September 26, 2012
Professor Delaossa
English 100
The Unknown Eritrean Kingdom Growing up as a child I always wanted to go to Eritrea. I would always hear stories and watch movies about my homeland, but yet I was still 16 and never visited. While watching movies with my parents I would see children starving on store corners. There would be kids that were banded from their parents on the corners of little markets asking for money and/or food to survive. It was a struggle for those kids because they were on there own at the age of 5 or 6 providing for themselves with no support. Also, while watching movies over time I have seen animals being abused, women hiking while they were pregnant, dry desert, no buildings, and children being abused. It’s looked very dirty, muddy, and dry. What really caught my attention was there were nats flying around the kids while they are eating/drinking. When I saw that I can tell these kids are living in a dirty, smelly, nasty environment. The houses I see on these Eritrean videos didn’t look so stable and what I saw was blankets on top of the house so cold air or heat would get in. There is a big Eritrean event that happens every two years in Eritrean when people across the world come to be included it. The summer of 2008 best friend went out to Eritrea. I talk to her every other day. The way she described things to me were very different from what I have seen on the internet and on movies. She would tell me stories about her and her family at the beach and restaurants she went to that were five star places. Then it had me thinking. What is Eritrea really like if she telling me one thing, but when I watch these movies I see something completely different? The only way I would know the truth was if I went myself. As time went on I then really looked into going to Eritrea for myself. Summer of 2011 as my graduation present my sister bought me my airline ticket to go to Eritrea. I was so excited my heart was beating faster, I started shaking, and I couldn’t take my smile off my face. As my parents were dropping me off at the airport I was getting kind of nervous, started thinking if it was a good idea, and was scared to meet family members I have never known. I felt like I was going to be depressed when I was there because I would loose connection and things would be different when I got back. When my parents were leaving the airport I then knew everything was real. I started thinking to hard and began to be really nervous. Im boarding onto the plane my heart dropped; it was time I was going to Eritrea by myself during a very important time. I didn’t know what to expect. My heart is beating faster as my hands are shaking while holding my luggage and the air conditioning blowing through my hair. I hear people talking, the intercom, planes arriving, security beeping, children crying, and luggage’s rolling on the hard floor. Now as im sitting at my seat on the plane I am checking my surroundings as I place my bags down. On the plane, Im sitting in between and old man who smelt like dirty laundry and a 13 year old kid who looked confused and scared. As im on the plane ride my ears began to pop and I was very anxious to know I was on my way to Eritrea. Before I knew it the plane landed and I have now entered Eritrea. My first impression was the airport which wasn’t well organized. They lost
