Rotary GSE to South Africa 2009

As I said in my last post, I am in continual disbelief that our long awaited trip is here and happening already and how amazing everything is!

I am writing this blog from the home of my host family, the Goodes.  Sally and Andrew have a beautiful home where they live with their two young children, 2 dogs, 1 puppy and 1 kitty.  I feel very fortunate to get to know them and have such accomodating hosts.

Sally and Andrew let me sleep in this morning and I took full advantage after our marathon flight schedule of the past 2 days and slept until 11:30 am.  I woke up and then headed off to the meet the rest of the team at the Capetown Waterfront, an area with shops and restaurants, where we had lunch.  From there, we took a ferry to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners were kept under apartheid.

The whole tour was extremely interesting.  One thing that I was struck by is that the tour guides were former prisoners there.  It certainly gave much more depth to the whole tour and provided a real-life perspective.  I am currently reading Nelson Mandela's book, Long Walk to Freedom and I know I will think back of this tour often as I get further into the book.

I also got to see a lot of Capetown's natural beauty today too.  Being from the desert, it makes me so happy to smell the sea air and to be on a boat.  Taking the boat out to the island reminded me of the feeling of being on my grandfather's boat in New Jersey (although the ferry boat was much larger!).  On the island, we saw penguins (robben = penguin in Afrikaans) and they were as cute as you might imagine.

In the evening, we went to our first braai, which is a South African BBQ.  The food and company were wonderful!  Speakng of food, earlier today, we got to experience a South African form of beef jerky bilkong, which was very tasty - like a less chewy, more seasoned version of beef jerky.  I love food, so I am very much going to take advantage of trying all the unique food that I can here!

Tomorrow is our first vocational visit and Rotary club presentation.  I am very excited about this professional visit, as it will be with officials at the City of Capetown to learn about preparations for the 2010 World Cup, as well as other economic development items.  I love learning about city management, so this should be super interesting.  Andrew pointed out some of the road projects today as we were driving to the Waterfront.  Because of the World Cup, Captetown is in the middle of a construction boom to ger ready for all of the people that will come here for the games. 

I look forward to getting all nerded out and learning about Capetown's capital spending and public involvement processes!  More on that tomorrow...

It is hard to believe, but we have been traveling for over 24 hours already.  I am sitting in the Johannesburg airport waiting for the last leg of our journey: the 2 hour flight from Johannesburg to Capetown.  For such a major flight, everything has gone very smoothly. The flights from Atlanta to Dakar, Senegal to Johannesburg have been uneventful.  No late flights, decent food, quiet planes.  Couldn't really ask for more.

I even had the opportunity to catch up on some movies that I missed over the past year: Slumdog Millionaire, the Wrestler and the Secret Life of Bees.   

The team is all changed into our matching uniforms - our casual wear which consists of a maroon golf shirt and gray blazers .  We have joked that we look like a group of traveling missionaries or sales people.

After this, we meet our host families in Capetown and then head home for the night. It should be approximately 8 pm there when we get in.  I was worried that  I wouldn't be able to sleep after sleeping on the plane for so long, but I don't think that will be a problem.

Tomorrow will be a trip to Table Mountain, a famous landmark in Capetown, or Robben Island, the place where Nelson Mandela and many other political prisoners were kept during apartheid.  In the evening, we will go to a braai (BBQ) with Rotary members.

Okay, that's it for now.  Will try to update this as much as possible.

PS - Happy Easter!

Just getting finished packing and I am happy to report that everything fits in my suitcase with room to spare!  Phew.  I love the process of packing for trips.  For me, it always starts with being super stressed and doing a lot of stuff at the last minute.  Then I hit that point where it all comes together and I can relax and smile.  I am nearly at that point tonight! 

The only thing left to do right now is to load some music onto the mini laptop that my sis and bro-in-law were nice enough to lend me.  What music am I planning on loading?  Here is a short, but not exhaustive list:

-Brandi Carlile

-Calexico

-Neko Case

-John Coltrane

-My favorite workout mix

-A mix of classical music

 

Okay that's all for now.  Just wanted to share my packing success with y'all.  I am sure more will follow tomorrow during our journey from various airports.

Even as I type “two and a half weeks,” it is hard to believe that it is just 17 short days that separate the GSE team from Tucson and South Africa.  Well, I guess it is more like 18 days since our travel to South Africa will take longer than a full day.  Either way you look it at, time is ticking down very fast!

Our group leader, Randy, said a while back that the trip is starting to feel “real.”  I think that realization hit me as I started shopping for luggage and clothing last week.  It was pretty amazing to think that the simple Gap shirts and pants I purchased will accompany me on the most incredible adventure of my life.  

The trip also seems more and more real as I hear about work meetings and events taking place in the next month that I will not be attending.  Much like B.J., who is missing his “Earth Season” events, this trip also falls at a busy time for my work, including City of Tucson budget hearings and adoption and Town of Sahuarita elections.  As a government relations consultant, budgets and elections are two of the most important items for my clients.  I can’t even begin to thank my clients for their patience and support, especially given the extra work they will pick up in my absence.  

 As we approach departure, I have so many things floating around my head.  Yesterday, I got worried about if I would cry at the airport when I say goodbye to my best friend and sister, Holly.  I think the answer will be a definite “yes” to that one, but I am sure my team members will understand and I am sure some of them may even shed a tear as they say goodbye to their families.  Other things that have been on my mind range from making sure all my bills are paid in advance (don’t want the electricity to be shut off when I return!) to which size hair products I should pack (will a travel size last for 6 weeks?).

 I am very excited that my teammate, Sarah, set up this website and blog for us.  I look forward to keeping everyone updated as the trip approaches and while we are away.