First Stop: London

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Hey All,
I've arrived in South Africa, after spending a few days with Gesche and the boys in London. It was a short stop, but we managed to get out and see quite a bit of the city. Gesche had been wanting to see a musical since moving to London, so on Tuesday night we went to see Mama Mia with Hanna, one of Gesche's friends. Many of the actors were television actors who do stage productions on the side, and were incredibly talented. It was the most hilarious show I've ever seen, all done to ABBA music. We had great seats, about four rows back, and at the end, they turned the lights on the audience so that the actors could interact with us, and did three or four dance routines. During the last song, I turned around and half the people in the audience were on their feet dancing. After the show we went for drinks at a bar nearby, then took the underground home.

I left London on Wednesday, my flight was delayed by 1 1/2 hours, so I sat around in the Heathrow Airport feeling anxious about catching my connecting flight in Johannesburg. I sat next to a South African rugby player, who was quite funny and annoying at the same time. Sitting next to a rugby payer on a crowded flight is no fun...I could barely move my arms or legs because he was so huge. However he pointed me in the right direction to the domestic flight terminal when we arrived in Johannesburg, and I took off running to try and catch my flight. When I checked my luggage in, they called the gate and had them hold the plane, so I made it on, thank god. When I arrived in Port Elizabeth, there was a woman from NMMU waiting for me. She took me to a driver and instructed him to bring me to Annie's Cove, the place where I'll be living this year. Once I got to Annie's Cove, I dumped my stuff in my room and my roommate (a girl from Sweden named Alma) and I went down to the grocery store to try and exchange some money and find power adapters. We had no luck so we came home and I went to bed feeling frustrated because I I had no money, no cell phone, no internet, my camera battery was dead as well as my laptop. Oh, and my lamp in my room didn't fit the power outlet, so I couldn't read.

This morning I got up and we caught a buss to the mall so that I could get money and buy bedding, towels, a phone, and power adapters. It took the whole day and the buss we were supposed to catch back didn't arrive for about three hours. We were about to give up and try to find a cab when it pulled up. By the time we got home I was exhausted and sun burnt, but happy to finally have power and all those other things we normally take for granted. Tomorrow I'm off to the beach, and maybe will explore the city now that I have my camera...

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Photos

Four Years Later
These signs protesting the war were here in 2003 when I came for Lamar's birth.

Canary Wharf
We met Naz at work for coffee...

Covent Garden
One of the more personable street performers in Covent Garden

Comments

[cara]

Hi Britta. So glad you made it and are launched on your big trip! I am so excited for you and excited to read your blogs. This is going to be such an awesome journey. Take care! Love, cara

[Mom]

found your blog!
Well, I have been wondering what that square on my desktop that I never noticed before was for! I happened to glance at it again this evening and noticed it had a B attached to the title...aha! This missing blog. I didn't go to college for nothing! Thanks for posting the photos from London. Who is that dark haired girl with Gesche?