This is Africa!

Jun.7th, 2010
Finally! The last couple days had been really hectic.finishing qualifiers, visiting Montreal, moving into a new apartment, and boom, pack and go! This morning, after 3 hours of power sleep, I woke up at 5am to catch the CT limo
to JFK airport. This is my very first Africa trip and I can feel the adrenaline rash in me just to think about it. Not for long though, I fell asleep very quickly on the limo.

My flight was with South African airways (SAA). If not for what happened afterward (it may not be their fault anyway), I would probably vote SAA the best airline I have flew with so far. SAA has excellent on-board service. They provided comfy blanket, a pillow, a headset, mini toothbrush set, eye-covers, and even a pair of warmers for feet! On the plane were many soccer fans going to South Africa for the World Cup. The majority of them are Mexicans and South Africans. They were friendly teasing each other all along the way. The South Africans were chanting their national soccer team “bafana bafana” (means boys), and the Mexicans proudly claimed that South Africans were going to loss, but “we still love you, we will love you more after you loss”. Upon landing, the SAA crew members even put on soccer uniform with “crew” words printed on it.

Fourteen hours later, with two delicious meals and numerous naps, and the entertainment of Sherlock Holmes, I arrived at my first stop in Africa- Johannesburg, South Africa, feeling excited and fresh.

It was local time Jun.8th at 8:40am when I arrived at Johannesburg international airport. The weather was very comfortable at its low 20C, not too warm or too cold. The sky was clear and peaceful. The airport itself was not that different as any other international airports. It has numerous coffee shops and duty free stores. The names of the stores were of Africa signature, such as “Out of Africa”. From the postcards I bought I learned that the “big 5” of Africa are “lions, leopards, white rhinos, elephants, and buffalos”.