Marnie and I are notoriously anxious travellers. The night before departing, we rarely sleep more than a couple hours, but this time the insomnia started a couple of weeks beforehand. It goes without saying we’re both feeling a little edgy.
The combination of relentlessly soggy weather along with the Kirstein kids destroying the satellite TV receiver means Marnie and I have nothing to do but obsess about packing. We fill a bag close to bursting, remembering later there’s something in there we still need--all the way in the bottom. With a borrowed scale, Marnie weighs each bag, redistributes the weight, repeats. Until we’re checked in and see our luggage scoot off down the conveyor belt, we won’t relax. So for now, we spend each moment checking off each mental note in our heads until there is nothing more do but wait, and pace.
In time, I will become nostalgic for this place, but for the past month, I’ve just wished each day was the next. I suppose I’ll miss the jacarandas in springtime bloom, my avian friends, the ample selection of exotic meat products. I might even miss a person or two. But right now, when people ask us if we’re ready to go, we tell them that it’s just time.
I thought it would be appropriate to end this blog with the first picture I took in this country, the same one I used in my first post here. Just like now, we were sleep deprived and frazzled, albeit for very different reasons. Looking out into the dark chaos of downtown Johannesburg, those two crazy kids were scared senseless, with no idea what was about to hit them. The difficulties of getting simple things accomplished in Africa. The rainy season. The dry season. World Cups and labor strikes. Walking with gorillas, swimming with sharks. The Serengeti, the Kalahari. And those crazy Somalis.
But for now, enough with the adventures. Now is the time for friends and family, for living in a home instead of a fortified compound, for driving on the right side of the road, for people competent (more so, at least) at their jobs, for police who actually protect people, for Super Bowls and decent ice cream and real coffee (ohhhhh Starbucks!). And maybe, time for just a little sleep.
See you on the other side of the pond,
Dan and Marnie.
The combination of relentlessly soggy weather along with the Kirstein kids destroying the satellite TV receiver means Marnie and I have nothing to do but obsess about packing. We fill a bag close to bursting, remembering later there’s something in there we still need--all the way in the bottom. With a borrowed scale, Marnie weighs each bag, redistributes the weight, repeats. Until we’re checked in and see our luggage scoot off down the conveyor belt, we won’t relax. So for now, we spend each moment checking off each mental note in our heads until there is nothing more do but wait, and pace.
In time, I will become nostalgic for this place, but for the past month, I’ve just wished each day was the next. I suppose I’ll miss the jacarandas in springtime bloom, my avian friends, the ample selection of exotic meat products. I might even miss a person or two. But right now, when people ask us if we’re ready to go, we tell them that it’s just time.
I thought it would be appropriate to end this blog with the first picture I took in this country, the same one I used in my first post here. Just like now, we were sleep deprived and frazzled, albeit for very different reasons. Looking out into the dark chaos of downtown Johannesburg, those two crazy kids were scared senseless, with no idea what was about to hit them. The difficulties of getting simple things accomplished in Africa. The rainy season. The dry season. World Cups and labor strikes. Walking with gorillas, swimming with sharks. The Serengeti, the Kalahari. And those crazy Somalis.
But for now, enough with the adventures. Now is the time for friends and family, for living in a home instead of a fortified compound, for driving on the right side of the road, for people competent (more so, at least) at their jobs, for police who actually protect people, for Super Bowls and decent ice cream and real coffee (ohhhhh Starbucks!). And maybe, time for just a little sleep.
See you on the other side of the pond,
Dan and Marnie.
I have really enjoyed reading your blog this year -- please keep writing, Dan. You have a clear talent for it.
ReplyDeleteHope your trip home was good -- see you in September!
What! No updates now that you're Stateside? You've got your Starbucks, but your readers still need you!
ReplyDeleteLove you,
Judy