Next time I fly, though, I want to be sedated. Seriously.
The two-hour connector to D. C. wasn't that bad, despite being a bit bumpy. Then the plane ride to Africa was split into two parts. We flew across to Dakar, which took roughly six hours, and then the people going to Johannesburg had to stay on board as other passengers came and went for about an hour. That's when I started to feel sick. I realized they were pumping some sort of chemical cleanser into the air system of the plane because I could see the white coming out of the vents and it smelled funny. The next eight hours were pure misery. I felt so queasy it was all I could do to remember to breathe and not throw up. I nibbled on the bread from my airline meals (three in all, which wouldn't have been half bad had I been able to keep them down). Eventually I started feeling better and the kid next to me, Lazarel something was his name, asked me to be his opponent in Chess. I wasn't half-bad, considering I only vaguely even know the rules of chess. I even won once. I also did a bit of reading and failed miserably at every attempt to sleep on the plane. I'm not usually anti-child, but there were far too many sick/screaming children onboard for me to feel entirely comfortable. That's what happens when you fly coach, though. Meh.
Finally we landed, I get through immigration and customs without any problems, claim my baggage and find out that one of my checked pieces of luggage was torn open in transit. I was too hot and tired to give a damn at the moment, but tomorrow I'm going to go back to the airline with the ripped bag and see if they can't pay me to replace it.
Anyway, my host family for the week, Henti, his wife Bronwen and their two-year-old daughter Victoria, came to pick me up at the airport and took me out to get food. Chicken burgers with pineapple and some weird sauce, and a citrus drink from a fruit whose name I don't remember...it was delicious. Particularly because I was on solid ground and could eat without feeling sick to my stomach. After that a shower was had, because after over 24 hours of straight traveling (from the time I left my house in the States to when I got to my host family's home), I was in dire need of one. And now that I've given you all a basic run-down of my journey, it's time to sleep. Tomorrow my hosts are going to show me around town so I've got to be well-rested.
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