I'll have thunder and clouds, extra lightning, hold the twisters

First revelation: There are no tornadoes in South Africa.

Heck yeah!!! Tornadoes spawned of monster spring and summer storms were my first and greatest fear in life...until I met the post 9/11 airport terminal. Now tornadoes take a back seat and I've almost dropped tornado fear entirely...it's sort of dumb to be afraid of something you have no control over. Last night as I sat watching a very nice storm blow over I found out that there are no tornadoes in South Africa. And if they occur they aren't proper funnel clouds and they are complete freaks of nature. A sigh of relief. For once in my life I can enjoy a spectacular display of thunder and lightning without keeping my ears open for the tornado sirens. And Graeme...I can leave my digging spork at home ;)

As I'm sure you all know from my recent email...I made it! I'm here! I arrived in South Africa yesterday morning after a very long journey through 3 continents on only 7 total hours of sleep. Whoa. Last night was a night in which I slept harder than any hardwood tree the forest has to offer! It was great!

The last 2 weeks have been very hectic so it's a great relief to finally have arrived. I heard that I received my Rotary scholarship over one year ago...so that's how long I've been waiting to come. Waiting is a drag. I have had the dream of coming back to school in South Africa for more than a year and it's nice to finally see it realized. On the plane I had a thought that was at once frightening and exciting. I have just made an impossible dream come true. It's hard to explain how fantastic that feels. You should all try it some time. Think of anything that you want to do, even if it can't be done. And then do it. I bet you have the power to make it happen. You will be surprised :)

A bit about the last week because it's been action-packed...

I spent the time travelling all over the place to say my last goodbyes. Many apologies to those I couldn't squeeze in...but I'm just one woman. There are times when I need to understand my limits. Those times are few and far between but they do come, and when they do I have to give in. As you saw from the photos I had a going away party a few Saturdays ago w/my friend Ben who was leaving for Costa Rica that next Monday. The weekend was a blur of parties and fun...so that was good. My friend Dave came up from Waukegan and so we hung out for the weekend.

That next Monday I saw Ben off at O'Hare on his first trip out of the country to sunny Costa Rica. He's still there now living out his dreams of being a Latin hustler or surfer or something ;) Congrats on leaving the USA! Now lather, rinse, and REPEAT. Monday I also got my visa (hooray!) and then went to Champaign to do a radio show one last time. I stayed in CU for a few days, said some goodbyes to the U of I crew, and then headed back to Chicago on my way to Wisconsin. I spent the night with my dad in order to burn some more backup DVDs of my precious music collection and then headed off to my childhood friend's house. I have some great photos of my time w/Julie and her family. As soon as I can get them together I will post them. Julie has 2 kids, a petting zoo, and a generally rocking family life...so it was a great time! I always love going to visit cos I can get my hands dirty and smell the sweetness of hay and manure. It's also always good to see my second mom! At Julie's we went back to my old elementary school to volunteer for her son's kindergarten class. That was way fun but it was weird to see my old school!

Then I went home for the final nail in the "I'm really really going to SA" coffin...packing my suitcase! The process really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and I managed to fit stuff for the next 2 years in a giant suitcase, a giant pack, and my bookbag. Cool! Also I had one last spree at the thrift store w/my friend Mumbles from Girl Scouts. And more importantly...I ate my last tacos. Pollo con mole and horchata. I'm going to have to savor that meal for years...but luckily have some photos to facilitate the salivation process.

Then came Tuesday when I did my final business, had my last meal w/family, and headed off to the airport. It really couldn't have come fast enough as I am impatient, weepy, and there was a bit of friction at home I think due to the fact I was leaving. I'm not a fan of friction. The airport on the Ohare side was totally cool and I had no security static at all. What a relief! The rest of the airport details for the whole trip are thankfully very very boring because everything went great.

Apparently along some distant branch of my family tree there were some relatives that moved to Spain. So I just found out a few days before I was set to leave that I have relatives in Madrid!!! What a blessing because I arrived in Madrid at 7am and left at midnight. There is absolutely no way I would have survived that long of a layover w/out some help. So, much love to Vicky and Carlos for coming to pick me up and for putting me up (or putting up w/me) for the day! I got the chance to take a nap, have some Spanish food, hear some lectures about music in Spanish, and visit w/family I previously had not known. Not too shabby considering I thought I was going to have to spend a long and tiring day at the airport!

And then you know the rest. I am here. That's about it. I was greeted in Joburg by Tony and Gail Godrich holding a sign with my name on it. Being greeted by sign at the airport is something on my "to do before I die list." I have since been recuperating and trying to adjust my winter skin to the sun of South Africa. Here come the freckles! Seriously, I started to get red after like 3 minutes in the sun. My hosts Tony and Gail have been great and they even put me up in my own flat at the back of their house. They have 3 older daughters, 3 adorable dogs, 2 cats, and 1 really really cute granddaughter. It's a good place to bring myself up to speed.

Thanks for all the great emails you sent me recently. They have been great!! Stay tuned for the next adventures. Which will be: opening a bank account, getting a cell phone, and finding out what the heck is going on w/my schooling.

Love Lynsee