[Note added Friday, Aug 16: Sorry we haven't been posting. Our days are packed full. And internet is spotty at best - must put laptop in certain position in room with foot up in the air & tongue hanging out of mouth and hold breath. So here goes ...]
Backtracking to Tuesday,August 13th, we left New York in a downpour with a 15 hr flight ahead of us. Here is a summary of the flight:
Hours 1-5: OK no problem - I got this. Eat dinner. Read e-book. Listen to music with noise cancelling headphones (Note: headphones definitely worth it).
Hour 6: Person in front of me reclines for the rest of the flight and takes a lot of valuable square inches from the already miniscule personal space of my claustrophic self. :-(
Hours 7-10: Is it just me or is it getting really hot in here. Why isn't there a personal air vent? Try to sleep. Try to find comfortable position. Try to sleep. Forget it - watch movie.
Hours 11-12: Hit the wall. Let me out of this plane - PLEASE. Where is the exit?
Hour 13: Sleep for a full 15 minutes then get awaken by the flight crew serving snacks.
Hours 14-15: Watch "Life of Pi" and envy the fact he is stuck on a lifeboat with a Tiger. That doesn't really sound so bad in comparison - at least he had fresh air and leg room. And he didn't have to go through passport control, security, etc.
Wednesday, August 14th: We land at 6:30 a.m.
OK, I did survive the flight and we did get through the passport inspection and our bags did finally arrive. But we are EXTREMELY tired, unshowered, and hungry. Starting to wonder why I left my comfortable rut, my comfort zone ...
And then we are greeted in the airport terminal by local friends who volunteered to greet every flight that had delegates attending the convention. They had a welcome desk, transportation arranged for us to Pretoria (about 30 miles from Johannesburg airport), a choir singing beautifully a cappella, and lots of hugs. Long flight forgotten. :-)
Backtracking to Tuesday,August 13th, we left New York in a downpour with a 15 hr flight ahead of us. Here is a summary of the flight:
Hours 1-5: OK no problem - I got this. Eat dinner. Read e-book. Listen to music with noise cancelling headphones (Note: headphones definitely worth it).
Hour 6: Person in front of me reclines for the rest of the flight and takes a lot of valuable square inches from the already miniscule personal space of my claustrophic self. :-(
Hours 7-10: Is it just me or is it getting really hot in here. Why isn't there a personal air vent? Try to sleep. Try to find comfortable position. Try to sleep. Forget it - watch movie.
Hours 11-12: Hit the wall. Let me out of this plane - PLEASE. Where is the exit?
Hour 13: Sleep for a full 15 minutes then get awaken by the flight crew serving snacks.
Hours 14-15: Watch "Life of Pi" and envy the fact he is stuck on a lifeboat with a Tiger. That doesn't really sound so bad in comparison - at least he had fresh air and leg room. And he didn't have to go through passport control, security, etc.
Wednesday, August 14th: We land at 6:30 a.m.
OK, I did survive the flight and we did get through the passport inspection and our bags did finally arrive. But we are EXTREMELY tired, unshowered, and hungry. Starting to wonder why I left my comfortable rut, my comfort zone ...
And then we are greeted in the airport terminal by local friends who volunteered to greet every flight that had delegates attending the convention. They had a welcome desk, transportation arranged for us to Pretoria (about 30 miles from Johannesburg airport), a choir singing beautifully a cappella, and lots of hugs. Long flight forgotten. :-)
