This post would have been posted on Friday, June 29th....but it wasn't.

It's official, South African Airlines is my favorite to fly.  Comfortable, great food, I had curried lamb for dinner and an omelet for breakfast, and great entertainment.
I made it to Matsapha International Airport on time and Annette was right outside to pick me up. Customs was a breeze thankfully! We loaded up and I actually remembered to go to the left side of the car. this was my first experience traveling on the "wrong" side of the road. I kept feeling like something was going to hit us head on. There is quite a bit of traffic but there are more people walking.  Annette took me by the church to see it and to get Bob.

I FINALLY got to take a shower and wash all the airports off of me!

Annette and I went to the Pick N Pay grocery store and ran a couple of errands then went back to the apartment to get Bob for a walk. I think most of it was uphill.....long hills. I'll get good at this in two weeks time...I hope! Annette fixed a wonderful beef stew for dinner. I stayed up all day my first day here so I was BEAT by 8:30.

Some things learned....

1. The Swazis are very nice people. They laugh at us when we try to speak SiSwati, but appreciate it.
2. Cars and walking people can coexist.  It's a bit scary at first, both as a walker and in a car, but you get used to it.
3. I am very blessed...as is everyone that is reading this.

LONDON

This post should have been done Thursday but I didn't have wi-fi access on my phone. I feel like I should call this blog "Finally."  I am FINALLY in London. My flight from DC was scheduled to leave at 10pm. We left at 2:30am. I didn't get to see any of London like I had planned, instead I had 2 1/2 hours to explore Terminal 1 before boarding.  I got my next 2 boarding passes for South African Airways and found an English restaurant that served fish and chips. I asked for tea to drink and I remembered to make sure it was iced tea. She said they didn't have it. So I got hot tea and a couple of glasses of ice :). I cannot believe that I am the 1st American to have done this here. The server was so puzzled that she came back with everything and told me she had her "colleague" make her some to try and she liked it (doctored up with milk, sugar, and lemon of course.) She said it was much better than hot tea on a hot day like that.  It was a balmy 80 degrees in London.

Finally real food!  I hadn't had real food since Wednesday afternoon at Amber Gailbreath's house!  I do not count the 2 bites of some funky chicken and a roll as food.  I got the fish and chips which are served with minted mushy peas...sure why not....DO NOT LIKE!  Mint and peas DO NOT go together. The fish and chips were very good though....as was my iced tea :).

There was a slight language barrier when I asked for "ice." She finally understood.  Apparently they do not have a really long "i" sound in the Queen's English.

Day One

Kungenteka, according to the Peace Corp website in SiSwati, means "it is possible." It's the closest thing in the website I could find appropriate to name my blog. I have no idea how to even pronounce it.
I'm finally on my journey to Swaziland. After all the passport drama and then the "your ticket/itinerary do not match" drama I am on my way. The first leg if my flight was from Nashville to DC in an United Express Jet.
Lessons learned....
1. Apply for your passport a year before you need it. You may get it in time and not have to pay to get it expedited.
2. Expeess Jet is code for no leg room.
3. Ginger ale makes me burp....a lot.
Made a bee line from terminal A to terminal C to catch my flight to London. Made it about 30 minutes before I was supposed to board. I say "supposed to" because my flight was supposed to leave an hour ago and I'm still sitting in the terminal, waiting for them to make a decision whether or not to cancel the flight. Seems there is some "mechanical issue that must be attended to." I would prefer to deal with it here and not over the Atlantic Ocean.
DRINK!!! They brought us canned drinks! This is important because I haven't eaten and I wasn't going to eat my peanut butter and crackers without something to drink.
I have had 2 hours if sleep since 7 am Tuesday morning. I can't relax or I'll be asleep and miss some announcement. Hoping we'll have an update soon!

****UPDATE...

We've all been told a 2:30 am departure. Guess I won't have a chance to see London.
My neighbor on the floor said he'd make sure I didn't sleep through boarding. Going to try to get a nap.


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