More travels & the ARRIVAL!

Friday, June 14th… still up in the air. Woot woot (note the wonderful enthusiasm). The gentleman sitting beside me this time was a jolly bald man who recently moved from England to Pretoria, South Africa for work. This guy reminded me of the Wally the Walrus (I think that’s his name) animation character (from some cartoon… Woody Woodpecker? Chilly the Penguin? Haha… whatever). He was the ambassador of VSO, this European charity organization. That totally peaked my interests because I love volunteering, so wanted to find out more about what he did. I told him about my teaching and traveling aspirations and he suggested that I check out CUSO, which was the Canadian equivalent of VSO. He said that they pay for volunteers to travel to places around the world to teach, work in the communities, and yada yada else. Though volunteers don’t get a salary, they get paid a humble stipend for food and accommodation. Then it dawned on me that was all one really needed to survive. I would love to be a part of something like that. Still, I will do more research to be sure. I mean, “paid” volunteers?? BAHAHA… it’s just too good to be true, no?

Anyway, the rest of the flight wasn’t as unbearable as I thought it could have been. Thank God for that! Plus, the sleep that I lacked from Edmonton to London, I regained during this long flight. Also, thank goodness for that! Finally, 8:15am on Sunday, June 15th, I arrived in the Johannesburg Airport. HOORAY! Only one more flight to go before I see Namibia and my afro peeps again!

Trying to check in my bag for the next flight transfer now. This guy made me put my luggage on this weigh thingy majigger and told me that my suitcase was too heavy. I said, “Oh really?” and acted all clueless. The guy responded, “To where are you going?” “Walvis Bay, Namibia” “So the ring on your finger tells me that you are married.” “Yes, I am” “I want to go with you.” Man! I wanted to burst out, “As if! In your dreams.” Haha! But I held my tongue and simply said, “But my luggage is already too heavy, and you simply won’t fit in it, Sir. I’m sorry.” Then he laughed and started singing a bit of an African diddly, which gave me a quick subject to change to, “So, you’re a singer eh?!” Haha… long story short… he finally let me pass with my heavy luggage and all (he wrote a false weight on the slip which I had to present to the check-in attendant). I was SO GRATEFUL to have gotten away from that awkward scenario, but before I left the scene, I had to turn around and smile apologetically at the long line-up behind me while this coco-loco dude was trying to woo me with his African “machismo.” BAHAHA… I pity the foo’! And all those onlookers who had to witness our funny banter.

K, checked in now. First things first… find a washroom! If you can imagine two straight days of air travel… not so fresh yo. I didn’t give a care how I looked amongst strangers, but now it was time to gussy up a little and make myself presentable… heehee. So I found a conveniently empty baby changing/feeding room in the Women’s washroom and hogged the spot immediately. *Disclaimer: no milk bursting mommies or hungry babies were harmed during the grooming of Michelle.* As I was freshening up, my sanctuary was barged into twice by two Custodian ladies in the time span of 5 minutes. I didn’t mind ‘cause this meant that the staff was pretty on top of the washroom’s cleanliness. What I found peculiar was that one of the ladies actually stayed in the mini one person room with me and shut the door behind us. GULP! This was strange ‘cause I was in the midst of brushing my teeth. Then she proceeded to check herself out in the mirror. She lifted up her uniform top a little to adjust her pants and then she looked at me in the mirror and smiled. I gave her an awkward toothpaste-ful grin in return and then she stepped out. HOW BIZARRE!

Last stretch now… 2.5 hours until I reach the Walvis Bay airport! oOooo… almost there! EEEEE! The jet to Walvis Bay was very small. I totally overestimated its size however because I clubbed my head thrice on the overhead cubbies. Sheesh… I think I lost a few brain cells there. Haha… the other passengers probably thought I was on something ‘cause one would think NOT to club your head again after the first time. WHAT-EVER. Be an original, I say. Or avoid eye contact and return to your seat immediately. Both works. ;-p

1:30pm on Sunday, June 15th, I finally made it to my destination!!! Oh how I was screaming with glee inside, but still I maintained a very calm, controlled and collected exterior. Haha… remain cool yo. Word. Anyway, as I was lining up to hand in my landing pass, I peripherally noticed a long-haired red head wearing the same Lulu jacket I was wearing. Didn’t think anything about it, when it dawned on me, “Lulu in Africa?” I turn my head to discover the girl staring at my face as well. Then there was 5 seconds of silence between us (which is a long time if you’re just staring at someone’s face), when we suddenly screamed simultaneously, “OH MY GOD! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!! I CAN’T BELIEVE IT!!!” It was Megan Anderson from my choir whom had just arrived on another flight. I knew she was coming to Walvis Bay too, but I didn’t expect it to be right then and there. What was funny was that it took us such a delay to recognize and orient each other. Haha… travel does that to people sometimes, I suppose. Wow. What a pleasant surprise!

At the airport I was greeted by Garth (of course), Joel (of course), Theo & Tania & their oh-so-adorable son, Valentino. The weather here was unexpectedly warm, since it was supposedly winter and all in Africa. But I wasn’t complaining. We popped home first for me to give Aunty Jocelyn a hug (Garth’s mom). Then Garth and I dropped Joel and Megan off in Swakopmund. Then we went to visit his father since it was Father’s Day and all. We did our greetings, had a nice chat, and left. It was nice to be back among familiar faces.

Garth and I decided to take advantage of the lovely weather because the weather here was also very unpredictable, so the next day could be foggy and windy or whatever. Anyway, we took a stroll along the Swakopmund Beach. I must admit, with the salty fresh ocean air brushing against my face, sand running between my toes, the blue blue sky above, the sunset beyond the horizon, and Garth Prinsonsky by my side, I felt really complete in that moment. Sigh… it was nice to be back indeed. Swakopmund is very beautiful and I think I will enjoy the laid back atmosphere for the next two months.

Sigh… romantic moment out of the way, we went to Superspar next for me to pick up some toiletries and then we paid a visit to Mrs. Venter. It was so nice to see her again and sit in her living room chatting it up. We spent a few hours at her house enjoying each other’s company. Haha… I guess Garth noticed that I started blinking gradually slower and slower (aka I was falling asleep). We made the move to head back to Walvis Bay.

Phew! What a day already. I got to see some really special people in my life and enjoy a beautiful day in Swakopmund with my fiancé. That is the life. For now, I must… zzzZZZzzz…