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Sunrise over Africa
I think we're over Namibia at this point. As I write this, I’m sitting in San Francisco International airport (SFO) waiting to board my delayed flight to New York. From New York, I fly to Johannesburg. From Joburg to Cape Town. It’s a 30-hour or so travel itinerary. I figure once you get up around or past 30 hours, it doesn’t really matter how long you’re on the road, the trip is long. (In retrospect, I am going to say after 15 hours, it doesn’t really matter).
Today is June 1st. Well, it’s almost June 2nd, and will be by the time the plane hits the tarmac. I returned to the US on May 12th. It’s been rough, I won’t lie. The first week I was in a serious funk. Then I started becoming bitter. Bitter at the lifestyles my friends and family have to endure in order to make a decent living in the US. Okay, maybe a lot of them have better than decent livings, but still, after 8 months of not working, the stress levels of my loved ones were palpable. Sure, it’s been great seeing everyone. LA was a bit, well LA, but my people there make up for it. I always feel fortunate
El amanecer sobre áfrica del sur
Pienso que estamos en Namibia en esto momento. to have such amazing family and friends. I’m even more fortunate that everyone seems to be doing very, very well (despite working too much!). And thus, I have no qualms about setting off on another adventure.
Next up, two months in South Africa. More specifically, I’ll be spending 5 or 6 weeks in Cape Town, where I’ll be working as a volunteer at the World Cup. An awesome opportunity, to be sure, but the level of disorganization is a bit worrisome. It’s hard organizing things while being so far away but in a day and a half, that will no longer be an issue. The World Cup starts June 11th and ends July 11th. I’m not sure how long I am required to stick around Cape Town but I’ve left myself until August 3rd to travel around. Madagascar and Namibia are currently at the top of my To See list but I imagine I’ll meet some wonderful people who will invite me to visit and/or educate me about various parts of the region I’ll be open to seeing.
As I hinted to above, this visit home hasn’t been the easiest. Lots of little stresses kept popping up. Maybe
Cape Town airport
Pick up your weapons! it’s always been like this and I’ve just been so removed in Colombia that now they effect me more. And I wish things were going smoother with the World Cup gig; from screwed up volunteer schedules to a delayed flight out of San Francisco, to just being sleepy, I’m not as excited right now as I would like to be. That said, I’m going to hope the worst is behind me. I know arriving in Cape Town will be invigorating. I know the whole experience is going to be one of the best yet. And as my Aunt Joann so keenly reminded me, I’m sure to make the best of it.
So here’s to a decent sleep in my window seat, edible food on South African Airways, and swift action on the part of my dear friend, Ambien!
~~~
Post Script:
I’ve arrived! I’m in Cape Town, South Africa! My window seat was nice (emergency exit row); the food was edible on the NY > Joburg leg, disgusting on the Joburg > Cape Town leg; the Ambien worked swiftly but not strongly. I only managed about 3-4 hours of sleep on that 15-hour leg. However, I
got to watch 3 movies. That was nice. And I made up for it by sleeping about 14 hours last night.
I went to Green Point Stadium yesterday (my first day in Cape Town) and worked out my volunteer schedule (soft “sch” here, mind you). I also received my uniform (partially shown here). There is no wifi at the place where I’m staying, which is going to be a bit of a challenge for me (however will I read the BBC headlines via Twitter in bed???). And, well, I guess that’s all I have to report for now. Certainly more to come.
Best wishes to all!
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