Leaving On A Jet Plane… Don’t Know When I’ll Be Back Again
In a mere 6 hours I will board a jet plane to Philly. I think this "layover" for staging is really a ploy aimed to prevent us from remembering how long the flight from JFK to Jo’burg REALLY is for all of us weary travelers.
FYI, I haven’t forgotten. It’s an 18 hour flight. And, to add insult to injury, that’s not the end of the trip. No….. we are "privileged" to spend the night in Jo’burg and then board ANOTHER flight to Windhoek the following morning. That would be more than TWO days of consecutive travel for anyone who is counting.
Might I add that I am rather cranky when sleeping in an upright position with recycled air blowing on my face and crying babies interrupting my few moments of precious sleep. It will be a blessing for all of you that I will be incommunicado until I arrive in Windhoek and have the opportunity to a) buy a cell phone and b) find the nearest internet cafe. Consider it an early birthday present. My fellow Peace Corps volunteers will not be so lucky.
P.S. I hope you enjoy the photos below because it is the result of painstaking hours of labor. Talk about a Sisyphean task! Honestly, I would rather lug a boulder up a mountain then attempt to pack 2 bags for 2 years with an 80 lb weight limit ever again.
However, I suppose these photos are rather revealing of my… let’s say… "detailed" nature which requires me to roll my clothing into small cylindrical balls to provide for the maximum packing capacity while preventing wrinkles. I even managed to take advantage of the interior of my Nalgene bottle and my shoes- no space goes unused in my bag!
P.P.S. Yes, Deals, I AM taking a HUGE amount of feminine hygiene products. What is a dozen dozen? A gross? Rest assured, I am taking a GROSS of tampons simply to ease your fear that I might have to don a menstrual belt.
P.P.P.S. Now that I have effectively disgusted half of my readership- let me just end on this note. I will miss all of you over the next 26 months and I appreciate all of the happy hours, lunches, phone calls, and parties that let me connect with all of you prior to my departure. Please continue to keep in touch via email, blog comments, snail mail, and carrier pigeon to assure me that you are a) still alive and b) still my friends. Even if I can’t always communicate in a timely manner just know you are in my thoughts and I will miss you!
Ok, enough of the sappy crap. Let’s get this party started!
I don’t see any deet in any of those photos - its a good thing you have me!
Comment by Jose — February 19, 2009 @ 5:37 pm
I think I have one small container of Deet but it’s hidden away in a compartment that should it choose to explode it won’t ruin everything in my luggage.
Comment by singulargirl — February 19, 2009 @ 8:48 pm
18 hrs? That’s only a short hop to an Australian!
Comment by J Cosmo Newbery — February 20, 2009 @ 6:01 am
I have done the enormously long trip to Sydney- I fear this trip will rival it as far as my level of patience and lack of sleep!
Comment by singulargirl — February 20, 2009 @ 8:27 am
But I don’t see any tampons in the pictures! You didn’t take a special picture just to ease my mind?!
Hope the layover in Dakar isn’t torture. Don’t forget to trip the flight attendants as they walk up/down the aisle spraying disinfectant.
(Miss you already, too)
Comment by Deals — February 20, 2009 @ 5:19 pm