I was still in a state of shock on the airplane ride from Salt Lake City to Chicago. In Chicago my plane was delayed (surprise surprise) so I had a little more time than expected to just hang out and people watch slash read Cry, the Beloved Country. Once I boarded the plane to London, Heathrow (I was in the very back, by the way, next to a Brit who wore a safari hat, khaki shirt, khaki shorts, high white socks, and tennis traveling home from a business trip in Houston. Despite the rough air, scary drops that I swear left our plane at least 12 feet closer to the ground, people flocking in and out of the bathrooms, and the stewardesses preparing dinner and drinks, I was able to fall asleep after about an hour thanks to the magic of Ambien. I awoke to the low-hanging clouds fully blanketing London and its surroundings. Immediately I felt the pangs of regret that I was not flying back to Scotland and knew at that instant that I would live in the U.K. for part of my life. I was more relieved to be back on British soil than I ever have been landing in the United States. Luckily I had over ten hours to enjoy myself in the Heathrow airport. Unfortunately, feelings of homesickness began to dominate anything else at the time. I missed my family, my home, the familiarity of Park City. At the same time, in all honesty, I dreaded what was ahead. Before hearing of the xenophobic attacks I was so excited. I had heard amazing things about Cape Town and South Africa in general, and was thrilled embark on a new chapter in my life, a new adventure, a new time to discover myself. That was before hearing of the xenophobic attacks that had spread from Joberg to the area I would be housed and working in. The second I read that news my stomach dropped. I had imagined working in a relatively safe urban area that had met racism face on and overcome it. Was I prepared to head into an unknown country that could possibly put me at risk for violent assaults? What was I thinking, heading two-days plane ride in a new direction? Why did I think I could handle this? Was I ready for the unknown? When I went to Scotland there was a group of familiar faces, and I eased myself into it by traveling with a friend before separating. This trip I had no idea what to expect, and it frightened me enough to doubt my abilities in handling a new situation and the choices I had made from the safety of the Duke bubble. I had to put trust in a stranger on the other side of the world to be at the airport, and more than that, to be my guardian for two months. And now, to work in an area with mobs looting and setting aflame foreign buildings, beating and even killing foreign neighbors. So, these doubts had over ten hours to manifest themselves before I boarded the plane pretty afraid. The plane left at 7:20 and was set to be in the air for over 11 hours, so I watched Walk Hard and a few episodes of How I Met Your Mother (if NPH couldn’t calm my nerves, who could?) and then gave in to the drugs…
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment