Real, honest, proud and selfless.
In the beginning I was excited, anxious, eager, hopeful, enthusiastic and although a little worried whether I'd make it or not, I remembered reading that flag and feeling much more assured the morning we left the hotel.
When we got back to the hotel the first thing we all did was shower. I think it was the longest shower of my life and we were all worried about running out of hot water as it is scarce enough in Tanzania! It took three showers to get all the dirt off of me. All the dirt I had inhaled and swallowed over the last day and a half coming down the mountain made my throat red and sore. Most of us had a "Kili cough." Apparently this is common and many people hack for days after the hike due to all the dust and dirt eaten along the way.
I was excited about dinner and made sure I took a pen to sign the flag! We enjoyed "real" food for a change and we were happy it was over and felt better. But something was bothering me. After dinner we were reading the expedition flags and T-shirts that were splattered all over the walls. With pen in hand I headed over to the flag to sign my name. I stood there and stared at it for a short while re-reading what was written in the maple leaf; "Piece of cake." My grin turned into a worried frown. "That hike was no piece of cake!," I thought to myself. I thought it was egocentric and misleading. Was I upset that I didn't find it easy? No. I never for once thought it would be. The longer I stood there looking at this flag the more pissed off I got. Scanning the room for another Canadian flag to sign I spotted one in the back corner. Somebody had written a message on it and I wanted to know what it said. Squeezing in between the table and the wall I had to lean in close to read it. In blue pen a woman had written "I didn't make it but my boyfriend did...YEAHHHHH!!!" Now THAT was my flag! My eyes watered over and the grin returned to my face. I lifted my pen and wrote my landmark, then returned to my seat for dessert!
