Due to a fortunate (but unexpected) wave of acceptances, I was accepted to two expeditions, virtually back to back. From July 10 to the 16th, I attended a workshop called DUOY (Down Under Out Yonder), sponsored by Conoco-Phillips and the Gulf of Mexico Foundation. The DUOY workshop centered around educating teachers and informal educators about the biodiversity and significance of the coral reefs found at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS), located 155 miles off the Texas/Louisiana border in the Gulf of Mexico. We had two days of land-based education, followed by three days on a liveaboard boat, where we completed a total of 11 SCUBA dives at the FGBNMS. It was the best SCUBA diving I’ve ever had. I got reacquainted with old friends, made some new friends, and thoroughly enjoyed some Texas fare and hospitality.
But the downside was that I had only one day at home to unpack and repack. Fortunately, I had most of my luggage ready for South Africa. Even with this advantage, I still found myself floundering to get ready. I left my house at 4:30 AM on Saturday morning and drove to New Jersey, where I met Natalie Macke, former TITP attendant who journeyed with me to South Africa in 2011. I parked my truck at Natalie’s house, and we took a limo service to the JFK airport.
Natalie brought along a total of one suitcase, one large duffel bag, and one large backpack. This is Natalie’s third trip to South Africa, and each time, she brings along entire suitcases full of donations. I declared one of the suitcases as my own, so that she had no extra fees. When you put all our luggage together, it made an impressive picture.
Every international flight brings its challenges. I typically pack light, so I was hoping that my luggage would not get a surcharge. This worked, but I did not realize that there was also a weight llimit for carry-ons. With my laptop and a projector in my carry-on, it was twice its allotted weight. So thanks to Natalie’s help, we got things shuffled out of my carry-on and into my suitcase.
The flight to Johannesburg was took longer than expected to depart. The plane needed more time to fuel, and the taxi on the runway was backed up. By noon, I was watching out the window as we took flight across the Atlantic.
I’ve been nervous about this flight, since I knew that sitting for an extended time is not exactly my strongest point. The trek from JFK to JNB is over 7000 miles and takes about 17 hours from boarding to departing. The only other South African Airlines flight that rival this distance is from Johannesburg to Perth Australia, or Johannesburg to Hong Kong.
Traveling takes more accomodations, since I’m a self-professed ‘posterchild’ for adult ADHD. I did what I could to get prepared; I used the treadmill, I was a bit sleep deprived to start, I brought along some Unisom, and I brought along headphones and a mask to silence the sights and sounds around me. So once I felt the tiredness set in, I tried to block out all those external triggers so that I could at least try to sleep. It seemed to work – I got about 4 hours of deep sleep on the plane. For me, that’s a record. Ironically, there was an article about adult ADHD on South African Airline’s flight magazine (The Truth About Adult ADHD by Laurie Scraborough). The last two sentences read, “Although sufferers may face social difficulties, many people find them to be refreshingly energetic, adventure seeking, creative, or endearingly childlike.” Hmmm.
The plane was primarily full of South Africans, since many were returning from holiday. The plane was booked solid, and you could hear plenty of chatter about. A common South African colloquialism is the use of the word “ja” (pronounced <yah>), slang for yes. It’s a bit of a contrast from last week’s Southern “y’alls”.