As I write this, I’m sitting in South Africa, killing time. I wanted to start this yesterday, but an unexpected duffel bag blowout meant that my time in London was spent desperately searching for a sturdy bag large enough to hold my camera case and a bunch of other junk. After admiring several suitcases I couldn’t dream of affording, I stumbled on a heavy canvas bag and voila! I have new luggage. But by the time I’d done that I barely had time for what my friend Kenya calls a “ho bath” and a change of clothes. When I finished that, I scrambled over to my gate, got sat down, opened the computer and heard “General boarding is now open.” Well, I stuffed my cute little netbook into my lovely new bag and got on the plane, what else was there to do?
That makes three flights so far with two more today. Honestly, I can’t wait to reach Maun because at least then there’s no more flying! I love flying but really, there comes a point where enough is enough. Even with as nice as the budget flight on BA is, my sore knee is stiff, and surprise, sore, from being bent so long and I’m starting to think the crick in my neck might be permanent. But it’s worth it. That’s what I remind myself. Trip of a lifetime and all that jazz.
That was all that got me out of bed on Wednesday when Annabelle (my puppy) crawled up and laid down on top of me, something she never does. For the next seven weeks, she and Jake (my older dog) belong to my parents while I travel.
I go back and forth between being terrified, nervous, excited and just plain tired. I’ve never been to Africa, and even with my compulsive Google searches, I feel like I don’t know enough and I am far from prepared. See, last time I went abroad was through ASU and everything was coordinated and there was a massive support network. In Botswana, I have CCB and in England I have family, but all the planning, all the prep work came down to me so if anything goes wrong, it’s my fault. Not exactly the most comforting feeling in the world.
I meant this post to be light and funny so you all don’t worry about me, but as it turns out it’s not. It’s just honest. I can’t say that I’m having a ton of fun yet (let’s face it 22 hours on a plane isn’t really fun) but I’m making progress. With any luck, the next post will be more fun.
Have a great day everyone!
