For Thad

I found a new poet, and I think you’ll like her. Her name is Lebogang Mashile (soft g) and she’s South African. I will show you when I come home. There was some other good poetry too, but I didn’t have enough money with me at the museum to get them. I’ll check the ‘net.

May 31

Yesterday was not the best day on this trip. Traveling takes a lot out of me, even when it’s a short plane ride of almost 3 hours. When we arrived in JoBurg, we had to gather into a large group once we’d collected our luggage before heading to the coaches. Once loaded onto the coaches, we went to a conference area where we had to hae a briefing on the Muti Market. Now, the faculty advisors have already made a couple of comments about people sleeping through the presentations, so even though I was worn out from the travel (and yes, I admit, my carousing), I was careful to pay close attention. The Muti Market is a market where Sangomas (similar to shamans) can sell their wares and services. They use traditional medicine consisting of teas and concoctions made from roots and wood chips and animal bones or hides or feathers. There is a lot they do that I won’t really go into here, but suffice to say, I was very excited about going.

Unfortunately, our flight had been delayed and we were late into Joburg, and then traffic was slow and we were late to the next phase of the day, so we had to cancel the market for yesterday afternoon and move it to this morning.

Honestly, I was glad. I was so sapped of energy, and my legs were in excruciating pain. So, we came straight to the hotel from the conference center and checked in, with enough time left for a short powernap before we were expected back into the coaches for dinner.

Dinner was at Gramadoela’s. The ‘gr’ is not pronounced as grizzly, but rather as a throaty ‘h’, and the ‘oel’ is pronounced as ‘el’. They did a buffet of traditional African dishes and it was delicious. However, I was so tired, I could barely get the fork to my mouth. And my legs were hurting worse and worse as the night went on. I never thought to bring Aspirin because I don’t generally take it, but sure enough last night I needed it. And no one else had any either. By the time I made it back to the hotel, I was in bad shape and had a good cry in the bathroom once I was in my room. Jennie helped me get my feet elevated and then let me have a little while to myself to pull it together.

When Jennie came back to the room last night, she suggested I think about not going on the excursion today to give my legs a chance to rest, and I did consider it but this morning when I got up, they were much better, so I went.

We toured another Township today. It was Soweto, and we saw where Winnie Mandela lives. Soweto covers 10 hectares and has 4 million people living in it. As you can well imagine, in an area that large, there are good and bad sections. We visited a monument built in Hector Pietersen and all the other students that were killed in the student protest marches back in the 60s (?). Then we had lunch at Wandie’s Place, which is a bed and breakfast in Soweto. The food, again, was African food, and it was gooood. There is this thing they call porridge and it’s made from maize meal, I think, or mealy pop, or I’m not sure what. I just know it was so very good. There was lots of other stuff to, but the porridge was my favorite. After lunch we went to the Nelson Mandela museum. Living in Memphis, I’ve been to the Civil Rights Museum. I have studied the Civil Rights movement. But I was not prepared for the gut deep sorrow that was waiting for me in the museum. It was intense. I can’t talk about it right now… but I’ll blog about it when I’ve had a chance to process the experience.

May 30

First, let me say a warm South African Happy Birthday to Laz!

30.05.09

OK, so there has been little to no opportunity to log onto the internet since we’ve been here. I ended up paying R80 for a 60 minute access card at the hotel, and then was still unable to connect for more than a few minutes. Then, yesterday, when Jennie and I were walking on Green Market Square we found an Internet Café which charged R5 per hour, so I felt a bit of disappointment. And still had no time to connect.

We’ve been running and running the entire time we’ve been here, but yesterday, the ferry to Robben Island was cancelled because of choppy water, so we had an entire afternoon to ourselves. Jennie and I went in search of lunch on Green Market Square and in the process found a very soft and pretty scarf (for little money), an ATM, a great little place to eat and I can’t remember the name of it, a new and fabulous friend, and an Internet Café. Lunch needs some explanation – there was this quaint little bistro advertising pizza and pasta and emanating the most delicious smells, so we stopped in to have a bite to eat. I can’t remember the name of the place, but I’ll see if I can find out so in case anyone reading is in Cape Town, this place can be on the list of things to do/see. Anyway, we went in and the sweetest guy (Ernest) greeted and seated us. He walked us through the menu and soon had our order for pizza. The pizza was very good, and Ernest was very attentive. And adorable! And helpful. When he brought our bill, he had included two thick brochures of things to see and do in Cape Town.

While Jennie was using the Internet, I walked up the street to the camera store in search of a battery charger for my camera. Aside from the store charger, they didn’t have the charger I needed, nor did they have a fully charged battery that would go in my camera, but they were so kind, they told me they would charge it for me and I could come back in an hour or two and it would be fully charged. So, I left my battery and headed over to MedSport, a store that sells prosthetics and orthotics.

I’ve been having a great deal of trouble with my ankles and feet swelling, so I had asked the concierge where I could find some compression stockings. He told me MedSport had them, but they would need to see me to fit me before I could get them. So, I stopped into MedSport and saw a nice man named Malcolm Freedman who had a chat with me asking about the problem and assessing the situation. He said he normally liked to fit first thing in the morning so the swelling was gone down, but as I’m leaving before he opens again, he worked around the time of day. After he fit me, we had a nice long conversation about the program and what my thoughts are about what we’ve seen so far. Malcolm is truly a nice person and I really enjoyed my chat with him. He gave me a business card and told me to keep in touch with him, and I plan on doing just that.

I was on the back side of the building that houses the hotel, so I went up to our room and dropped off my purchases before heading back to get Jennie. I ran into two more girls on the trip - Ashley and Ashley who are also roommates – and they didn’t know how to get to Green Market Square, so since I was headed back over there, I took them. Just as I was dropping them off, who in the world did I run into but Ernest! I went in for a moment to chat with him. We talked about William Petersen and theater and writing and Cape Town and Johannesburg and Memphis and Chicago – all in the blink of an eye. Ernest is the best, and we exchanged email addresses and plan to keep in touch. I went to get Jennie and brought her back to Ernest for a hello and a hug, and once we chatted again for a little bit, he somehow committed himself to showing us a side of Cape Town that was not on our program (which really only a resident can do!). We decided what time we were meeting up, and then we were on our way.

We had dinner as a group at Bayside Café which was right on the beach. It smelled amazing and I wanted to put my feet into it.

After dinner and returning to the hotel, we got ready and headed out to meet Ernest. We went dancing! We had so very much fun, and I am really, really glad we did it. And I’m glad we met Ernest! What a wonderful guy!

So we stayed out late, got a little sleep before we had to pack and head for the airport, and while it probably wasn’t the best choice in regards to the body’s need for sleep, I wouldn’t do it any differently at all given the chance.

Now I’m sitting in the airport of Cape Town waiting to board the plane for JoBurg. I won’t be able to connect until late tonight or tomorrow, so when you’re reading this, keep in mind the difference in when it was written and when it was posted. (I changed the time)

Day 1, continued

So, I decided to walk to Walgreen's to get cuticle snips because I had several hangnails that were not giving it up for the clippers. Google maps said it was less than a mile away, and I wanted a little exercise after being on planes all day long. It wasn't too hot, though definitely humid, and on the way, I passed some honeysuckle. I love that smell!

I came upon a Kmart before Walgreen's, so I went there instead. I picked up a few things, including a rolling bag for my CPAP and other carry on (I discovered that no matter how light I thought the two bags were, they weighed a ton!), and then headed back to the hotel.

As soon as I got in, I realized I was soaked in sweat and decided to change into my pajamas. Naturally, I'd been in my pajamas for about 15 minutes before Tawney and I decided to walk over to Outback for a light dinner. Since most people look at you strange when you go to dinner in Eeyore pajamas, I changed again.

Dinner was nice and we got a chance to talk and get to know each other a little better. By the time we got back to the room, though, I think we were both ready to call it a night. We watched a little television and then hit the hay.

Day 1 complete!

Day 1

This has been one long day!

I didn't finish packing until 1:30 this morning, at which time I crawled into bed. I slept for two hours and got up at 3:30 to shower and dress before waking my Dee up to take me to the airport. L didn't fancy getting up at 4 in the morning and it was a nice chance for us to have a little girl time, even though we were both so very tired. She'll be gone when I return to Memphis, so I appreciate having those last 30 minutes to ourselves.

We left the house a few minutes after 4 and made a quick stop at Walgreens for flipflops, a watch, water, and razors. We were on the road to the airport by 4:20 and though I took the wrong exit and had to backtrack, I was ticketed (with my boarding pass, not a moving violation) by 5 am. All that was left was getting through security and finding my gate.

The rest of Memphis was a breeze and I was soon seated next to a cute baby who behaved admirably. The flight to Atlanta was only about an hour long, so really, it was over almost before it had begun.

The Atlanta airport was interesting... to say the least. I had to connect a long way away, which meant that I had to first exit the secure area only to go back through security. Weird. That took me almost an hour, and I didn't have long to wait once I'd made it to the gate. The seating on this plan was a little strange in that the galley was located almost at the end of the plane, and was in the row with 3 seats... but it was wider, so the couple of rows of 2 seats that were next to the galley were more squishy than the others. I was on the window of one of them, so I was almost afraid to move. I'm sure I looked funny!

I finally made it to DC, exhausted and feeling confused. I asked a lot of questions and finally found first the baggage claim and then the shuttle area. Once I found my hotel, I dragged to my room and breathed a sigh of relief. I grabbed a quick lunch so I could take my malaria meds, and then snuggled in for a quick nap.

I'm not sure what we'll do this evening, but for now, I think more of a nap is in order.

Getting everything ready

I've spent the day getting everything ready for the trip. I'm still not finished, but I'm a lot closer than I was. I have been ill for the last few days this week, and didn't get as much done as I wanted, but today has been productive.

I have almost finished packing, I picked up and delivered my scholarship paperwork, delivered all of my nursing paperwork, finished all of the laundry, dropped L's clothes at the cleaners to be pressed, cleaned the kitchen, charged the kindle, and loaded some stuff onto my iPod.

I still need to go to the bank, go to Best Buy, finish packing, double check everything, and...... oh, make brownies.

I am sooooooo excited!