Yep - you read that right. There's a KFC on the ground floor of the office complex. Who knew? I'll get more adventurous soon, but right now I just need some sustenance after 4 airplane meals, a granola bar, and some peanut butter crackers.
The trip out here was long but not too difficult. I was ready and packed with 20 minutes to spare, and met some interesting people on the SuperShuttle that took me to the airport – a man flying to Paris to work with International Energy Agency and an Australian couple who had spent the last 6 weeks traveling through eastern Canada, then to NYC and DC and were on their way to San Francisco before heading home. No problems at the airport, and when I boarded the South African Airways flight, I found that my seat assignment was right next to Ed, the man my company recently hired for a new project in Namibia. Our tickets were booked through the same travel agency, but it still seemed like a crazy coincidence! It was nice to have a travel companion I’d met before, and we seemed to have the same sort of policy regarding seatmate etiquette on flights - occasional conversation is fine, but mostly keeping to ourselves. The flight was delayed in taking off because someone had checked a bag and then ‘disappeared’ – never boarded – and of course his bag was in the first compartment packed on the plane, so they had to unload all the luggage, find his bag, and reload. There was a camera on the tail of the plane that seemed to be on the entire trip and was linked to one of the video channels – so we could see the luggage being unloaded and reloaded, watch take off, see the clouds, etc – very cool perspective. We flew 7+ hours to a layover in Dakar, Senegal that lasted about 1 ½ hours, including an announcement that 3 people had not deboarded the plane and that we should wake up any passenger near us that may be sleeping in case they were supposed to get off the flight. After 3 meals, 3 movies, a few hours of sleep here and there, and about half a book read, we arrived in Johannesburg. After everyone stood up and started getting their bags, an announcement was made that security had ordered everyone to go back to their seats – two guys got on the plane, escorted a small group of people off, and then we were all able to disembark. I'll have 5 hours in the Joburg aiport on my way back to the States so I didn't spend any time exploring while I wait for my last leg to Maputo, on Mozambique Airlines (LAM). Got through customs easily and met one of my colleagues from our office here, who drove me to my hotel, which is less than 2 blocks from the office. I was happy to shower and watch a little tv before going to bed.
Not a whole lot else to report yet - I met my colleague again outside the office this morning for a quick cup of coffee before we headed upstairs to the office. Spent the morning meeting colleagues and catching up on emails. I seem to have caught a minor cold on the way out here, so i'm not feeling 100%, but should be able to get plenty of sleep again tonight.
I promise upcoming blog posts will be more interesting and less journal-like, once i'm less jet lagged and have exciting things to say. :)
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