Woke up at 7:30am, took a shower, and got dressed. Ate cereal for breakfast. I spent most of the morning thinking about my trip and what I’ve learned from it. I also looked through all the pictures I took. I did all of this to the background music of Anberlin.
This has been an incredible experience with incredible friends. I am thankful for all of this. I think many of us spend our time trying to improve our lives through skills, situations, and attitudes. But today, I think all i need is right here with me in the present. Today is the tomorrow I dreamed about yesterday. Everything I’ve ever dreamed about is here with me right now. What I need is not what I’m missing out on or haven’t achieved yet, what I lack is understanding to see the dream I’m living out each day by God’s goodness and love. If we don’t know what we’ve got until its gone, then the best thing in life is to lose and find again.
Got all packed up around 9:45am and checked out of my hostel. The receptionist called a taxi for me to get to the airport. It was K150,000. Before the taxi came, I sat outside on the porch. I was greeted by the friend I met from Lithuania and he sat down across from me. He said goodbye to me and then we talked for about ten minutes until the cab came. He was rolling tobacco he had purchased in Samfya while we conversed. The taxi finally came and I said my goodbyes to him.
The taxi driver I had was older and very nice. We talked a good portion of the ride to the airport which too about 30 minutes.
I leave ChaChaCha’s at 10am for the airport by taking a taxi. I asked him if he was a native and he said he was born in Lusaka. He asked me about Obama. I told him I heard the Zambians were affected by the Global Economic Crisis. He said this was true and despite this, he liked Americans. He specifically mentioned the Peace Corps, something I found ironic since I heard different opinion of them during my stay here in Africa. He said the Americans were really helping Zambia where some of the other countries here were only helping Zambia for their own profit. He mentioned that many wealthy Zambians don’t want to help their own people. He said that all Zambians want is for their children to go to school, to have good medicine and facilities, to have food, and a place to live… that is it.
The taxi driver also told me about a large newly build building that we past on our way to the airport. He said it was to bea hotel and that the owner was from Greece. The Greek man was a gambler and that’s how he obtained his money. When the man would win, he would build a building. When he would lose, he would sell a building. Not a bad business model. I asked the taxi driver what the Zambians thought of the Greek man. He said the people liked him because he was a fair man and employs many Zambians.
My dot matrix printed ticket
Now I am at the airport. I went to the South African Airways office to get my ticket. The man printed it out on a dot matrix printer. The ticket has no bar codes on it, just numbers. For lunch, I’m eating an apple and some “special bread” while in the airport terminal.
I took my bags through the first security checkpoint. Behind it, there was another South African Airways counter where I was able to check my luggage. My bag weighed exactly 19 kgs. The lady at the counter gave me a real boarding pass with barcodes and company logos on it. I then proceeded to head through customs to clear the country. I declared nothing but was asked when I was scheduled to leave Zambia. I told the man I had always planned on leaving the country today, June 3. He asked me some more questions about my length of stay here in Zambia and then got to the point: my visa was only good for five days though I had been in the country over two weeks. The man was not unhappy, but wanted to know why I did this. I told him that it was a mistake as that I told the customs officials when I first came to Zambia that I would be here until June 3rd. The man left me go with a warning and showed me how to interpret the numbers on my passport to ensure I get the correct visa the next time I visit Zambia. I thanked him and then went on my way.
Inside the Lusaka airport
I then had to go through another security checkpoint. Once through this checkpoint, I was at my gate. I bought some souvenirs with the Kwacha I had left. I looked for souvenirs the entire time I was in Zambia but really only found cloth and masks which were expensive. The gift shop at my gate was the first time I found anything and found it to be in my price range.
My gate is in a block building with a fiberglass roof. It’s really hot in here, like 90+. All there is for cooling is one fan. The gate area is about the same size as the gate area in the State College airport. I used the time while I waited for my plane to text John, my parents, and relatives. I figured I should use up the rest of my text messages I purchased two weeks earlier and send a friendly “Hello from Zambia” to those who would appreciate it. I also wanted to let John and my parents know I made it safely to my gate and would be leaving the country successfully.
Walking out to my plane
The flight to Johannesburg was smooth. At the start of the flight though, the flight attendants sprayed some kind of antiseptic aerosol. They sprayed it in the air from the back to the front of the plane. Upon investigation, I f0und our the spray is used to disinfect the plane and contains insecticides.
I landed in Johannesburg, South Africa at 3:30pm. Coming into the city, the air was tan colored with aerosols. I looked at the ground and could see numerous brush fires. Not sure what was exactly going on, but you could barely make out the city skyline because of the tremendous haze. On the ground, you could see a huge plume of smoke covering the skyline.
My plane out of Lusaka
I ate a burger and fries at a restaurant, Ekaya, here at the airport. South Africa, at least the airport, is a very interesting and exotic place. It’s a mixture of many cultures and lots of money. The cultures represented are African, England, American, Australian, and some Asian: quite an experience. There is lots of advertising for the 2010 World Cup which will take place here. There are some big name stores here including Ferari and all the major designer clothing shops from American and Brittian.
I bought some Tylenon PM at a store here. I also bought an internation travel adapter so I could charge my laptop except that it didn’t work with the plugs in South Africa — what the heck?!
While eating, I heard the Toto song, Africa, playing in the background; no joke.
Inside the Johannesburg airport
I found a K 50,000 bill in my pocket while walking around the airport. I thought I had collected all my Kwacha but must have missed this bill. I tried to exchange it at the money exchange at the airport. To my surprise, they said they don’t buy or sell Kwacha. I showed the bill to them and tried to get them to reconsider but they simply said no.
My flight to London was a little bumpy, but tolerable. I didn’t eat the evening meal but slept and ate breakfast in the morning. After eating, I watched an episode of House and part of Slumdog Millionaire. Besides those activities, I slept most of the way.