After 48 hours of travel I am finally in Cape Town. The trip started on Friday, leaving my apartment in Corvallis in the early afternoon to allow time to stop at IKEA for some last minute things. Actually, I only went there for a pillow, but picked up a towel as well, which should have been one of the first things I packed. Good thing too, because after that many hours of travelling, not being able to shower any longer would not have been enjoyable. Flew from Portland to JFK in New York. Then an 11 hour layover in terminal 4 and no it was unfortunately not nearly as exciting as Tom Hank’s Terminal. Apparently you cannot check bags with Delta until 6 hours before your flight, that meant 7 hours in the arrival waiting area that has a diner, Dunkin Donuts, and the most uncomfortable seating I have ever encountered at an airport. But, once I got through it meant a date with Shake Shack and an amazing strawberry shake. JFK to Amsterdam was almost the same duration as PDX to JFK, so that was nice. Although, I was asleep when they passed out breakfast which was rather unfortunate. After a short couple hours of waiting, it was time for the long leg. 11 hours from Amsterdam to Cape Town. Now I have done long stretches before, PDX to Frankfurt is about the same duration, but it is still brutal. 48 hours of traveling does lend itself to lots of movie watching though, 6 to be exact. Bright, The Kingdom, Jumanji, Justice League, 15:17 to Paris, and Tomb Raider. And after all of that, landed in Cape Town , met my internship contact, got dropped off at my house, unpacked, and managed 4 hours of sleep before I got restless. Unfortunately it was already dark when I landed so I didn’t get to see any of the wonderful natural sites, but in about 40 minutes the sun should be coming up and my journey in Cape Town will begin. This week will include an internship orientation, walking tour of my neighborhood, bus tour of Cape Town, visit to my internship site, and a braai on Friday. Should be an exciting week. Check out the follow on Twitter and Instagram links to see all of the amazing things I get to experience these next 3 months.
