At the moment, I am currently at JFK International airport at gate B28 in Terminal 4 for the South African Airways flight 204 to Johannesburg. It’s 8:57 am, and my flight boards at 10:30 am.
Has the excitement hit me yet? Not really. I think it’s more due to the fact that I am not only sleep deprived, but also the intense effort required of me (physically) to go through the god forsaken airport security that torments most travel goers has made it so that I am irritated with traveling already.
Oh TSA how I love thee.
Saturday night live did a wonderful little skit about TSA agents. They showed how if you wanted to get a more personal touch to your traveling experience, your best bet would be going through an airport security checkpoint, where TSA agents not only bark at you about not putting your cell phone and laptop in the same bin, but also, they give you a more “personal touch” when you set off the metal detector.
You will receive nothing less than the deluxe man handling treatment by the
TSA agents. I personally set off metal detectors at airports every time I go through one. Today, I set off the alarm because I had metal bobby pins in my HAIR. Naturally, they pulled me aside to receive their well known “pat downs” where I was touched in the most sensual way possible that was within legal limits.
After my TSA agent “encounter” I went to the gate and camped out to sleep in a chair. When I woke up from my cat nap, the plane began boarding, and therefore I retrieved my things, cut in line, and boarded the plane headed for Jo’burg. Approximate flying time to Jo’burg: 15 hours.
My thoughts on this: o_O
Arrive: 7:53 am in Jo’burg on Monday morning. Weather: sunny and a breezy 4 degrees Celsius. Went through customs where I had to put my luggage through a scanner. While I was standing by the carousel looking sad and confused, a lovely young woman in her early thirties came up to me:
“Allo sweetheart why do you look so gloom?”
“It’s been a long journey and I am impatient with how slow the carousel loading is going”
She looks at me then laughs. “Clearly you haven’t been to Africa before. Here everything is slow. I can say that with great certainty, because I am African”.
I smiled a bit then proceeded to watch out for my oversized luggage.
“Where are you staying and for how long?”
“I am staying in Cape Town for three months”
“No one is traveling with you?”
“Nope. I am flying solo here and back.”
She looks at me with a quizzical look. “Well honey you are so brave for so young a person. How old are you and why are you going to Cape Town?”
“I’m 21, and headed to Cape Town to do volunteer work with HIV in adolescents.”
“My, my, my. You are quite courageous for traveling all this way without having anyone you know nearby. I think you will be fine in Cape Town. It’s a wonderful city with much to offer. I’ve traveled all over the world and lived in New York, Sydney, Australia, and Jo’burg, and I will tell you that Africans are the nicest people you will ever meet. Cape Town is the most beautiful city in the world, and your experience there will most definitely change your life forever. I’m going to grab you a trolley so that you can put your luggage on it.”
After grabbing me a trolley, she gave me a hug and wished me well. Her last words to me were “The most important thing to do while you are there is to have fun”, and with a turn of her frame she disappeared into the crowd.
For the first time in quite some time, I didn’t feel so alone and felt somewhat comforted by her words.
Next stop: Cape Town
Welcome to Cape Town
Arrive in the beautiful yet rainy city of Cape Town at approximately 12:15pm. Meeting me, was the lovely Petra, a colleague of mine who hails from Belgium and who was kind enough to help me with my luggage and hostel stay. The first thing I noticed was how not only were the cars manual, but also how they were built so that the driver’s seat is on the passenger’s seat, (by American standards) and the roads are built by the British system in which everyone drives on the wrong side of the road.
The city is absolutely stunning, surrounded by large mountains, an expansive oceanfront and many quaint houses built along the side of the mountain for as far as the eye can see. While we are driving along the very confusing highway system towards the area in which I will be staying, Petra points out a few things, such as lion’s head, table mountain and devil’s peak (all peaks and features of the mountains surrounding CT). While she is doing this I look like an idiot trying to absorb everything in.
We arrive at the hostel, where I check in and Petra lets me go to settle in and take care of a few things. I check my emails, and check in with my panicking mother who I calm down and assure that I am doing fine.
So my friends, my adventure begins. Tomorrow I am going to get a phone and figure out how the hell I am going to get from place to place in this sprawling gem of the Western Cape.
Until tomorrow~
Carolyn
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