There was so much traffic on the road. I needed to get home quickly as i had just a few hours remaining before i could go to the airport. The ' Matatu' conductors whistled and talked loudly to each other. 'Matatu' is the Swahili word for public buses. The music played in this bus was deafening- so loud and almost annoying. My heart beat a pace faster as i was worried that i would not make it to the airport on time. I felt like getting off the bus and breaking into a run but that would take me no less than two hours to get home.

My lucky stars must have shone on me for in a short time, the traffic cleared and we were moving fast. Our bus was actually over-speeding but on this particular day, i didn't mind it. I got home just in time to have a shower and dress up elegantly before joining my family for dinner. It was the best day of my life. A day i had looked forward to since i was like 6. I wanted to fly out and see the Western world. I wanted to get into that flight and soar up high in the sky. I wanted to see the buildings and oceans below. I was a very happy girl then.

Some friends, family and neighbours came to bid me goodbye. They looked a bit sad as they would miss me. I felt that i would miss them too but i was happy that my dream was unveiling. I went to the airport with my Mum, Dad and sister Trixy. At the airport, i had mixed feelings. I was happy and sad. Happy because this long awaited day had arrived! Sad because this was the first time ever in my life that i would live far away from my parents. I would really miss them.

I was lucky to get a seat next to a window. I kept staring outside and a permanent smile seemed to have been planted on my lips. I followed instructions from the friendly looking cabin crew throughout the journey. It was a night time flight so really, there wasn't much to see apart from the millions of lights in the cities down below. There was a dark mass down below for about an hour. I understood according to the video tablet before me that we were crossing the Mediterranean sea.

Most people in the flight were German and French speaking. There were a few English speaking individuals i came across to. I was a shy and reserved young woman with no much knowledge of life out in the world alone. I wasn't talkative - i still am not. This said i struggled to make friends, so i literally travelled the eight hour flight in my own comfort zone. The zone where i quietly build castles and even skyscrapers in my dreams. The person seated next to me was fast asleep anyway. He had seemed quite friendly but there was a language barrier between us. He spoke German and i did English. My German was more on the rubbish side then.

I spotted the first rays of the morning sun as we neared our destination. I could see the buildings down below which seemed like ant-hills. I could see the clouds whenever we came across any. They were like white woollen blankets. I was so excited. Breakfast was served. I had poached eggs, mushrooms, a slice of brown toast and a nice cup of coffee. In about an hour, the signal came that we were landing in the next quarter of an hour.

'Good morning ladies and gentlemen. We have arrived at Zurich Airport. We hope you have enjoyed your flight. Please fasten your seat belts as we are about to land. Thank you for traveling with us.'

'Guten Morgen meine Damen und Herren. Wir haben am Flughafen Zürich angekommen. Wir hoffen, dass Sie Ihren Flug genossen haben. Bitte anschnallen, wie wir über den Boden sind. Vielen Dank für das Reisen mit uns.'

'Bonjour mesdames et messieurs. Nous sommes arrivés à l'aéroport de Zurich. Nous espérons que vous avez apprécié votre vol. Se il vous plaît attachez vos ceintures de sécurité que nous sommes sur le point d'atterrir. Merci de voyager avec nous.'

The golden voiced air hostess said this repeating in three different languages. That is: English, German and French. I was over the moon as i got off the plane. The friendly cabin crew bid every passenger a warm goodbye with lovely smiles on their faces. I was happy to be in Switzerland at last but i didn't know my way around and the language barrier was simply crippling. Zurich airport was magnificent, almost spotlessly clean just like i had always imagined. Here i was, in a first world with all the underground trains and thousands of escalators - something which i wasn't anywhere near used to from my mother country. It could have helped if the passage signs were written in English but unfortunately it was all French and German.

I knew English very well since my mother country was an English colony. As such, English was the main language taught at all schools. Every subject was in English save for one which was' Kiswahili.' I had taken German classes in high school too which i passed quite well but due to lack of practice, i wasn't fluent in speaking. Everybody i spoke to seemed to say, ' Es tut mir leid, aber ich kann nicht sprechen Englisch.' This i came to understand later that, they were expressing their incapability of speaking English. I had to get to the exit of which i had to take an underground train but there were so many of the underground passages and trains. As such i didn't know which one to get. It was 7 O'clock in the morning and my elder sister, who i was coming to live with in Switzerland, during the duration of my studies, had informed me that, she would pick me up at around 8:30. My heart leapt for joy as i thought of my sister Jess. The last time i had seen her was almost 5 years ago. I had missed her terribly.

I was in this state of confusion, when someone touched my shoulder. I turned around to look and she politely said, 'Jambo.' That is the Swahili word for hallo. My face lit up with happiness as if i had seen an angel of God. At last i had met someone who could speak a language that i could well understand. She was tall and smartly dressed. Her name was Lydia and she was traveling to England via Zurich. Her next flight to Heathrow airport was at 9 O'clock. Unlike me, this wasn't her first time flying. She was well travelled and had been to Zurich on several occasions. I silently thanked God for sending me a guide in that hour of need and confusion.

Lydia took the same underground train as me. We each had an hour to spare so we went over to a nearby café and ordered for some coffee and blueberry muffins. Lydia was a nurse in London where she had been working for several years. She was coming from her dad's burial in Africa when i met her. As such, she wasn't in a very jolly mood. I deeply felt for her. We exchanged phone numbers. I didn't have any Swiss phone number yet, so i gave her my sister's. I bid Lydia goodbye and thanked her for her help.

I saw my sister approaching and i ran to hug her. As we drove through the magnificent streets of Zurich, i was so over the moon. Dreams come true . It might not seem much like a dream to you, but to me at that tender age, flying out was such a big deal!