MY PROFESSOR AND I

The Arrival

Episode 3

Tia found her seat on the plane and sank into it with a sigh.

The pink suitcase was checked in, her handbag with all her documents was on her lap. She was finally doing it.

An old woman settled into the seat next to her. She had kind eyes and a warm smile.

Tia turned to her. “Hello.”

The old woman smiled back. “Hello, dear. First time flying?”

Tia nodded. “First time leaving Nigeria.”

The woman patted her hand. “You’ll do great.”

The flight was long. Eleven hours.

Tia tried to sleep, but she kept waking up. Every time she closed her eyes she saw her mom’s face at the airport, her dad waving.

She watched movies. She ate the small airplane food. She looked out the window at clouds that looked like cotton.

Finally, the captain’s voice came on.

_“We will be landing in Bangkok in 20 minutes.”_

Tia pressed her face to the window.

“Wow,” she whispered.

Below her was a city full of lights, tall buildings, and rivers cutting through it. Bangkok was beautiful. Bigger than she imagined.

The plane landed with a bump. People clapped.

Tia grabbed her pink suitcase and followed the crowd out.

The airport was huge. So many people. So many languages.

For a second she felt lost. Her heart beat fast.

Then — *BAM!*

She bumped straight into a tall foreigner. Her papers almost fell again.

“I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!” Tia said quickly, bowing a little.

The person just smiled, said something in Thai she didn’t understand, and walked away.

Tia exhaled. “Okay. You can do this.”

She walked to the taxi line.

“Thailand International University, please,” she told the cab driver in careful English.

He nodded and drove off.

The ride to TIU was 45 minutes. Tia watched Bangkok go by — tuk-tuks, street food, signs in Thai. It didn’t feel real.

At the school gates, Tia dragged her suitcase to the admin office.

Her name.

Her course: Law.

Her department.

Lecture time. Room number. Student ID.

By the time she finished, her feet hurt and her head was spinning.

But she was smiling.

She was tired.

She was nervous.

But she was finally in Thailand.

And this was just the beginning.