Let me begin with me introducing the crew and what we will be doing: Tim, Cody, Matt, Zack, Courtney, Asma (Sim Sim), Vinod, and myself. We will be studying at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU). And the story (drama) begins: our flight in Memphis was delayed TWICE because of weather in Atlanta. So, when we arrived in Atlanta we realized that our flight to Johannesburg had departed before our arrival. We were all upset. Then we went to Delta to try to figure things out. They were a shit-show. I mean literally that. They first rerouted us so many times to other people then after taking to about two individuals we finally talked to a lady who seemed like she would help us. We asked if there were any other flights available, and she told us “no”. The flight for the next day was booked and we would be on standby. We then asked her to transfer us to another airline, she basically said she couldn’t because it was a weather issue – not a mechanical issue. Then, we asked for a hotel and she again told us she couldn’t, recommended that we give our travel agency a call. Then she gave us these emergency bags (which came in handy later on). She was a mess, and she did not strive to give us good customer service. Okay, so we all put our heads together and called the travel agency, but they were closed. Damnit, I thought. We then thought to call Maury (our study abroad advisor). We tried to search for his number, but we could not find it. So we emailed him. Matt called up his wonderful dad. His dad basically found us a flight that the woman from Delta could not find us. (Honestly, I don’ think she was looking hard enough) And Matt’s dad all booked us a flight. Now, that sounded very easy, but let me give you the details. Matt’s father (Captain Kiefer) kindly talked to the people at Delta and gave them the situation. A guy from the national customer service told him what we needed to do and say. The guy was actually from NMMU. What a blessing! Anyway, Captain Kiefer pulled some strings for us and we are forever grateful. All while this is going on, with us standing in line, and actually talking to Delta we spent about 3 ½ hours. So, after that we spoke to management, and he was very kind. He confirmed our flights for us and gave us hotel vouchers. We were very thankful.
While we were on our train ride to the hotel, we met a very intoxicated young man who begins to talk about a lot of random things. Although, he was drunk, a lot of his jibber made sense. That was a very interesting 15 monologue. Once we made it to the hotel, it was approximately 11 PM. We met the receptionist named Kenny. He was an interesting figure, but he worked above-and-beyond for us. He had a very thick thug swag. He was so awesome. We found out the vouchers wouldn’t work, but the rooms weren’t that expensive. Plus, the University was going to reimburse us. We spent the night and woke up the next morning around 4AM ready for the airport in ATL. Before our taxi driver, Barry, came to pick us up, we met a homeless guy on the street. He told us he was HIV+ and asked us for money. We declined him, but before we did Kenny came out the hotel and told the man to leave because we didn’t have anything. My prayers are out for that man and the other homeless people who approached us. A moment of silence is dedicated to them… [Silence]
So Barry was a few minutes late, but he got us there on time. He couldn’t drive one bit, but we graciously thanked him and checked in. So, when we got there was this black guy who was from Sledge who swore to me he was related to me. I have to admit, it was cool meeting him. So we board our plane, headed to NYC. Our first flight was Memphis to Atlanta to Johannesburg. Now we were rerouted to Memphis to Atlanta to New York to Johannesburg. Our flight from Atlanta was smooth sailing. When we arrived at JFK in NY our flight to Johannesburg was already boarding and we had to go back through security. There was this extremely long line and we started to cut. Then one of the managers sent us all to the back of the line. After waiting in the line for about 15 minutes we made it on our flight!!!
The flight from JFK was extremely nice. The plane was AMAZING!!! I was so happy to finally be on this 15 hours and 50 minute flight because I was extremely exhausted. I had been dealing with drama from Delta and then had less than 3 ½ hours of sleep. The plane had about 3 different areas. And we all had tvs in the back of the seats in front of us. I felt so fancy. I watched “Invictus”, “Just Go With It”, Episodes of “Glee” an Adele, Lady Antebellum, Josh Groban, Alcia Keys, Jennifer Hudson, Ricky Martin, and Black Eye Peas, soundtrack. It seemed so long, but it was worth it. They also fed us dinner and breakfast. In addition they fed us refreshments and liquids the entire time. It was awesome.
Upon arriving in Johannesburg, we found out our luggage had not been transferred. L If Delta had been acting right the first time all of this would have been avoided. So, we filed a claim, and we met Jadey (a representative from NMMU). She is awesome and very pretty. While at the airport, I settled with the fact that I didn’t have luggage and just celebrated the fact I was in SOUTH AFRICA. It is another continent, in another season, on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Speaking of different season, it is winter here. And it feels like a pre-winter day in Mississippi. It was cold though. Mucho frio. We then flew on British Airlines to Port Elizabeth, South Africa – our final destination.
We arrived here in Port Elizabeth, and I am so excited. Like WOW! I still can’t fathom that I am in South Africa! Anyway, we decided to shop for clothes since most of us didn’t have clothes because of the luggage situation. Luckily, I had a few clothes in my other carry-on. Yes! So, we shopped in the mall for groceries and clothes. We then went to our apartment style places. They are actually really nice. It’s called “Crow’s Nest”. Then, later that night a few of us (Courtney, Cody, Vinod, Tim, and Me) went to a restaurant called Nando’s. I had a veggie burger (since I have been a vegetarian for about 9 weeks). It was really good! One of the best veggie burgers I’ve actually had. Then we walked back to our residence.
Now that’s enough for tonight. I have my first day of class in the morning, and I’m excited. check back in for later details.
Love you and thanks for reading!
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