safe arrival in jo’burg

the flight over to Johannesburg from JFK went rather smoothly. there was an unexpected systems failure that led to an hour delay, but once we left for the skies, the airbus was pretty calm and pleasant. as i suspected, i wasn’t able to pull off the 15 hour pass-out-until-you-get-there ride, but i did manage to squeeze in some shut eye.

traveling in shorts and t-shirt was a bit of a rude awakening, as the weather here is pretty cold and chilly. i resorted to buying an extra pair of warmups and long sleeves at the terminal adidas store to keep me from getting sick – i hadn’t the slightest idea this would be my first purchase using rand dollars!

as i stood in line to get through customs, i noticed anderson cooper from cnn was a few persons behind. i saw him again in line to order sandwiches at subway. he prefers the un-toasted subs. i don’t. end of story.

anyways, i have about another hour before transferring to a domestic flight headed for pietermaritzburg! i am exhausted, but thrilled to almost call it a final destination, though really – the beginning of a new experience – and to come face to face with audrey, her family, rosetta, max and miranda, and the rest of the KZN community.