Summer thoughts from the train

"There's a bright, golden haze on the meadow.

The corn is as high as an elephant's eye

And it looks like it's climbing clear up to the sky.

Oh, what a beautiful Mornin'

Oh, what a beautiful day.

I've got a beautiful feelin'

Everything's goin' my way. "

-from "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning" from the musical "Oklahoma!"

(Some time around the "high as an elephant's eye" mark, Summer 2009)

The corn gave it away.  The corn always gives it away.  Watching the corn grow over the span of a summer is one of my favorite things about summer in the USA.  It’s the unofficial timeline for summer in the Midwest.  “Knee high by the 4^th of July” is what we say around here.  No matter what is happening with you the corn is always there growing and reminding you just how much summer has elapsed and how much is left for living it up.  Even though the field is bound to turn to dry brown stalks cut off at the shins…it’s still comforting to have the corn growing up around you in the summer.  It’s “home” to me.  I didn’t know I missed it until I saw a big field of tall ass corn in Vermont.  It made me realize that even though I just came from winter into summer…the summer is almost gone!  Better enjoy it while I can J

I’m currently speeding through the USA landscape on a train bound for Chicago.  Soaking up corn fields.  Thinking about how damn tall the corn is already as we pass each field.  The national long distance train in the USA, Amtrak, takes an interesting path through the USA.  Usually when I ride this train I feel like I am entering someone’s house from the back door they no longer use.  You pass a lot of fields…I’ve seen grapes, corn, soybeans, horticulture plants, evergreens, and some other things I couldn’t identify.  You pass through the forgotten railroad yards and industrial areas of days past…days when the train was king.  You seem to go through a lot of peoples’ backyards.  And tiny towns that have long been taken off the major car routes.  It seems like the whole human landscape has its back turned to you when you take the train while the human infrastructure of the highway is openly inviting you to enter.  Buy our gas.  Buy our food.  Stop here.  You don’t get that on the train.  You just pass through the backside of life.  It gives you an interesting glimpse of America.  A more relaxed and less pretentious look.  Plus there are less crazy people and folks coming home from jail on the train.  Always a bonus.  Compared to Amtrak…taking Greyhound is sort of like travelling through the legitimate underbelly of America.  Less than savory buses, passengers, and stations.  But Amtrak is a little classier and you get the back door view…nice. 

I started to think on summer cos in a few hours I’m going to be home to enjoy the tail end of summer with friends and family.  County fairs, demo derbies, riding with the windows down, staying up too late cos the summer magic has got you, and other such nonsense fueled by that hot summer vibe.

The corn (and Julie) told me…it’s county fair time!   

I think I talked about it before in an old post…but I’m most excited about the demo derby at the county fair.  County fairs are local events that usually last a week and often happen in the late summer.  People in the area  show off their livestock, farm produce, baked goods, art, home craft work, and just about anything else you can enter into a contest.  My favorite things to see here are the sheep, pigs (like to give a nice little slap on the backfat), and freaks of the farm (the tallest corn grown, etc).  Usually there are carnival rides, games, and plenty of the worst (and most delicious) kind of food you can stuff your face with.  You will find just about anything on a stick or fried at the county fair.  I’ve had fried twinkies and seen many other interesting fried things (like pickles).  Mmmm…funnel cakes are the best.  It’s fried dough that is drizzled out of a cone into hot oil.  When fried, it comes in the shape of an elephant’s ear (that’s the other name for it) made of one continuous fried dough worm and is covered with powdered sugar and other things.  Delicious! 

(Mmmmm...funnel cake...2010 Champaign County IL Fair)

But the real gem of any county fair, in my humble opinion, is the demolition derby.  Or demo derby for short.  The demo derby is a tournament involving cars that people enter as a team.  The cars in the derby “battle” in rounds of about 10 cars each.  They start in a blocked off area and just smash into each other until only a few cars are standing.  The cars that are left go on to the next rounds (semifinals, etc) and compete until only 1 car is left standing.  The cars are “fixed” up for the match, usually to make them more hardy and less dangerous.  The gas tank is removed and placed somewhere else.  All the glass is taken out of the car, etc.  There are rules (like you can’t usually hit people head on, you have to hit people while backing up into them) and surprisingly I have never really witnessed anyone getting majorly hurt at one of these events.  I have been to many demo derbies in my day and look forward to attending quite a few more.  Friday I should be down for the Champaign County Fair Demo Derby and if I have my way then I’ll be soaking up a few more before the summer is out. 

(2009 Lake County IL Fair's Demo Derby winner)

Last year at the Lake County Fair (the fair for my area) was the best for demo derby action.  I met a young lady through random chatter and we ended up watching the rest of the derby together.  It was great cos she was just as hardcore as me about the derby.  We shouted at cars and got covered in mud together.  She got us these radical seats in the front row about ½ way through the day so we really had it good for the final.  Damn…that was a sweet derby…

(Me and my new friend Wendy...the 2009 demo queens!)

This year there is a special event going on with my friend.  Her kids are showing horses, dogs, and chickens in the Kenosha County Fair up in Wisconsin and they are camping out for the whole week.  She’s invited me to come hang out with her and the fam for the week.  She enticed me with thoughts of how we could stumble home from the beer tent.  Nice one, Julie…but you had me at “sleepover at the county fair.”  Should be fun J  I haven’t done the fair sleepover thing in a long long time.        

Damn…headed into Toledo…5 hours behind schedule…which means I’m going to miss my chance to hit the Lake County Fair with my friend today.  But at least I’m headed home…finally…via Chicago. 

Hugs

Lynsee 

2 feet on American soil…but not quite home yet

Landed in New York City on July 12 to hot sticky summer…aw yeah!  I bought my ticket in December to end in New York with the forethought that I’d come home and hit NYC and Vermont to visit friends.  Good plan initially, but these days I’m rollin’ on credit twinkles and I was worried that I might max out my funds just getting back to the Midwest.  In fact, I’m all good on that front so this stopover in New England has proved to be quite cool. 

At the airport I waited for my bags and then jumped into a line for a yellow cab to Manhattan.  My friend Sandra, another Pietermartizburg student friend, is living in the East Village on Manhattan and graciously took me in for a few days.  I haven’t seen her in awhile, although she used to come and visit in Illinois from time to time. 

Being back in the USA was immediately an interesting experience.  There is a swirl of the known and unknown happening that is quite weird.  Mostly I try not to think about it and just let myself readjust as I will.  Although I’ve never been to NYC there was an inherent ease of movement just because it’s the USA.  On the flip there was a strangeness because this place was not the place I just came from.  And a city I’ve never been to.  Right now it’s been over a week since I landed and this familiar/unfamiliar balancing act has still been coloring my thoughts and behavior.  Sometimes to points of absolute hilarity but also sometimes it’s just a bit disorienting. 

(USA convenience culture at its finest...after a drive thru liquor store, that is)

(USA "no shit sherlock" culture at its finest)

(USA consumer culture at its loudest...Times Square NYC)

Sandra agreed to pay for a taxi for me to get to her place.  What a doll J because my bags are pretty much murder enclosed in canvas.  I got to a meeting place in Sandra’s neighborhood, a scuba shop she frequents, and waited for a bit to meet her after work.  Cal, the owner of the dive shop, was super cool and we drank a beer while waiting.  It was great to see Sandra.  She is someone I never thought I’d stay friends with after South Africa because in ‘Maritzburg we used to fight a lot.  But we’ve kept in touch and I can honestly say I’m proud to call this lady a friend. 

Sandra and I didn’t get to spend too much time together because she was going to Peru about 2 days after I arrived.  We spent our time grabbing a bite to eat and wandering around her neighborhood.  She just moved there in the last month into an apartment she bought.  So it was new for her too.  We had a great time together and I wish I could have spent more time with her.  I guess I just have an excuse to come back to NYC. 

NYC is one of the most amazing cities I have ever seen.  It’s pretty much just mind-blowing.  Cape Town is my favorite city in the world, besides Chicago, but now that I’ve tasted NYC I think Cape Town has a run for its money.  I couldn’t help but compare Chicago to New York.  Obviously NYC is much much bigger and older than Chicago, but even this country mouse couldn’t help but note many general urban threads running through and binding both cities. 

“The City that Never Sleeps” is no joke.  I have been having issues staying up super late since I’ve gotten back.  The sun was going down around 6pm in Pretoria and now it goes down after 8pm.  When the sun goes down I innately think it’s like dinner time, so I end up staying up until 1 or 2pm almost every night with ease.  I am used to things shutting a bit early in South Africa and going out to eat at 11pm, a norm in a big ciy like NYC, was astounding to me.  I was staying up later on accident, but the city had it down to a science.  It seems that New Yorkers have found a way to cram every last space with something.  From their time to the physical space in their city.  I saw the most amazing highway structures in NYC.  I saw one mille feuilles layer cake of a bridge that had about 5 routes of traffic (car, train) horizontally and then about 3 layers vertically.  It was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen.  And the bridge was an old stone arch bridge that one would not expect all the ants to be moving through in their cars.  It was breathtaking.  In SA I was getting so GEEKED to see the Guatrain tracks being built but this structure blew that paltry little cement pedestal out of the water! 

(Basement doors in NYC that open right out into the sidewalk...see...these people stack it up)

I once went to a chicken slaughterhouse in KwaZulu Natal in South Africa.  In that place there were chicken bodies in various stages of undress whizzing around on conveyor belts and even above our heads on tracks.  It was multi-layer madness.  New York felt this way to me without the obvious morbid overtones that this comparison might bring up.  It was actually quite exhilarating and impressive.  Hats off, NYC! 

Walking around the streets of NYC was really interesting because just 2 days before I was walking around the streets of central Johannesburg.  The comparison of the two environments was constantly nagging on my brain.  I was still in hyper Guateng mode and it was hard to just switch to USA city mode.  In the cities here you do have to keep some street smarts about you…but not really.  Depending on what part of the city you are in.  I was on Manhattan island and it seemed super safe there.  While walking I was just part of the landscape instead of sore thumb I become in some SA environments.  It was so liberating even though the SA state of mind was still loud in my head.  This is one of the best parts about being home. 

Luckily I didn’t have any run-ins crossing the street.  Sometimes when I switch between two countries that drive on opposite sides of the road…I have problems with stepping out in front of cars cos I forget to look in the correct direction of traffic.  No problems this time, but I was still super cautious of crossing because in South Africa, especially in the city, the cars don’t stop for you to cross.  Even if you are an old lady with grocery bags.  Sandra often stepped out in front of cars and they just stopped for her.  Meanwhile I’m cowering on the corner silently screaming “No! Don’t cross!”  She was like “Don’t worry…they will stop.”  I don’t know man.  I don’t know.  Adjustments…

Since I just came from World Cup central…I’ve been spying little hidden World Cup messages around.  Bars still advertising for the Cup (mind you, it’s over now).  I saw an AMAZING bus stop ad for ESPN that mimicked the painting of George Washington crossing the Potomac except all the characters were USA Soccer players.  Awesome!  I have been so amazed at how many people have asked me “Did you just come from South Africa?”  Usually they ask after seeing some South African item in my hand or on my body.  The interesting part of this simple question is the use of the term “South Africa.”  And the fact that people are visually recognizing something that they think is of South African origin.  This has never happened to me on such a grand scale in the USA.  If people recognize something visually they usually say something about “Africa” and move about their day.  Or the worst is when people tell me they have a friend John from Africa but they don’t even know what country he hails from.  Watch my brown hair turn white strand by strand…eish!  But now people are seeing stuff…thinking SOUTH AFRICA…and then standby for a quick conversation.  It’s kind of awesome.  My conclusion on this matter is that now the term, idea, place “South Africa” has a spot in the USA thought process.  It no longer exists in the amorphous space outside USA borders called “Africa.”  It’s a specific place.  This is great not only for South Africa, but also the whole continent of Africa.  Mostly people were asking me about South Africa after seeing my vuvuzela but some other things prompted this question too.  It’s been cool. 

(World Cup...nothing else matters...)

(Amazing bus stop ad for World Cup)

On the vuvuzela tip…so far I have gotten 4 people to blow my vuvuzela.  My friend, the greyhound bus driver up to Vermont, and two of Clara’s friends.  I will add more!  I have slowed down on this front cos last time we blew the vuvuzela the cops came…so gotta keep it on the down low.  Ha ha…vuvuzela on the down low…does such a thing exist? 

(Curtis tries out the vuvuzela...and then the cops came)

So Sandra and her girlfriend went off to Peru and I stayed at Sandra’s apartment.  After a day of walking around Manhattan by my lonesome (awesome), I decided to head up to Vermont to see my best friend, Clara.  Vermont is a little green mountainous sliver of a state that extends from Canada down to the northern edge of Massachusetts.  It’s about 5 hours north of NYC by bus.  So I taxi’d my enormous bags down to the bus station and got myself to Vermont.  It was great to flow from the hectic NYC landscape through small little New England towns and finally to the green of Vermont.  New England is very picturesque and so old that it sort of doesn’t have an American feel to it.  Or at least a very different feel from the place I come from. 

Vermont has been awesome.  Clara is one of my best friends and although we are in constant contact over the internet and phone, being there in 3D is something else.  I’ve been here for about a week now and it’s all going by like a big blur.  So much to do.  So much porch sitting and relaxing.  Carlo and Elvis.  We’ve been up to great activities on top of spending hours just reading, chatting, and listening to music on her full length porch.  I am such a porch junkie so this feature of her place is great to me.  I’ve slept out here each night on a cushion.  It’s refreshing to be down with the rhythms of the outdoors.  Sun, rain, spiders (!), the sound of the trains passing by just across the river.  The other day I heard a big crack and then saw a tree fall on top of a pickup truck.  Small town scandal!  The fire trucks came.  Then the cops.  Then the fire officers.  Then the cleanup crew.  It was the most fascinating small town front page scene.  Porch sittin’…you are my heart. 

 (My porch sleeping nest overlooking a canal of the Connecticut River)

We’ve been to a little music show in a barn in the forest, climbed down into a gorge to swim in the river below Bellows Falls (the falls give the name to the town we are in), yesterday we kayaked.  Have had good food, good conversations, and overall a pretty rock’n mellow time.  This is the life.  I am so damn happy to be home and I haven’t even gotten to my actual home yet…

(Coming home from a long night of partying...stuffed, South African style, in the back of a truck)

(Bellows Falls, Vermont by night)

(Kayak'n on the Connecticut River)

Side note on Vermont…they really do put maple syrup in everything.  Just in case you were wondering.  It’s true.  Clara and I went to a farmers’ market in her neighborhood and they made my lemonade with maple syrup instead of sugar.  Now that’s dedication to your syrup!  The cheese here is good.  And the environment is alternately redneck heaven and artist land.  Interesting dichotomy…all amid the backdrop of the Green Mountains.  Vermont, you little beauty, you. 

(Vermont...that's what's up)

The beer here is amazing.  I have starving in South Africa on a poor choice of beers.  South Africa has about 6 or 7.  Most bars here have about 6 or 7 beers just on tap.  Almost all local handcrafted microbrews.  Heaven, heaven, heaven.  I went to a brewery for lunch in NYC and have been enjoying the smorgasbord of beer that is exploding everywhere.  Did I mention it’s good to be home?  

I should be here for a little less than a week and then I’m headed home to the Midwest.  Back to life, back to reality.  Got a job waiting for me.  A place to sleep.  Friends, family, and carne asada tacos.  Woza. 

Hope you all are well…riding a summer high in the North or anticipating the end of winter in the South

Hugs and as always…keep the faith and spread it gently

Love

Lynsee

 

World Cup finals and heading back to Disneyland

Hey folks!  Know I’ve been quiet of late, especially considering the massive blog explosion of the past month, but I’ve been in transit for the last week.  Back to Disneyland, but not back to the Midwest just yet.  So…bear with me as I try to take it all in, process, and blog it J 

I guess we last left off about a week ago with the semifinals for the World Cup:  Uruguay vs. Holland and Spain vs. Germany.  Right?  My last weekend in South Africa was pretty much as awesome as it could be, but there was a plentiful lack of soccer.  I mean it’s pretty impossible to not step in a pile of soccer in SA at the moment…but I didn’t go out of my way to get me some soccer.  As I said, I felt pretty indifferent about the final teams and my departure for the USA overlapped with the final game of the World Cup so I for the 1^st time in the whole month I actually had a higher priority than watching World Cup soccer.  Wow. 

For the rest of the week I just tied up my loose ends in South Africa.  This time there were surprisingly few things to attend to…just a hard drive warranty to iron out and packing and visiting.  Sweet.  It’s nice not to have stress on this front cos it always seems like you leave a million things til the end when you are shifting.   

Friday I spent the night at my friend Edwin’s house and we watched a bunch of cool art movies.  READ:  nudity and classical music…that’s pretty much an art movie to me.  LOL.  We watched Bitter Moon, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and probably some other things.  Unbearable Lightness of Being was the most excellent movie.  I highly recommend it.  It was nice to chill with Edwin.  He’s been my best friend and constant companion in Pretoria.  It was good to spend some last one-on-one time together tucked away from the World Cup swirl. 

The next morning, early, I psyched myself up to hit Joburg.  It was really important for me to see my friends Bento, Daphney, and their son before I left.  Priority.  Also needed to head out to Kempton Park to visit my friend Nhawu.  A close friend and a non-technological friend.  There is a high chance I will never see him again.  But you’re still in my heart, friend!  Nolu, a friend from school days in SA past also asked to hang out so there was much to do and many to see in Jozi.  Are you following this?    

I tried, and failed, to get a posse together for Joburg.  Joburg by taxi is kind of scary…even for me.  So if you can bring company it’s always preferred.  Bree Street (where the taxis from Pretoria drop off in Joburg) is not exactly a friendly place for anyone.  But…a necessary evil when you got a people mission in Joburg.  I landed in Bree Street, put on my streetwise visage, and headed out into the taxi rank madness.  The ride was cool.  Taxi ranks are always interesting places to check out, but can be dangerous so you don’t want to be around snap’n pics and ogling the urban landscape.  I saw a hilarious shop called “MTN: Meat too nice.”  MTN is a cell phone company in South Africa so it was a nice little wordplay on the butcher’s part.  Well done.  When my friends Ramsey and Lina were visiting from Jordan they wanted to go truck around Joburg.  I was kind of against it but willing to accompany them rather then send them to Bree Street on their own.  In the end we didn’t go to Joburg and I feel kind of bad for not taking them after having my own journey to Joburg this last weekend in SA.  Sorry Ramsey and Lina!  Cos you would have loved checking out the sights… 

Navigated through Bree Street with no problems even though I had to walk a few blocks to another rank for my taxi.  Got to Bento and Daphney’s place without too much static.  Had some “taxi scene since World Cup” chatting with a fellow passenger.  He was saying that there were a lot more white people on the taxis in Joburg since World Cup (nice!).  He also said the drivers were being nicer too J  It was great to see my friends and hang out with Lil B…he’s a cutie and has the most amazing deep dark wells of eyes.  Adorable!  My friend Cbuza swung by and we chatted and hung out over some beers.  Daphney and Bento cooked up some pap and meat so I got my last fix on the pap n vleis tip…thanks!  Another friend, Nolu, came by and then it was time for me to head off.  Hugs to the Bento and Daph fam J  Love you!   

(Lil B, Daphney, and Bento)

(Peace out, Cbuza!)

Nolu and I were going to go have some goodbye beers at the Joburg Zoo Lake Bowling Club.  Probably my favoritest place to have beers in SA.  The space is very reminiscent of a local Legion hall or hole-in-the-wall at home.  Some down home Wisconsin wood paneling shit.  Fish Fry Friday and such.  Aw yeah.  It’s so chill and nice at the Bowling Club.  They play hiphop and other music that doesn’t suck and it’s not a fancy place at all.  This is important to me.  I am under the impression that many places in Joburg are very hoity toity places and that just ain’t me.  Also there is just too much franchise action in SA.  It means you end up drinking in the same bar in one city that you would drink at in your home town…this might be nice for some but I find it very sterile, unimaginative, and boring.  Also the Bowling Club beer and food is cheap.  Definitely a plus. 

(At the Bowling Club with Nolu)

Nolu and I met a very nice young man that claims he wasn’t a nerd…however anyone that references so many scientific papers in the span of 3 beers is totally a nerd.  Sorry Paul!  Embrace it J  Good conversation and chilling with Nolu.  We went to school in SA in 2002 and have been in touch since.  It was super great to chill with her and this was only the beginning of the night!  We headed off to catch some of the losers bracket final (Uruguay vs. Germany) at a braai with some of our other friends from school days past.  This was a major treat for me cos I haven’t seen these guys in awhile!  I did see them once in the last 6 months I spent in SA but this was definitely nice to see them on my way out.  We have been friends for like 8 years now…whoa.  So there’s a lot of joy when we get together.  And beer.  Ha ha ha. 

(The PMB crew...back row, L-R: not sure, me, Lawrence, Tongai, Bontle.  front row, L-R: Robert, Nolu, Tozi, Ndabe)

I guess I sort of watched some of the game.  I was more interested in hanging with my friends, shooting the shit, and eating chicken wings.  I don’t even remember who won…Germany?  Yes, I think it was Germany cos there were plenty of “ha ha Uruguay” jokes going around.  I guess their vuvuzelas were silent now.  There were a bunch of ladies there and we were having the most hilarious discussion about World Cup things.  It was cool to get the vibe from Joburg since I’ve mostly only been in Pretoria for the duration.  One lady said that she even (slightly embarrassingly) changed her ringtone to the “Wave your Flag” song from K’naan.  But we all agreed that “Waka Waka” was so getting on everyone’s nerves.  One lady shared a tale of a friend of her’s that had a whole facebook photo album dedicated to pics he took with strangers that mistook him for a famous soccer star.  HA HA HA.  Another chick told a story about famous people shopping in Sandton Square (the most fancy mall in Joburg) and how the mall had to be shutdown when R Kelly was around.  Whoa.  That was an interesting little tidbit. 

Also learned a new word:  kumnandi…meaning “it’s niiiiiiiiiice.”  Said: koom-NAHN-dee…excellent.

Nolu and I hung around a bit more and then decided to head home.  I needed to be up early the next day since I was, um, leaving the country in the evening.  It was so great and unexpected to see my boys from UNP…big ups and love you much. 

Driving around Joburg was great, both at night and the next morning.  There is so much wonderful public art up for the World Cup.  I really have to hand it to SA in that respect.  There is often a lot of neat public art initiatives in various places in the country…even before World Cup.  I saw so many cool things like a freeway exit grassy space filled with silhouettes of hands giving various gestures.  Other people have been bringing the World Cup noise visually from awesome billboards with soccer or SA flag themes to giant soccer balls filled with sand hanging from a cranes.  I saw one billboard that said “In Africa we don’t ole, we ayoba!”  Nice one.  I even saw a small car painted in the South Africa flag design.  Way to come out and show it off,  SA!      

(A "Revolutionary House" rep'n for Bafana Bafana, CBD Joburg)

(The SA Breakfast of Champions...wors and Stoney's Ginger Beer!)

The next morning, Nolu and I got the SA breakfast of champions…boerewors.  I topped mine off with a Stoney’s Ginger Beer and pretty much “ate SAn” for the rest of the day.  Koekesisters, malva pudding with fresh cream, and toasted sandwiches.  Had to get my last fill!  I headed back to Pretoria to get some people and my bags together so I could leave the country.  I had a lot of things to do for the whole weekend but somehow they all happened effortlessly.  It was a truly great weekend.  Big love to all those that helped it out and that participated. 

I took my last taxi ride in SA through the mean streets of Joburg and then into the far less threatening, but no less dangerous in its own way, highway back to Pretoria.  There was one moment as we were driving through Hillbrow (a very notorious neighborhood in SA) that some religiousy sounding organ music came on the radio while all the Jozi hustle and bustle did its thing outside the taxi.  Crazy signs, gutted buildings, people just walking the streets on a Sunday.  All against the backdrop of this moving music.  It was wonderful.  These are the taxi moments I thrive on and one reason why a little taxi meditation session is always in order for me.  I am going to miss you, loves!  I think I’m addicted to public transportation.  I always get such a calm and meditative feeling from moving through the world that way.  Yes, it can be frustrating and annoying to use public transportation, but it is something I truly love in an overall sense.  Metra train in Chi…I can’t wait to meet you again J  Then again, maybe it has nothing to do with the mode of transportation.  Maybe it’s the gypsy in me just happy to be moving again.    

Got home, got my things together, got my people together.  Said goodbye to the neighbors and Helen, Ross, and Nicholas.  It’s so weird to say goodbye to people for me now.  I say goodbye a lot.  Maybe we all do.  Since I started travelling and being more out in the world, it has made goodbyes easier.  Even for people you are pretty sure you will never see again.  Although it’s not always something that makes you feel good…saying goodbye is a natural progression in pretty much all things.  I think once you realize that it takes away some of the power and baggage of saying goodbye.  It’s just a normal thing to me now.  Some goodbyes are hard though.  It was rough to say goodbye to Helen, Ross, and Nicholas.  They have meant so much to me in my time in SA.  My rock.  I almost started crying when I said goodbye, but kept it up Spartan style.  I am a viking.  And they’ll be back to the USA soon or I’ll be back there at some point…so it’s just a ta ta for now…      

(TTFN Helen, Ross, and my little SA heart)

Edwin, Surprise, and two of Surprise’s friends made up the airport crew.  We headed to the airport and stopped off in Kempton Park to fetch Nhawu.  It’s always nice to see him and I miss having him nearby.  The airport is soccer crazy.  You could even still hear people blowing vuvuzelas there.  It’s nuts.  People had like 5 vuvuzelas per carryon.  I can’t front…I was pack’n 5 vuvuzelas in my bag too!  We got to the airport before my ticket counter opened so we went to have a beer together.  We wandered around the airport getting kind of lost.  The airport has changed a lot because of World Cup upgrades.  We eventually got to a place to have a drink and settled in for our last chat.  My friend from vet school, Jeanne,  popped in for a quick goodbye. 

The final game was going to start playing at 8pm.  There was also the closing ceremony on just before the last game.  I feel bad for my friends because they probably missed all of that to see me off.  Thanks so much, guys!  As can be counted on…there was static for me at the airport.  It always seems to happen no matter how much I try to avoid it by being a good thorough girl.  This time, because I bought my ticket online and then changed it, I didn’t have a paper ticket or a current confirmation number.  I called twice in the week before I flew to confirm my reservation.  I am just that paranoid.  Both times the operator said that everything was fine…but that was not the case at the airport.  After some quizzical looks, shit eating grins from me, and supervisor overrides, I was able to get a boarding pass.  My bags were way overweight but the lady behind the counter just let me slide on that…bless her soul. 

So my bags were on.  Boarding pass in hand.  Time to say goodbye again.  It was pretty uneventful but I had a lot of emotion saying goodbye.  At the airport I turn into a different animal.  Very focused on getting to my gate and waiting cos I am constantly paranoid that I’m going to miss my flight.  So I hope I wasn’t too slack on my goodbye…cos I love you guys! 

(Last goodbye for now...L-R: Mildred, Surprise, Jabu, Nhawu, me, Edwin)

I headed off to my gate after that.  Security check.  Passport stamp.  These things always go so smooth in the airport in Joburg.  Flight outside the USA is so much more relaxing, usually.  The way to the gate was an orgy of last minute duty free gifts.  Soccer, “Africa,” and liquor.  Spend your last rands.  The game was playing on some of the TVs along the way but there was also a perplexing set of TVs that were just advertising things.  Ten TV sets in a row.  It was strange.  I was imagining what it would have been like if every TV set in the airport was broadcasting the game.  Really cool…that’s what it would be. 

I got some food and watched a few minutes of the game.  Said my last “Dankie, mamas” for now to the café ladies and then this paranoid android headed straight to her gate.  Everything went pretty smooth from there.  Got on the plane.  Shed a few tears as we breezed over the nighttime Guateng urban carpet.  Actually slept a bit.  Read a book.  Played with the little kid next to me.  Usually I can’t sleep on planes so I take a sleeping pill and drink an airplane bottle of red wine.  Knocks me out every time.  Egypt Air, the carrier I was taking home, was a dry flight so that idea was out the window.  But for the most part I slept well and was otherwise entertained.  Random note: some Egypt Air flights still use metal silverware…cool.  One of the stewards asked to kiss me in a late night back of the plane chat…I wasn’t really amused so I just went back to my seat and passed out.  Weirdo. 

When I got to Egypt I had to change planes.  It was at this point that I realized I didn’t have another boarding pass for the flight from Cairo to NYC.  Usually when you check in and check your bags then you get all the boarding passes you need for the rest of your trip.  But I only got one in Joburg.  I went to a counter in Cairo and tried to get this sorted out.  My first question as I approached the counter was: “So, who won the World Cup?”  The lady told me Spain and smiled.  Yay! 

All joy aside now.  The ticket people proceeded to tell me that I didn’t have a flight for NYC.  I didn’t have a paper ticket to show them (in Joburg they told me I didn’t need one) and no other way to prove my flight except for my name.  I did have some email that had important information, but I didn’t have a way to use email just then.  So they kept telling me I’m not booked.  I keep telling them I paid.  Etc.  Finally I ask if I can use a computer somewhere in the airport.  They allow me to use the one they have behind the desk.  After a lot of hassles connecting and using crap browsers (Chrome lover…and can’t go back!)…I connected and got my info.  The customer service people did their thing and recovered my place on the plane.  Remember I called twice in the week leading up to my flight to the Egypt Air office and they kept telling me it was fine.  I must exist in some computer somewhere!  After standing my ground and working with the super helpful agents…I had a boarding pass in hand.  Success!

The security in the Cairo airport is hard core.  I went through x-ray security twice before boarding the plane.  These folks do not mess around.  I had to open and empty parts of my bag at both places.  But in the end I did get on the plane!  I had problems at the gate with my enormous bag but again the baggage fairies shined on me and everything got worked out.  Major airports in almost every place look about the same when you are right on the runway…sort of empty and desolate.  In Chicago this feeling is aided by all the concrete.  In Cairo the runway emptiness comes from the sandy desert feel of the place.  Like it was a place swept out of the desert for its purpose.  Maybe this is just fantasy on my part, but that is how it felt. 

My companions for the trip were an overweight lady with diabetes that had to keep switching seats then getting up.  She just needed a lot of help, but me and the other guy sitting in our set of chairs were more than happy to help her out.  And the other companion was a hot young Egyptian man…nice one.  I mostly slept a lot and read and re-read the reading materials I had.  We were given Egyptian newspapers for free so I read some of that.  Slept a lot in little pockets.  The cute young man I sat next to slept almost the whole time and somehow it helped me to sleep too.  This flight was 12 hours and for some reason it seemed to take a million years.    

It was interesting to take a flight from an Arabic country.  There was a different feel to everything.  I just met a nice young Muslim in South Africa and that has sparked a lot of simple cultural questions in my head.  Things like:  Is it okay under Halal guidelines to eat Mopani worms?, Are there different Arabic fonts like with our characters, such as heveltica, etc?, Do you use more ink printing a paper in Arabic or characters like in English?,  and Do Muslims believe in something like angels?  It was cool to be in a plane where everything was in Arabic and English.  The magazines, sugar packets, toilets.  Everything.  Egyptian TV shows in Arabic broadcast for inflight entertainment.    Saw people praying in their seats and at the back of the plane.  My brain was working in overdrive curiosity mode. 

Eventually we got to NYC.  No hassles there.  Got a cab and headed off to meet my friend. 

I’m going to end the story there for now.  This is getting long.  Next installment coming soon J

Again…to my SA family…thanks for everything.  I love you all very much.  Until we me again…keep well and hugs from me! 

As always…keep the faith and spread it gently

Love

Lynsee

PS:  Congrats to the Spanish World Cup team!