March 10-24 – Travel Days

We arrived in East London, South Africa nearly 24 hours after we boarded our first flight at KCI. Anticipating the journey was actually worse than the journey itself. We had been well prepared by those who had made the trip before and so we were each equipped with important supplies including but not limited to neck pillows, NO JET LAG, sleeping medicines and lots of magazines. The South African Air Bus was comfortable and provided both entertainment and food.

The first indication that we were traveling “abroad” was felt in the Dulles Airport where our gate assignment landed us in the no man’s land of the international traveler. These are places where you begin to get the sense that the world is diverse and multi-national. You see a variety of people of different nationalities and notice a more international flavor in the clothes they wear. Next, you hear a collection of languages and accents from around the globe and try to place the accent with the destination. Although we may begin to detect our small differences born of the diversity of our cultures and languages, you also notice that until people actually speak they look more alike than different, no matter their country of origin.

At the Dulles Airport we were required to present our passports for inspection before we could board our international flight. This routine exercise can present a problem for travelers who have enjoyed many previous trips around the world, but this proved to be the first step in what would become a complicated travel experience for one of our group. The good news for Clayton Hasser is she has been lucky enough to travel often to places that required a passport and the bad news is that those trips had led many agents around the globe to stamp her entry into their countries on each and every page of her passport book. Although she had spaces on several pages for more stamps she was stopped in Dulles and told she must acquire more blank pages before she could go to South Africa. Sadly, this news came late in the day and forced Clayton to delay her arrival in East London until the passport office opened on Monday.

The trip across the Atlantic Ocean was in every way uneventful. The fun began, however, when we arrived about an hour late in Johannesburg, a large and crowded metropolitan airport that required a trip through customs, collection of our luggage, a second pass through customs, a stop to rent a phone, and a jog across the terminals to make a domestic flight which was to take off within the hour. This logistical challenge looked like it might cause our delay to East London and an unanticipated stay in the big city, but with the help of airport porters and the persuasive skills of Nancy Lear we made the flight and landed in East London at 7:15 pm. We were reminded that as we landed our families at home were likely finishing brunch after Sunday services. We were now 7 hours ahead of home.

We were met at the East London Airport by our hosts Jon and Dawn Barnes. Many of us were tired and ready for bed. We drove a few miles into a residential area where we were warned about the local crime, but what seemed remarkable on the trip to our Inn was how familiar the county looked, even to those of us who had never ventured out of the United States. The language here is English; therefore every sign and building is easily identified by us. I noticed a KFC and a BP gas station as we headed to the Inn.

Interestingly, this large city looks like many industrial cities I have seen in poorer communities in the southern portions of the US. We wound our way around the area until we landed at an eclectic place called the “Stumble Inn” owned by Mike and Mary.

The day ended with an informal meeting around the Inn’s pool where Glen and Nancy laid out the activities for Monday, March 12. We retired early after a very long but successful day traveling to our destination.

Cyndy Short