from the plane. An African man stepped down, and I saw that he had a prosthetic leg. This was Emmanuel! I made my way to the welcoming gates to greet Emmanuel and help him with his baggage.

As I stepped outside, the frigid air hit me like a blast. Emmanuel sat shivering on a bench, but when he saw me, he ran up and gave me a warm hug. "Hello Emmanuel" I said.

On our drive back, I told him about Santa Barbara and he told me about Ghana. He told me that he had never been this cold before, the weather in Ghana is warm and humid, even when it rains. I told him that we might go somewhere even colder in Santa Barbara. "Where," he asked. I just smiled and said "You will like it a lot," as I gazed out the rain streaked window at the Santa Ynez Mountains, now capped with shining white ridges.

When we got home Emmanuel was wiped out. He had been awake for about 15 hours, he said, because he couldn't sleep on the plane. We set him up on our guest bed, and he slept like a rock.