Decisions, decisions

Picking the people I would focus on for this project was not as difficult as I thought it would be. I immediately thought of my old friend Kyla, a very interesting person. I met her, Justin, and Nigel, on a trip to the USA in 2008. We were all blessed enough to be able to afford the pricey trip, and we met while sitting around and waiting for other students to arrive at Johannesburg International (now OR Tambo) Airport.We were all Gold medalists at ACE's All Africa Student Convention, an annual 4-day competition for Accelerated Christian Education students across the continent, where we competed in sport, performance art, academic science/history projects, music, dance, literary art, etc. Certain categories - including vast Scripture memorisation, which btw is extremely difficult - qualify for the international convention. Mine did, and so did theirs. My medal was for poetry writing, Kyla's was for a dramatic monologue (which I actually got to watch in person at AASC before actually meeting her at ISC), Justin's was for sprinting (dude. is. fast.), and I can't remember what Nigel's was for; it was either archery or the Golden Apple award (a Scripture memorisation and recitation award).

We became a group in a sort of 'buddy system' that was developed on the trip, which included the 6-day convention, a short Eastern US tour, and a 4-day stay in Disney World in Orlando, Florida (and while they toured New York, I visited family in Texas). So when I thought of Kyla for this project, I also thought of Justin and Nigel, as the four of us spent more time together than we did with anyone else on that trip - the entire team was about 84 people. I had the time of my life, and it wouldn't have been the same without them. We ate, laughed, cried, conquered rides, wreaked havoc in airports, lost money, got lost, and got sick - and we did it together.

I guess you could say we were close - I was right outside the bathroom door when Nigel threw up after our 5th turn on the Tower of Terror - and we're supposed to be using people we don't know too well. But how well can you get to know someone on a trip that lasted less than 3 weeks? I figured I didn't know them before 2008, and we've kept in touch since, but rather superficially - 'like' a status here and there, leave a funny birthday message on their wall, bla, bla, bla. So why not try and find out what I don't already know about a group of people who will always be special to me? The headings we picked made that easy. I don't know too much about any of them in terms of romantic history or tastes, background, or travel (well, other than our trip). So there. Perfecto. :)

Kyla

Justin

Nigel