well, the eagle has landed! i cannot believe that i am finally in africa. the lord is so good! its 2 am here and i am wide awake and very hungry. so naturally, i thought i would blog. throughout my journey over here i thought of many things i would like to include in this post. so first let me tell you a little bit about my journey over here.
i started in tulsa and first flew to atlanta. after making many friends in the airport, being asked if i was a native south african {yes, that really happened} i finally boarded the massive aircraft that was up in the air for 15 hours that safely brought me to johannesburg. {thank you Jesus for safely arriving and everyones prayers}. i had a window seat next to two men and a baby behind me.....a baby behind me for 15 hours. i was able to sleep for about three hours until i was so sweetly awakened and had the opportunity to listen to the sweet little girl cry for about three hours. but, i told myself not to become angry because by the time the plane landed none of that would matter, and i was right. wow, joburg is incredible! the airport is massive and basically like a mall. everything you can imagine and more is in this airport. it was renovated when south africa held the world cup back in 2010. there were so many native african stores that had very fun and eclectic types of keepsakes. when i return back to the states, i have a seven hour layover so i am sure that i will be able to do some looking around. i learned a lot in my hour and a half that i spent in the joburg airport.
first, you must always keep your luggage claim with you and on you. i had a minor panic when i couldn't find mine. thankfully i found it, but the lady was not going to let me go to my next terminal without showing that. thank you Jesus that i was able to find it.
second, everyone there is very laid back. our flight was initially delayed ten minutes, but the proceeded to be delayed for another forty five minutes. no one was upset or ticked to the slightest degree. after we were able to go, we first had to ride a bus to our plane. we were waiting on the bus for about twenty minutes. i overheard a botswanan woman tell an american {who was also on my long flight and looks like safari joe} many interesting facts about africa. it was not unusual for the flight to be delayed and definitely not unusual for people to not be upset about it. they live a very patient lifestyle and when it gets done it gets done. also, there are power surges almost every night. the city turns off the electricity of certain blocks every night for one to five hours and everyone gets their turn to lose their power.
thirdly, a "snack" down here is a lot different from snacks that i have ever eaten at home. on my flight from joburg we were offered a snack. i opened the box and the only thing that i recognized was the piece of cheese and cracker that went with it. everything else looked so foreign. i had no idea what any of it was so i kindly closed my box and waiting until i got to botswana.
fourth, dumela is the greeting that is used in botswana. it is pronounced du-may-la. when speaking to a male it is dumela rrah and to a female it is dumela mmah. fun local fact for the day. also, the capital, gaborone, which is where i am, has not always been the capital. the capital used to be in south africa strangely enough.
fifth, i am exhausted and hungry and very jet lagged. the apartment i am staying in is nice and there is one other girl staying her as well. her name is annette and she has been here for about a year. she is considered a princeton fellow and will be starting med school back in the states in the fall. she has been very nice to help me out and i am hoping she can show us around town this weekend.
i am very glad to be here and starting this journey. i'm not going to lie, i teared up a bit as we landed in joburg. i am so thankful for this opportunity and experience. i have always wanted to come down here and now that i am down here i am so thankful. the lord is so good to us and we cannot lose sight of his grace. i saw an allstate commercial before i left. i tried to find it on youtube to post, but i couldn't find it. a little girl talks about evil in our world and how our world continues to press on and find good in one another. it really hit home with me. find joy in the little things, be thankful, and pray without seizing. the lord is good and faithful and we have the opportunity to enjoy his beauty. find good in all and press on.
it's now 3:30 am so i should probably try to go back to sleep. pictures to come.
natalie
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