24th November 2011
My sister picked me up from home at 4.30am.
We prayed together before heading to the airport and committed my trip to South Africa to God. We chatted happily on the way and I felt so eager, it seemed my skin would split under the tension of excitement.
I checked into domestic for the flight to Sydney, checking my bag to Johannesburg. Passing into International, security confiscated my specially selected toothpaste because is was 110ml. 100ml is the limit. I offered to squeeze out 10ml but the suggestion fell flat with security. A minor irritation but it took the edge off the excitement. A little sobering wasn't harmful. I searched around quickly for a chemist to buy more toothpaste. Trying to find a toiletry in a foreign country may have proved a little difficult so I used local currency to make the purchase. 75ml this time, not enough C4 to blow a hole in the side of the plane. I only just made the flight to J'burg, but a man's teeth need to be white and his breath fresh when meeting a new lady for the first time.
During the flight, I began this journal and wrote several pages into a notebook. I recalled the loss of Mary and felt the pain in the midst of my excitement at meeting Urshla. Strange mix of feelings. It was quite cathartic all the same.
Mine was a window seat so I squeezed into a corner and attempted some sleep. I think I managed to doze for a couple of hours.
Next to me was a woman from Sydney with her crippled daughter. They were returning to South Africa to visit family. I listened as she described changes to South Africa since her family moved to Australia in the early 90's. A nice family.
I watched a foreign language film, Japanese I think, about a policeman who became personally interested in the death of a homeless man. The story paralleled aspects of his own life and had a happy/sad ending. Quite a satisfying plot. It passed the time and after more dozing and a meal and snacks, the 14 hour flight was now down to 6 to go. 6 hours! It seemed like we would never arrive.
Even with a window seat, the view was Indian Ocean or clouds. It was daylight the whole flight because we were chasing the sun. Cloud covered the African continent. I was hoping to experience crossing the shoreline but the cloud only cleared for the last several kilometers into J'burg. There had been rain and the countryside was a carpet of green. I tried to match the countryside with what I imagined Africa to be like. It was a fruitless exercise. God is good and I'd arrived safely in South Africa, for the first time.
J'burg airport is like any other I've visited in the world. The staff are predominantly black though and are sitting, standing and doing whatever throughout the airport.
My first purchase was a SIM card for my Blackberry. Urshla's mobile network is Cell-C so I tried to buy a R50 SIM. To buy a SIM was not straightforward. I needed personal ID and proof of the address I was staying in South Africa. But I had no proof of address. Urshla had arranged my accommodation and I didn't know where I was staying. To complete the purchase, I needed an affidavit from the police as a substitute document. There is a police presence everywhere in the airport and a police station on site. I thought about giving the SIM a miss, but the affidavit was surprisingly easy to obtain. All I needed was the address where I was staying. I didn't have an address and couldn't remember Urshla's from memory so just wrote down something that sounded close enough. Isaac Jacobs Street or something like that. It did the job and I bought the SIM.
With a new South African phone number, I called Urshla. It was now about 3pm SA time and Urshla was clearing her desk in readiness for the run to Durban. She was happy to know I was in the country and very excited. I was certainly glad and excited to be there, in the same time zone. Our first communication without an 8 hours time difference! We were both nervous and excited.
From J'burg to Durban was a flight in a McDonnell Douglas DC-9, a plane that I though was out of service. It was well maintained and very neat and clean inside. The attendants were black apart from a very heavy set Afrikaans man. He could've broken into YMCA with the Village People and looked at home. I was growing accustomed to dark skinned people in every occupation.
By now, I was preparing myself to meet Urshla. I planned to walk into the visitor arrival area confidently and very cool. In a J'burg men's room, I washed, shaved, brushed and changed into a dressy shirt, so that I'd look fresher than 25 hours of travel had left me feeling.
At Durban, I collected my bag, strode shoulders-up, chest out into the waiting area. I scanned the faces in the crowd but couldn't see one I recognized.. Somewhat disconcerted but mainly amused to myself, I circled the crowd, double-checking I hadn't missed Urshla. I walked to the main exit, hoping to meet her there, but no sign. I decided the best thing was to go back to the waiting area. As I waited, I amused myself with pictures of why Urshla could be late. How long should I wait? There was no reason to be annoyed, because I'd put her out by arriving a day earlier than planned.
I didn't have long to wait. I recognized her immediately. We'd spent so many hours on Skype that there was no mistaking her. Wearing a black thigh length coat, dress and gold high heeled shoes, my heart gasped with surprise. She looked quite lovely and very attractive. Part of my surprise was my expectation of a taller, bigger woman. Urshla looked younger than I'd expected as well.
We'd previously agreed to greet each other with a handshake.
"Hello sweetheart" I said. "It's wonderful to finally meet you".
"Oh my darling" she replied, "I'm so sorry" and put her arm around my waist.
It was a special moment.
We also agreed to sit for a while and take opportunity to get used to our being together. We were both very nervous, she more than me I think.
Urshla asked if I was disappointed with what I saw of her. I assured her, it was very much the opposite. She likewise, was pleasantly surprised, mainly because I looked younger than she expected. Our initial meeting was off to a flying start!
Even though we were nervous, we chatted easily and fell into our already established communication. Meeting face to face though, after so many Skype hours took some adjusting to. We had a prayer time and thanked God for his care and travelling mercies. I learned later, that Urshla had travelled at speeds up 140km/hr, in the rain, without a seat belt in the rush to be on time, so I was indeed thankful to God for his care of her.
There was some awkwardness and nerves, but Urshla said that I made her feel comfortable. We had a coffee and shared ice-cream and waffles and maple syrup. Then we left for the return trip to Pietermaritzburg (PMB). Rain drizzled steadily. The roads were very wet.
I quickly learned that Urshla is a good driver, and I felt at ease as a passenger. She told me she'd left work, gone home to freshen up, then tore off to pick me up in Durban. Our return though was relaxed and within speed limits. 120kph is the motorway limit in South Africa. We talked and laughed as we travelled and began to relax with each other. I saw a sign that indicated 73km to PMB. I wished there was a 3 or 4 in front of the number. It was very pleasant to finally be with her and I could've travelled all night, just to stay close to her.
Urshla had arranged for me to stay at the home of her friends Hugh and Helene Jason. They have a well appointed and lovely home. We arrived safely and made introductions. Soon afterward, I showered and went straight to bed. Helene planned for Urshla to come the following morning for breakfast. Urshla thought 7.30am a good time. I slept till around 3.30am and woke with many thoughts on my mind. I think it was mostly adjusting to finally being in South Africa and my first impressions of Urshla. I was very happy that on our first meeting, despite her rush, we'd hit it off so well.
Next: Piet Retief and Gert Maritz
My sister picked me up from home at 4.30am.
We prayed together before heading to the airport and committed my trip to South Africa to God. We chatted happily on the way and I felt so eager, it seemed my skin would split under the tension of excitement.
I checked into domestic for the flight to Sydney, checking my bag to Johannesburg. Passing into International, security confiscated my specially selected toothpaste because is was 110ml. 100ml is the limit. I offered to squeeze out 10ml but the suggestion fell flat with security. A minor irritation but it took the edge off the excitement. A little sobering wasn't harmful. I searched around quickly for a chemist to buy more toothpaste. Trying to find a toiletry in a foreign country may have proved a little difficult so I used local currency to make the purchase. 75ml this time, not enough C4 to blow a hole in the side of the plane. I only just made the flight to J'burg, but a man's teeth need to be white and his breath fresh when meeting a new lady for the first time.
During the flight, I began this journal and wrote several pages into a notebook. I recalled the loss of Mary and felt the pain in the midst of my excitement at meeting Urshla. Strange mix of feelings. It was quite cathartic all the same.
Mine was a window seat so I squeezed into a corner and attempted some sleep. I think I managed to doze for a couple of hours.
Next to me was a woman from Sydney with her crippled daughter. They were returning to South Africa to visit family. I listened as she described changes to South Africa since her family moved to Australia in the early 90's. A nice family.
I watched a foreign language film, Japanese I think, about a policeman who became personally interested in the death of a homeless man. The story paralleled aspects of his own life and had a happy/sad ending. Quite a satisfying plot. It passed the time and after more dozing and a meal and snacks, the 14 hour flight was now down to 6 to go. 6 hours! It seemed like we would never arrive.
Even with a window seat, the view was Indian Ocean or clouds. It was daylight the whole flight because we were chasing the sun. Cloud covered the African continent. I was hoping to experience crossing the shoreline but the cloud only cleared for the last several kilometers into J'burg. There had been rain and the countryside was a carpet of green. I tried to match the countryside with what I imagined Africa to be like. It was a fruitless exercise. God is good and I'd arrived safely in South Africa, for the first time.
J'burg airport is like any other I've visited in the world. The staff are predominantly black though and are sitting, standing and doing whatever throughout the airport.
My first purchase was a SIM card for my Blackberry. Urshla's mobile network is Cell-C so I tried to buy a R50 SIM. To buy a SIM was not straightforward. I needed personal ID and proof of the address I was staying in South Africa. But I had no proof of address. Urshla had arranged my accommodation and I didn't know where I was staying. To complete the purchase, I needed an affidavit from the police as a substitute document. There is a police presence everywhere in the airport and a police station on site. I thought about giving the SIM a miss, but the affidavit was surprisingly easy to obtain. All I needed was the address where I was staying. I didn't have an address and couldn't remember Urshla's from memory so just wrote down something that sounded close enough. Isaac Jacobs Street or something like that. It did the job and I bought the SIM.
With a new South African phone number, I called Urshla. It was now about 3pm SA time and Urshla was clearing her desk in readiness for the run to Durban. She was happy to know I was in the country and very excited. I was certainly glad and excited to be there, in the same time zone. Our first communication without an 8 hours time difference! We were both nervous and excited.
From J'burg to Durban was a flight in a McDonnell Douglas DC-9, a plane that I though was out of service. It was well maintained and very neat and clean inside. The attendants were black apart from a very heavy set Afrikaans man. He could've broken into YMCA with the Village People and looked at home. I was growing accustomed to dark skinned people in every occupation.
By now, I was preparing myself to meet Urshla. I planned to walk into the visitor arrival area confidently and very cool. In a J'burg men's room, I washed, shaved, brushed and changed into a dressy shirt, so that I'd look fresher than 25 hours of travel had left me feeling.
At Durban, I collected my bag, strode shoulders-up, chest out into the waiting area. I scanned the faces in the crowd but couldn't see one I recognized.. Somewhat disconcerted but mainly amused to myself, I circled the crowd, double-checking I hadn't missed Urshla. I walked to the main exit, hoping to meet her there, but no sign. I decided the best thing was to go back to the waiting area. As I waited, I amused myself with pictures of why Urshla could be late. How long should I wait? There was no reason to be annoyed, because I'd put her out by arriving a day earlier than planned.
I didn't have long to wait. I recognized her immediately. We'd spent so many hours on Skype that there was no mistaking her. Wearing a black thigh length coat, dress and gold high heeled shoes, my heart gasped with surprise. She looked quite lovely and very attractive. Part of my surprise was my expectation of a taller, bigger woman. Urshla looked younger than I'd expected as well.
We'd previously agreed to greet each other with a handshake.
"Hello sweetheart" I said. "It's wonderful to finally meet you".
"Oh my darling" she replied, "I'm so sorry" and put her arm around my waist.
It was a special moment.
We also agreed to sit for a while and take opportunity to get used to our being together. We were both very nervous, she more than me I think.
Urshla asked if I was disappointed with what I saw of her. I assured her, it was very much the opposite. She likewise, was pleasantly surprised, mainly because I looked younger than she expected. Our initial meeting was off to a flying start!
Even though we were nervous, we chatted easily and fell into our already established communication. Meeting face to face though, after so many Skype hours took some adjusting to. We had a prayer time and thanked God for his care and travelling mercies. I learned later, that Urshla had travelled at speeds up 140km/hr, in the rain, without a seat belt in the rush to be on time, so I was indeed thankful to God for his care of her.
There was some awkwardness and nerves, but Urshla said that I made her feel comfortable. We had a coffee and shared ice-cream and waffles and maple syrup. Then we left for the return trip to Pietermaritzburg (PMB). Rain drizzled steadily. The roads were very wet.
I quickly learned that Urshla is a good driver, and I felt at ease as a passenger. She told me she'd left work, gone home to freshen up, then tore off to pick me up in Durban. Our return though was relaxed and within speed limits. 120kph is the motorway limit in South Africa. We talked and laughed as we travelled and began to relax with each other. I saw a sign that indicated 73km to PMB. I wished there was a 3 or 4 in front of the number. It was very pleasant to finally be with her and I could've travelled all night, just to stay close to her.
Urshla had arranged for me to stay at the home of her friends Hugh and Helene Jason. They have a well appointed and lovely home. We arrived safely and made introductions. Soon afterward, I showered and went straight to bed. Helene planned for Urshla to come the following morning for breakfast. Urshla thought 7.30am a good time. I slept till around 3.30am and woke with many thoughts on my mind. I think it was mostly adjusting to finally being in South Africa and my first impressions of Urshla. I was very happy that on our first meeting, despite her rush, we'd hit it off so well.
Next: Piet Retief and Gert Maritz
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