Friday October 28, 2007: Hello Africa!

I wish I could say, "I couldn't believe it", but after weeks of waiting and plenty of time to think about it, I absolutely believed that I was finally boarding a plane for Africa! The FBI had analyzed my fingerprints (I have a clean record, duh!), the South African Consulate had granted me a Visa for one year, and my dear friends and family had put up with my ever changing plans. My friend Cathy let me spend a few weeks on her *new* futon (it's actually mine- I'm letting her have it while I'm away). Her new condo is gorgeous, right near the beach (northshore Boston area) and her neighbors are the most generous and helpful people a girl leaving the country could ask for. So after a few weeks of waiting and being somewhat bummed that my plans were delayed, everything came together rather quickly. I received my Visa in the mail on Wednesday, I called the travel agent and my flight was changed from one week away, to two days away (Friday). Luckily the change of flight kept me out of Heathrow Airport where I'm convinced my luggage would have joined the 10,000 other bags that have gone "unclaimed". I rushed to see friends Wednesday for lunch, had to miss a dinner I was really looking forward to, and drove 3 hours to CT to pack for the last time. I said my goodbyes Thursday and my Dad drove me back to MA. Sara met us halfway and carted my stuff back to Boston. I stayed at Andrew's new apartment downtown where Sara again picked me up in the morning and sent me on my way. I'm extremely thankful my friends and family were willing to go out of their way for me.

My flight left Boston's Logan Airport at 8:20am. It was a short flight to NYC, kind of anti-climactic actually. I waited a few hours before finally departing for Dakar, Senegal. I was able to make a few last minute phone calls and realized those may be the last phone conversations I have with home for at least the next few months. The eight hour flight to the small west African country wasn't too bad at all. I was able to sleep on the flights and tried to acclimate myself to my new time zone. (Durban is 6 hours ahead of EST, 7 during daylight savings.) We quickly refuelled and made another eight hour flight for Johannesburg, South Africa. I made it through customs without any problems, collected my luggage, and boarded another short flight to Durban, my new home. Costa, a kind gentleman known to many in my lab, picked me up from the airport and immediately handed me my new cell phone. I was instantly connected with the rest of the world again, and it really took away the fear of being alone in a foreign country. I phoned my new landlord so I could get into my aparment, and Costa delivered me there. I found the keys to my "flat" (as it's called in South Africa) in my mailbox, so I moved right in. My flat is ENORMOUS by one bedroom, city standards. I have a mattress and boxspring, a table/desk, two end tables, a loveseat, and two armchairs. And that's it. There is of course a bathroom with a bathtub, separate shower, toilet, and sink. And a kitchen with a stove, oven, microwave, fridge, sink, and a washing machine. I have tall ceilings, off-white walls, and wood floors. There are two stained glass doors to my bedroom from the foyer, and one stained glass door to my bedroom from the garden room. I'm not sure if a "garden room" is a real thing, but that's what I'm going to call it. The floor is tiled, so it'd be easy to have plants in there, plus it receives the most sunlight because I have two GINORMOUS windows! The windows are 6' tall x 8' wide. One is in the "garden room", the other in my bedroom. They are absolutely fantastic! They face the east/southeast and offer a tremendous view of the city of Durban as well as the harbor. The large windows really helped on my first few days in the flat because I had no electricity. Since I arrived on a Saturday, I wasn't able to get to the municipality office until a work day, but in actuality, I didn't make it until Tuesday. So, I spent my first night staring out the window at a new city. There were enough lights from the city to light my apartment so I didn't have to worry about bumping into my 3 pieces of furniture. Costa also set me up with some torches (flashlights), a gas stove, and a radio. I was afraid I'd burn down my new place with the gas stove, so I didn't use it. Plus, I also didn't have any food to cook. I ate the crackers I saved from the plane, drank some water, and listened to the one radio station I could understand that came in clearly. I really don't know what I would've done without that radio. I've never lived alone and I really felt my solitariness in my huge apartment with no furniture and no one to interact with. But at least I had a radio.
The music is just like home. In fact, the second song I heard in the airport after landing in Jo'burg by Clarkson. I knew things would be just fine from then on out.