54. Back to the Land Where Dreams Come True

Sunday 16 June

At 5am, I met Angelo, one of the International Office student drivers, outside Concordia with my two suitcases and my backpack, ready to leave. Well at least physically. But I was also super excited to get to my internship. And also really really sleepy.

He dropped me off at Cape Town airport and I was alone again, on my way to adventures, much like I'd been three months before. The airport was so easy, as usual for South Africa. I just casually checked in, dropped off my really heavy bag and didn't have to pay for it, walked right through security, bought a croissant and scrambled egg for breakfast at Mugg & Bean (almost like a South African version of Starbucks but with better food selections).

The first flight was great...I journalled for a bit, thought for a little bit, then slept. I SLEPT ON A PLANE! That's pretty much a first. I felt like a new person when the man in the seat two over from me (I was in the window seat and the middle seat was empty) had to reach over and nudge me because the flight attendant loudly telling me to open the window shade wasn't enough to wake me from my sleep. Haha!! I woke up, a tiny bit embarrassed and then was just filled with a sense of accomplishment at having slept on a plane. Wow. Go, Marie! Let's hope I can work the same magic when I fly from Joburg to London to Chicago.

In my layover in Joburg airport, I got a bit lost. I didn't know where I was supposed to go, but finally a nice porter showed me the way to a desk to ask someone where my gate was for my flight, then I had to go through security again, but it was still really chill and then I had about two hours until my flight. And I bumped into some of the Medill journalism kids. They were at the gate next to mine and were flying to another Kruger airport to go on a safari for a few days. Same time. Same day. Next gate over. What are the odds. Gotta love Northwestern.

After they left for their flight, I still had a while left before mine and I was journalling again and there were two American ladies sitting behind me, all decked out in their proper safari costumes, talking on and on and on and on about their kitchen remodeling and curtains and I was trying to write about Kayamandi and things like that. These women - I gathered from listening to their conversation; it's not eavesdropping when they're basically shouting in your ear - had clearly just flown in from the States and were going straight to Kruger to go on their fancy safari and then were running home. For all intensive purposes, they were escaping South Africa, hiding from it out in the bush with the lions and elephants and other foreign tourists. I think I journaled two or three pages ranting about their conversation and I was rather impatient and not very understanding. But still, I think I was a tad justified in my frustration. They come to this country and they don't interact with any of the people. They don't see a city. They don't see a township. They don't see reality. They don't see life. They miss the whole picture. Ughhhhhh!!!!!! Tourists!!!!!!! I'm sorry if I have ever traveled somewhere in the world like that. Ignoring reality. Forgetting that the sights are really a part of someone's home, part of a bigger picture, just a tiny fraction of what's there, just the ears of the hippo (that's what they use here instead of "tip of the iceberg" since icebergs don't really exist in South Africa, but hippos in rivers do).

Ok, sorry for ranting. Again.

The next flight was just in a tiny prop plane and it was really quick. I was the only person in the front row, and I had to do the Exit row briefing with the flight attendant, and he told me to look out the window for smoke and flames. And he also gave me instructions on what to do when (he really should've said IF) he passed out and was unable to open the doors. Fortunately I'm not a nervous flyer. So I just giggled at him.

I landed in Hoedspruit again, grabbed my luggage, walked out of the house, I mean the airport, and into the bright warm sunshine and saw a quiet guy standing outside the door, but he was the only guy, so we did that awkward staring thing, and then he approached me and asked me if I was looking for SAWorldVets, which of course I was, so I then he introduced himself as Zander, took my bags for me and loaded them into a game viewing vehicle. SAWorldVets had just conducted a course for students, and one of them was still here, not leaving until the next day. And she was from Oklahoma and had quite the southern drawl. She was a pre-vet student at OSU. She had just come to South Africa for the two week course and had spent no other time here. Kind of like the ladies from Joburg airport, she missed the big picture of South Africa. It made me feel really really lucky and grateful to have had the experience that I have had. Three months and I still feel like I've barely scratched the surface of this incredible country.

We drove at full speed in the open game viewing vehicle to first grab a quick lunch from a filling station, then go to a game farm and pick up some things, then to another game reserve called Thankerton, owned by the Osmers family. This game farm had a lodge with a couple big guest chalets, and the girl from OSU and I were put in one of them for the night. We went on a drive around the game farm in the afternoon, and immediately saw three young rhinos. Babies. It was really exciting!!! Here for less than an hour and already seen three rhinos. Anyway that was cool!

my room in the lodge chalet :)

view from the lodge. 

not another building in sight 

In the evening, we sat around the fireplace at the lodge. The entire Osmers family was there celebrating the mom's birthday. There were grandparents, the three children and their significant others, some other family members and/or friends I never figured out exactly who they were and some kids. For dinner we had an actual braai, which was really cool and very South African. There were lots and lots of different meats and of course other things too, like salads and soup and pasta and a pudding for dessert. Dinner didn't happen until ten though, so I was exhausted, having been awake for SO long with only a few hours of sleep and I had to be up at 5 the next morning, so I ran to my room as soon as was polite, called dad to wish him a happy father's day, then went to bed immediately, quite happy and comfortable, and quite worn out.