8:41 AM, July 17th
I made it! With all my stuff too:
I got in last night around nine, and promptly went out (slightly coerced, but I figured, why not), but that’s another story altogether. In honor of my very long, and relatively smooth journey, I’ll give you the highlights (and lowlights?):
The Good:
1. 1. Making Friends. First it was in Dulles Airport before I even left. A slightly emotional Charlotte arrived at her terminal with an hour to kill before boarding, and didn’t really know what was going on (people were checking in at the desk for the flight – who does that?). So I turned to an aging man sitting next to me and asked what was going on. Naturally, he didn’t know either and left me with no information regarding the mysterious checking-in, but did proceed to tell me his life story (He grew up in Johannesburg and has lived there all his life. His daughter just got married in Atlanta – that’s why he was here – and he hates the groom. Bummer.) and all his advice for my trip (Don’t trust anyone. You can’t tell the bad guys from the good ones. Ever.) Needless to say, his tips didn’t exactly invigorate my already fragile state, but it was nice to know South Africans weren’t altogether terrifying.
2. 2. Finding Friends. In need of a companion, I was excited to find out less than an hour later that David Shea, a guy from my elementary school class, was on my flight, and doing UCT for the semester too. Yay! A friendly face! Sort of? Granted, I haven’t seen him since fifth grade, and no, we never really talked or were friends during that time, but yay! Someone I know won’t kill me or rob me blind. Word.
3. 3. Dramamine. Who needs Ambien?
The Bad:
1. 1. The 24-hour trip. Although it was a given that getting here would suck, the trip was looong. On the bright side, I’m not too jet lagged. Yet.
2. 2. Being alone. I now see the perks in having a travel buddy: When I saw David (even though we haven’t seen each other in years, and those previous years weren’t exactly Harry and Sally), I was so relieved and thrilled to just have someone to chat to who wasn’t the safari-ready professor and the significantly overweight Luandan expat (my neighbors for 19 hours).
3. 3. Luggage. I packed only two suitcases! Both were under 50lbs! Plus only two carry-ons. Which were duffles bags. Which weighed about 40lbs each… It adds up, let me tell you. Joburg airport is bigger than you think. So is Dulles. So is Cape Town. Being a girl sucks.
4. 4. The Luandan woman sleep-whining during nighttime. So weird.
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