Back in Durban again

I arrived back in Durban last night at 22h20 after leaving my sister's place at 9h45 USA time (17h45 SA time) the previous day. A very long time travelling but also a very good experience all round.

It was President's Day in the USA so there was no school and for this reason Jenni was able to come with Terri to take me to the Airport in Philadelphia.

My original plan had been to leave on the Tuesday but that flight was no longer operational and so they put me on a flight the day before. God was in control. It snowed on the Tuesday so had I been leaving that day I would have either had the flight cancelled or had a terrible trip to the airport.

As it was, my flight was fully booked because of all the cancellations due to snow days leading up to Monday.

Checking in is always a stress as I have to unpack my laptop etc and also have to have all the liquids in a plastic bag. I usually have to remove my shoes and coats and then always forget my necklace with its magnetic clip and end up having a body search because I set off the alarms going through the Xray.

Well, once again God was in control and I was lead to a special queue where none of the above was expected of me and I just walked through the Xray and my stuff went through on the conveyor belt through Xray. {I did remember to put the necklace in my handbag)

The airport was heated and as I had dressed for the minus degrees outdoors, I was feeling very hot and decided to change into a short sleeved top and to loose the leggings I had on under my jeans as well as the knee high socks and boots. (I had come prepared to change when I reached Joberg.)

Eventually it was time to board the plane. It was a 2 hour flight to Atlanta and I spent the time reading. Although the plane was full, there was plenty of legroom and I even managed to store both my carry on and coat as well as the backpack Viv had bought me into the locker above my seat so I was very comfortable. They brought us complementary snacks and I was given both pretzels and peanuts while everyone else only received one or the other.

On arrival at Atlanta I started to stress again about finding my way to the International departure gate but as before everyone was very helpful and a short walk took me to the airport train and before I knew what was happening I had reached my destination. Once again I was spared a security check and as my time in Atlanta was only 1 and a half hours it was not long before I was boarding another full plane.

The lady in the seat next to me was a paramedic who was a medic on a ship and when I mentioned my son was also a paramedic who was working in Qatar she wanted to know what his name was. She then informed me that although she had never met Brendon, she knew him well having spoken to several other SA paramedics some of whom also spent time in Qatar. It sure is a small world. I found her very interesting to talk to but soon after take off we stopped talking and watched TV.

The evening dinner was very special. Instead of the usual "chicken or beef" we were also offered a cheese pasta dish or shrimps. Those who know me can guess that I chose the shrimps.

I managed to have a 4 hour nap sitting up and then went walkabout where I met a lovely stewardess who was having her meal and who wanted to chat. She was also a Christian and even hugged me and wished me well. She was at the door when I left the plane and as I greeted her she told me that I had been a blessing to her as she had blessed me too and then I got another hug.

On arrival in Johannesburg I sailed through passport control and customs and before I had a chance to stress about my bags I was directed to the SAA transfer counter where my bags were received and my boarding pass printed.

I took a gentle stroll to the domestic terminal because I knew I had a 3 hour plus lay over and did not have to rush. My body clock was confused and I could not remember if I had missed a meal or not so decided to have a liquid meal just in case. The milk shake was delicious.

 They only needed me to remove my laptop at the security check so that was stress free and once again I read my Kindle until it was time to board a very empty plane.

Another new experience. We were told to fasten our seat belts before take off and also to fasten the seat belts on the empty seats. The young man sitting next to the window did this and remarked, "My invisible friend has his seat belt fastened. Casper is safe." While eating my snack on the short flight to Durban, some meat dropped onto the empty seat and immediately the man said, "No worries, Casper will enjoy the snack".

We arrived early but Bradley was there to meet me and soon we were on our way home.

When we arrived at the flat both Vera and Evelyn came to see me and welcome me home even though it was so late at night and they both had to rise early the following morning.

My body was confused and my wrist watch told me it was still day time in the USA so I decided to unpack and the result was that it was close on 2h00 SA time before I went to bed. I woke at 6h00 and saw both Rachel and Evangeline before they left for school.

I had offered to help out at Rachel's school Swimathon so had to be there by 8h00. After a quick breakfast I rushed to the car only to discover that it would not start. I phoned the school and said they should fetch me if they needed me but they said they had plenty of helpers so I knew that God wanted me to sleep some more so that was what I did.