I made it to Cape Town.

I have arrived in Cape Town and over all it was a really good flight and travel. I know this is a long blog, you do not have to read it all, I just wanted to document my trip before I forgot all the fun details. God took care of me and provided me with everything I needed. There was only one time that I wish I was not traveling by myself, but even that worked out okay.
The story begins: I had 3 flights total, the first from OKC to Washington DC, then DC to Johannesburg, then Johannesburg to Cape Town. The 2 shorter flights were good, nothing comparable to the 15-hour flight to Jo-burg. I requested aisle this time, because last summer when I went to Zambia I was in the middle of the middle and it was horrible. There were only 2 seats in my row, which was nice. I sat next to a really nice lady from New Orleans that is a lawyer for the government and has some fancy job title that I can’t remember but does a lot with child abuse/ human trafficking cases and she travels to Africa a ton. She lived in South Africa for 3 ½ years, and now travels to Rwanda, Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa for work. She basically flies somewhere every month. There is a big Jazz Festival in Cape Town this weekend and so there where a ton of musicians on my flight that were coming in just to play at the festival. I feel like somewhere even pretty well known, but since I don’t know much about Jazz I had no idea. Of course there is always great people watching when you fly and the musicians were definitely fun to watch. I was also amazed at how many babies and small children were on my flight as well. (I know it’s normal for children to fly, it’s just a super long flight for some children). I was talking to one of the mothers in the back of the plane (where people mingle as they are standing and stretching) and she said this is her 2nd time flying with her son and it was harder this time because he is walking and much more active, where as last time he just slept the whole way. Sleeping was my plan for the super long flight… I watched Australia (just for you Chantelle), ate my dinner and took my sleeping pill in hopes that I would fall asleep pretty fast and when I woke up we would almost be there. However, that was not the case. I took the sleeping pill and there was nothing… I was wide awake, my legs were getting agitated, I had to go stand in the back of the plane for a while, and while I was back there I talked to one of the musicians and this ship captain that was going to SA to sail a ship back to Houston. They both served in the military (Navy med diver and a submariner) so they had some interesting stories to tell. After a while of talking with them I started feeling sleepy and just knew I was going to fall asleep as soon as I sat back down. I started another movie and watched the whole thing, still no sleep. So not sure if my body doesn’t respond well to sleeping pills or what because it did not help me sleep. I would sleep on and off, but literally 20-30 minutes at a time the whole trip. Guess I need a new plan for coming home. So we finally arrived in Jo-burg, everyone is excited and they tell us that because of a sick, contagious passenger we have to stay on the plane for at least an hour to be Corateen (not sure if I spelled that right). Everyone starts looking around, talking, confused, and then the flight attendant says April Fools! Even though I was still processing what she said, discussing with the lady sitting next to me how that would happen, not sure to believe it or not, it was a good April fools joke. So at Jo-burg we had to go through customs and claim our luggage, which took forever. There were so many bags coming out and so many people standing around the luggage round-about (can’t think of what it’s called) that it was hard to see if it was your bag or not. I had been waiting for at least 30 minutes and had not seen my bags. I start to get a little worried, because it is now 4:00 and my last flight leaves at 5:00 and still needed to re-check my bags. But at least I wasn’t the only one that didn’t have their bag; there were probably about 20 of us. After a loll, more bags came through and there were my bags, luckily. So then I’m rushing up to re-check my bags, I am super hot at this time, this is when I don’t like traveling by myself. You don’t know where you are going, I’m in a different country and if I missed my flight it would have been a little more complicated than in the states (at least comfort wise). Going through customs is a little different than the US, less formal. This guy stopped me, looked at my passport, started asking me a million questions of why I’m here, how long will I be here, do I have food in my suitcase, did I bring presents, etc. It always makes me nervous when they ask so many questions because I never know if I’m saying the right thing or if I say something that is a red flag to them, but I made it through and upstairs to check-in I went. Another guy helped me find the check-in counter, which I was so thankful for and helped with my luggage as well. You can only imagine what I looked like, carrying my 2 large suitcases, back-pack, speed walking through the airport, I was on a mission. Talking to this man, I was immediately reminded of how friendly Africans are and it made me happy that I was here, he was a little hard to understand, but we had a fun conversation nonetheless. He reminded me of one of my Northrise University friends from last summer. So I’m now at the check-in counter line, you first have to take your luggage over a ground scale before you can proceed. This girl’s luggage in front of me was overweight and they were kind-of making a big deal about it, so then I getting nervous again (because we all know my bags reached the maximum). I made it through the first scale okay but when I was at the counter to check-in and they weigh your bags again the girl said my bags were overweight, I questioned her, saying that I had no problems when I first checked in and I thought I was allowed 2, 50lbs bags, she looked at something else and said I was right, so I’m not sure if it was because I was flying internationally or what, but my bags made it through. That whole experience was the most stressful part of the flight. So on my last flight I sat next to a nice Capetonian businesswoman. We didn’t talk a lot, she asked to read my People magazine, but then as we were landing we started talking about Cape Town and how this is my first time here and why I came, etc. She was super nice, thanked me for coming, gave me her business card in case I needed anything and then also wanted me to email her how things were going and what I thought of Cape Town. I just love meeting new people! So we arrived in Cape Town, as I got off the plane it was already dark, so hard to see anything, but I could feel the humidity. Got my suitcases no problem went out to the find my driver and my fear came true (but only for a little while). I was supposed to look for someone holding a Connect 123 sign; I saw all kinds of signs but no one for me. I decided to go to the ATM while I was waiting which turned out to be a disaster as well. Both my bankcard and credit card would not work to get Rand. I decided not to worry about it tonight and would just figure it out tomorrow. So hopefully it was just that machine. So after a couple failed attempts at the ATM I go back to look for my driver, still didn’t see anyone, but heard my name being called over the intercom to come to the information desk, which I immediately did, and was relieved that I know had a driver. The guy that was my driver was so nice, his name was Amin, he has 3 kids, a 4-year-old boy, and 1 ½ year old twin girls, that are white (my color he informed me). Evidently, there mother is white, he is black, his dad is German and his mom is black. So I’m sure his children are beautiful. He also was so fun to talk to, he asked the basic questions, but I got to ask him questions as well. He has never left Cape Town, loves it here but one-day hopes he can come to America because “it has everything.” We also talked about our new President Barrack Obama and the different way we both say Barrack. He made me feel welcomed and definitely took care of me. On the way to the apt, one of the Connect 123 girls calls him to talk to me to make sure I arrived okay and let me know where my key was. I will have orientation with them in the morning. My apartment is nice; I have 2 roommates, which I met briefly tonight. One is from Chicago and the other is from England. I took a shower, unpacked a little, visited with the girls, tried to go to bed, but it is now 3:00 in the morning and I’m wide awake, so I thought I would write this blog. Now I’m planning on going to bed and can’t wait to wake up see Cape Town!