Trip abroad

My cousin has been studying English for over ten years, and it has always been an ambition of hers to go abroad to an English speaking country. That is her ambition, and her dream is actually to one day move to abroad to work as a nurse.

She has been having a lot of difficulty realising her dream, especially financial troubles, and seeing me travel so much, she is often envious of me. So I've silently vowed to help her however I can.

An uncle of our, who has always been very kind and generous, approached me one day and together we plotted something. He would pay for my cousin's airfare, and I could help to book her flights.

We spent an afternoon looking for fares online, an endeavour which fascinated her, and opened her eyes to possibilities. I had my uncle's budget in mind, and originally my cousin only wanted to go to two places in the US (California and Florida, both where she has relatives), I managed to squeeze in a little side trip to BC, Canada to visit our aunt and cousins who live in vancouver. I paid a little to make up for the difference, but I knew how much she's been dreaming about going abroad, so I wanted to give her a full and exciting itinerary. Actually at one point, when I was planning to head back to Canada around this time, I even said she can come visit me in eastern Canada. But that unfortunately is not happening.

My cousin is due to leave tomorrow morning, and this afternoon, using the four hour break I had, I went through the whole flying procedure with her, from check-in to boarding, to immigration and customs (I even told her all about frequent flyer programmed, showed her the benefits of the "Mile High Club" as a joke...)
She was overwhelmed at first, but still very excited. I even gave her a sheet with "instructions" based on a "guide to flying" I produced for my younger cousin (who never managed to come visit me...).

She was very appreciative. But when she was not looking, I slipped a little card in her bag, a "have a safe trip" card with a touching message, But also all the Canadian money I had with me. "Open this card only when you board the plane!!" I told her. I smile at the very thought of this little surprise... Little surprises like this make me so happy, and that is a welcome change of feeling different from what I feel at the hospital.

Why am I doing all this for my cousin? Because I care about her, and genuinely hope she can benefit from this first experience abroad and that it'll help her open her eyes and mind. I've had that privilege given to me in my life, at an early stage. And if I could offer some pointers and tips on travelling and going abroad, why not?
And my cousin has been very supportive and helpful in different ways throughout this period I have been here (despite her previously homophobic views...), and in a way this is my little way of saying "thank you".