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Lining up the shot and using the tent pole as a brace |
After shooting, we went and had brunch, and then everyone went back to finish packing their belongings. The van arrived about an hour early, so we loaded our suitcases up, and then some people went off to take more photos of the wildlife/birds, some people people hung around and talked with our South African friends, and I went and found a quiet place under a tree so that I could have a few final moments soaking everything in so that I did not forget a single detail of the place. After a little while, Antoinette joined me, and we talked about horses and South African languages and all sorts of other things. Antoinette, who is very New Age, told me that from my energy she could tell that I needed to have more confidence in myself, which is very true!
All too soon, it was time to leave. Everyone hugged goodbye and promised to keep in touch- oh, the wonders of Facebook! We climbed aboard the van and made the drive back towards Jo-burg.
We again stopped at "The Zoo" on our way, but this time neither Rebecca nor I ordered any cheese sandwiches. I got my habitual M&Ms that I had become addicted to over there, with their different sugars than the ones in the US. We reached the airport several hours before we had to board our plane, so several of us took advantage of the time to do some shopping for ourselves and to find some souvenirs for friends... things like a candle in the shape of a rhino and covered in different animal prints, for instance (I should have kept that for myself).
For the flights back home, we used Air France. I was a little more than surprised when the flight attendant walked through the cabin three times, spraying insecticide. Talk about feeling dirty.
After a delay, we were off. I don't remember much about that flight, other than the fact that I sat by two really nice women from Holland, because I took some Benadryl and slept through most of it.
We arrived in Paris, and Rebecca and I were super excited about the shopping that could be had in the airport. We were sad that our layover wasn't long enough to go see the Eiffel Tower, but I feel like I got a good preview of the French experience. For instance, I said "Bonjour!" and "Merci beaucoup!" every chance I got, and apparently I was pretty convincing, because several people proceeded to carry on in French to me afterwards while I stared at them blankly.
We did have a "rude Parisian" experience, as well. We went into a chocolate shop because, hello, and I greeted the proprietor as you are expected to do. I think she liked us until the moment she realized that we were American and only spoke English. For some reason, none of Rebecca's credit cards would work on her cash register, and she became more and more haughty the more Rebecca tried. Rebecca asked her "I don't suppose you take American dollars?" to which she replied "I'm sorry, I don't understand what you are saying", which I thought was a little fishy in the first place. Rebecca pulled out a couple of dollars and said "American dollars?" to which the lady replied, "But of course!" in a tone that let implied what she thought of our intelligence. Rebecca paid, and we got the heck out of there.
Apparently, the quality of the chocolate wasn't worth all of the pain and effort.
We boarded the plane to head to Houston about 9:30 AM, and the flight was the longest in the world. Every time I started to think that maybe, just maybe, we were about to begin our descent, I'd look at the flight monitor and see that we were still out in the Atlantic ocean. Hmph.
But finally, Texas appeared underneath us. We even flew right over my house- literally. According to the monitor, I could have walked outside, looked up, and seen our plane. The urge to roll the window down and scream "HI CHICA!" like I do every time I drive past her was pretty overwhelming.
We got back to the airport and said our goodbyes to each other. It was sad, because I had become really close to these people after spending so much time with them. I think being in an unfamiliar place together only served to strengthen the bond. I was also sad to go from being in a place where I had such purpose and where I got to do cool things every day back to the mundane daily grind. I'm still sad that I'm not still there. Next year's trip is going for two weeks, and I am super jealous!
After being flagged to go through Agricultural customs (where the group met up again, all of us being flagged), I walked into the area of the airport where people can come inside to meet their friends, and my mom was standing front and center, with tears in her eyes. She claims that an older couple had just met up with their grand kids and the grandmother was crying about not getting to see them often, which made her cry. Ok, sure thing, Mom :)
South Africa was amazing. I still can't believe that I was there, but I thank God for the opportunity to go every time I think about it. I will definitely go back some day. I'd like to see more of SA, and my new friends there, but I'd also like to check out Kenya, Tanzania, and Mozambique.
Three people in our group came down with African Tick Bite Fever, aka Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, upon returning. Fortunately, the only thing I came down with was the travel bug- I'm ready to go and see the world now. Australia? On the list. England? Been wanting to go there as long as I can remember. Argentina? Get in the cart. Antarctica? LET'S DO IT!
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The group, minus our photographer! Oh, and a couple of giraffes! |
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