Almost There

June 26, 2009  (I think.)

 

We’re in Africa!  But not yet to our final destination.  

 

I’m sitting here trying to figure out the day of the week.  Let’s see, we left New York on a Thursday, so today must be….oh my gosh.  Was Thursday just yesterday?  We had an easy and uneventful flight on South African airlines, fifteen hours direct from New York, arriving in Johannesburg South Africa around 8:30 this morning.  As soon as we were able to check into the hotel we all went back to bed.  The Enforcer (that would be me) limited everyone to a 2 hour nap.  NO ONE wanted to get up again. 

 

We don’t have the time or inclination to get out and explore Jo-burg.  Mostly because we just need to regroup before we get back on a plane tomorrow, but also because it is 34 degrees here!  We didn’t pack for that!  It’s beautifully sunny though.  No worries, Malawi will be warmer.  Our first impression about this part of Africa is  “Wow.  This pretty much looks like home.”  There’s a McDonald’s, KFC, and Shell gas station right beside the hotel and the landscape looks a lot like Kansas in winter.  Everybody speaks English, of course, but the African accent can be hard to understand.  Our true African experience will begin tomorrow, I think. 

 

We spent a wonderful and busy 2 ½ days in New York with Mark’s parents.  We had a great time at Coney Island and the Mets game.  (In the new stadium!)  We visited Mark’s sister, Lynn, in her studio in Harlem where she and Nelson are putting together their fabulous looking documentary on Tibet fueling excitement for shooting our own photos and video here.  As we walked many blocks down the middle of Harlem Annie whispered to me that she felt very out of place.  Ours were the only white faces most of the time.  We just smiled and said,  “Well, get ready for Africa.”  It is an important experience to know what it feels like to be the minority, to inhabit someone else’s world, whether it be in bush Alaska, the streets of Harlem or the villages of Malawi.  It is the only way that we can grasp a little of what it is like  for people with whom we work, study, play and worship to always feel like the outsider. 

 Some pics from New York:

Annie wins at the carnival at Coney Island.

Can't tell they're going really fast, but they are!

The scene on the boardwalk.