So far away

After a suspenseful period of finding ways to purchase a plane ticket and a nerve-wracking wait for our South African visa, we finally went to Johannesburg, South Africa on the evening of Sunday, April 6 to attend a workshop under the auspices of the World Bank Institute and the Technical Support Facility (TSF) of UNAIDS. Ted and I arived in Singapore’s Changi airport at half-past 9PM. We spent the next five hours accessing the free Wi-Fi service that the airport offered. I checked my emails, logged on a short entry in my multiply blog, and browsed. But I got tired of surfing so I decided to leave Ted in the internet lounge and wandered around the terminal, since it was my first time in Singapore.

Changi airport was a very modern terminal, but it was eerily quiet for a supposedly busy hub. It made me think of the airport in Stephen King’s novella The Langoliers, a space literally caught between time, between the now and the next moment. An hour before we boarded Ted and I ate some noodles. This 2AM trip to South Africa was my first time to fly outside Asia. This is also the longest flight I had taken so I was a bit apprehensive about sleeping (because I snored). I, however, realized that there were others who snored loudly than I did and nobody seemed to care because almost everyone was asleep also. Nevertheless I spent most of the trip watching the inflight movies.

We arrived in Johannesburg at around 7AM. We were also a day early for the official arrival of the workshop participants so we immediately went to the tourist information counter at the airport and asked for affordable lodgings. We were referred to a guest house located in Kempton Park, which was supposed to be close to our hotel for the workshop. After resting in the morning, we were taken to a ‘nearby’ mall to have lunch and do a bit of strolling. Another guest was with us, a guy named Pierre who lost his luggage and passport so he couldn’t leave as scheduled.

We were overwhelmed by the size of the servings at the fast food joint we went to. We bought some provisions: bottled water, bread and fruit for dinner, and a local SIM card. Back at the guest house Ted and I worked on some work that we brought with us, to meet some deadlines. One thing that I didn’t anticipate was the coldness. Our travel advisory said that temperatures in Johannesburg was about 22C, which I felt I could take. What it didn’t mention was at night, this temperature plunged to about 10C. Ted came with a jacket and sweat shirt while I only had my scarves. Fortunately I could tolerate the cold quite well, but still…

The next morning, after a huge breakfast of eggs, sausage, toasted bread, an unknown dish made of minced meat and bell peppers, and fruit, we were driven to Birchwood Hotel, the workshop venue. We met up with Ms Ruthy, my mentor/friend and the other delegate from the Philippines, called Dune, and Soe, our guy from the TSF. We were still a day away from the workshop so once we have settled into our own rooms, we met for lunch and decided to take a half-day tour of downtown Johannesburg.

Johannesburg is really a huge place. I just couldn’t imagine going around it because there is no clear public transportation system. And then there is the high crime rate. Our travel advisory was very explicit on the lack of safety and security in the streets. This was, of course, downplayed by our tour guide. Our group went to different places of interest in downtown Joburg-as it is called by many (decided largely by the tour guide, of course): the business district, the national museum, the former house of Nelson Mandela and the supposedly tallest building in the city, which provided a magnificent 360 degree view of the city in its viewing deck. On the way back to the hotel we noticed that the streets were empty. And it was just after 7PM. We realized the truth in what was written in our travel advisory.

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My man

From the 5-hour lay-over in Singapore on the 6th of April, to the 10-hour flight, and upon arrival in Johannesburg in the morning of April 7, my eyes have been working non-stop from looking at eye candies everywhere I turned my sleep-deprived head.

But I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw someone who has all the physical attributes that I’m looking for in my man in our first lodgings.

He has thick, curled hair.

He has a high forehead.

He is bow-legged. 

His skin is a delicious shade of brown.

He has a winning smile.

He laughs at my jokes.

Could he be the one I’d been looking for? Have I found my ideal man? My soul mate?

How I wish! Because there’s a tiny problem.
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