July 4, 2013

July 4, 2013

Looking at my last blog, I see that I started it 44 days ago.  Wow, it seems like yesterday. 

11:30 I am sitting outside at Mandella Farm in a town called Kwamlangha (this is not said as it sounds – instead you somehow say it like you have a mouthful of food.  I haven’t yet been able to pronounce it).  It is a warm, sunny day with a slight breeze blowing.   Technically, it is winter here in South Africa, but that does not mean snow and freezing temperatures as it does in Alberta.  Instead the lowest temperature is about 2 degrees celsuis and the highest is about 18 degrees.  So in other words, comparable to a warm fall in Alberta. 

Mandella Farm is a beautiful place.  All the buildings are made up of large stone and have pointed thatched roofs.  (Mom, you would love the buildings)  I am living in a converted barn.  This barn has four bedrooms that can sleep from 2-6 people and a kitchen/dining room area.  In the main house, the Luken’s family live – a friendly, outgoing family with two children.  The yard is full of a variety of plants – none of which are familiar.  I can hear a rooster crowing somewhere and two dogs are constantly by me, wanting to be petted.  Birds are chirping cheerfully and a soft breeze is whistling in the trees.

I had not been looking forward to the plane ride.  All I could think of was “26 hours on a plane all by myself”.  And “I only have 30 minutes to change  planes in Edmonton.  Am I going to make it?”.  However, the plane ride went by smoothly and quickly.  In Edmonton, I had to move quickly in order to catch my plane, but I made it.  The 8 hour ride from Edmonton to London right by quickly.  I sat by a man who was heading to Beirut, ____ to meet his family.  We talked for a bit and I was also able to sleep for a few hours.  In London, I had five hours.  This too passed quickly.  I spent some time exploring the airport, slept on a bench and tried to figure out how to charge my dead laptop (to no avail).  The plane ride from London to Johannesburg was about 10 hours long.  When I boarded this plane, I finally started to become nervous – Johannesburg was the next destination and there I would meet new people, new cultures, new languages, new everything.  This would be something totally different than I had ever expected.  I had booked the last row of the plane, hoping no one else had, but the plane was packed full and so I didn’t get a row to myself.  However, I sat beside a South African lady named Adela and she was able to give my first taste of Africa and gave me some hints of what to expect.  At 7:00 in the morning (South African) time, we began our descent.  Since it is winter here, it was still dark and I couldn’t see a lot.  However, I could tell that Johannesburg was large

Once I landed, I was prepared to spend a fair bit of time going through customs.  However, all it consisted of was giving my passport, the agent asking “Are you here for holidays or business?” and then he stamped my paper.  I had officially landed in J-burg. 

3:00 I just finished grocery shopping, which was a very eye-opening experience.  The grocery was extremely packed and I was the only white person in what felt like a sea of black.  It is a very different feeling to be such an obvious minority.  They were all polite though and I only felt like I was being stared at all of the time.  I bought all my groceries – it came to 2500 Rand.  Since it was so busy, I had to wait in a line-up for a half hour.  However, the people in line were not at all impatient.  If this were in Canada, people would be muttering under their breath or demanding to talk to the manager in order to let him know how they feel. 

Once I was done buying groceries, I waited outside for my ride.  In the same area as the grocery story was several banks, the post office, some clothing stores, a KFC and another food place.  All these places were very busy and many of them had line-ups.   As I waited, I observed the people and tried to understand their culture better.  All of the them speak English, but only if they have too .  So that means I was not able to understand them, but I was able to watch their gestures and listen to their voice inflections.