Bed = good

Pimp my ride is on tv
sidenote: they are randomly playing postal service. eh?

and I just woke up from a four hour (much needed) nap.

wha?! Yes, Leah took a nap. in the middle of the day. by choice.

Oh, and I'm in Johannesburg.

Yeah...

Missed flight to our vacation due to some SAA incompetence and can't get to Livingstone until tomorrow. And since this is the fifth flight, and second glitch in this week, J and I decided to just find a hotel. Anywhere. I think my exact words to our travel agent were "... Two rooms, at a hotel near the airport, lower than an exorbitant amount, and... :pause, look at J and smirk: ... preferably with a casino."

J, trying to figure out what to do next outside the Tambo airport

We(he) know(s) how to roll. Except that there is no casino in the hotel. For me, I found a hotel spa. With cheap treatments. And after this week (and if you know me) I was stoked! Maybe jo-burg was fate - for me to relax, and for J to have some fun. We both needed it after running the length of Tambo International airport both with 25lb packs and dealing with some very not-so-nice people while still in good spirits (oh, and working like nuts and not getting more than five hours of sleep since our arrival on this continent, last week).

I ran downstairs with a to-do list that would rival Paris Hilton's weekly treatments and was pretty unreasonable for a half day, but I didn't care. I get to the floor and it had closed... five minutes before I got there.

So, instead, we both passed out. Me more so than him because he just called, woke me up and laughed. HMPF.

I guess it's time to have dinner and find real internet. I'll make the most of this, maybe I can update pics tonight...

Why don't I go out, you ask? We were exhausted and needed to chill, he hates being a tourist and I'm not going out by myself because Johannesburg is not such a safe city; I've been warned many times by books and friends.

And I'm at an airport hotel. Near nothing.

Actually, the hotel staff told me not to go out in the city - just go to the outskirts - because "the blacks and immigrants are dangerous."

Umm... yeah, lady, apartheid is over, and I'm a minority. But, thanks, I'm still not going out.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

the [mis] adventures continue...

It's 9pm on Friday night and I'm officially on vacation! (yes, cue the gogo's now)

Don't anyone call me/text/google chat if you want to talk about work.

First things first, I survived the hostel. Or what one of my traveling companions called "a homeless shelter." It was a test of my patience but also really fun -- and funny. I laughed - nervously - through the whole ordeal. Thank goodness for Blackberries, google talk, and people who like to stay up and email me.

no, really! i'm laughing, not crying.
also, rare proof of a candid shot of leah.

Things to note when staying at the Sleep N Shower in the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (near gate 3):

• the room is tiny, even for me. i don't really understand how the 6ft tall guys fit in the bed.
  
• the ceiling is not whole and the walls are not thick -- which mean you can hear every sound your neighbors make including but limited to: zippers opening/closing, your travelling companion on the phone next door, the front desk guy talking to his friend in kenyan, the noisy german couple two doors down, and your hired a/v guy who is snoring on the other side of the complex.
  
• the shower is sketchy. the males in our group were too scared to take a shower -- for good reason: their water didn't work, and when it did, the chlorine was burning off skin of the other guys in the place (at 4am). the ladies though, were troopers with the shower. though, admittedly, i'm scared that i may catch something.
  
• i swear that there were bed bugs. i'm still itchy.
  
• it was almost as nearly as bad as the belmar beach hotel in nj.
  

Anyway, after that ordeal, it was off to Zambia, where when we landed, we hit the ground running (albeit, a little grumpy from lack of sleep). I got to the hotel just in time to meet with my advance staff, the car hire director, my clients, the hotel staff, and with the local av company and then set-up registration. I could hardly keep my eyes open and more dangerously, stopping my mouth from saying what I really thought. And of course, that night, changes to the agenda were given to me at 10pm (again, an exercise of patience). But no worries, today was almost a piece of cake, even with our "presidential" ish VIP.

I'm a little bummed, because I've waited a full two days for non-dial up internet in the lobby and I still can't post videos of the Von Trapps and the other pictures that I've taken. On top of that, CelTel doesn't recognize my blackberry.


need. real. internet. now.


But then again, I'm in Africa. So I'll shut up.

I'm sad to say that in Lusaka, I have seen 1) the inside of the Taj Pamodzi hotel, 2) the inside and road to FedEx, and 3) the inside of the Peace Corps complex for like, 0.5 seconds. And, that's it. Work was a little to crazy to explore and it's too late to walking around by myself.

But tomorrow equals flight #5 and #6 to Livingstone, Zambia where there are animals (crossing fingers), falls (yay), and a pool (hey, I refuse to go to Africa and not get dark). I wish that we could have chartered a plane like some other that are traveling with us but it's ok; two flights and another country later, I'll be on vacation. in Africa.


sick.

the adventures continue.

I'm currently sitting in a room that is four feet by six feet. It has a twin bed, a small triangular table and sheets. And I think there are bed bugs. This is my room for the night.

Long story short, Rwanda air sucks and cancels flights without telling anyone. The only flight I could get to Zambia to make it to my next conference without spending a gajillion dollars was to stay in Nairobi for a night. And being that we didn't get visas and that our flight leaves early tomorrow morning, we decided to just stay at a sleeping lounge at the airport. Stop laughing.

Yes. Leah is staying in a hostel like place. Stop laughing.

There are pictures. (I'm laughing in them).

I'll let you know how I fare tomorrow.

the (thousand) hills are alive

girl with her mother | 03.30.08 | outskirts of kigali, rwanda

After a rough day yesterday --- and by rough I mean, doing registration, without enough press badges for the major networks and other press that we were unaware were coming, under a tent, outside in the parking lot, during a 3 hour downpour AND running back and forth between said tent and meeting room, three floors up while having to get magnometered and body searched about 57x because a certain head of state was our keynote -- my friend and I decided to enjoy the night and grab a bottle of wine and chill in the hotel lobby.

Next thing you know, the Von Trapp children (yes, like in the Sound of Music) were hanging out in the lobby also. So we made friends. (Yes, I made friends with a bunch of teenagers, but the COOLEST teeagers EVER). Oh and YES, they are great grandchildren of Captain and Maria Von Trapp.

These kids are amazing- - the two oldest, Sophia and Melanie, are doing good work with some orphanages here in Africa and have the most beautiful voices. After much prodding, they regaled us with a mini concert last night. And I melted.



If today wasn't such a big CF with our flights to Zambia being cancelled last minute, we were all going to hang out today for lunch/coffee or something. We ran into them in town, and apparently, they were waiting for us to call or show up, but we were busy taking an unplanned tour of Kigali because they don't have airline ticketing in one central place (including the airport). Trust me, we would have much rather have hung out with them than run around and make 3 almost flight itineraries in three different places today.

Amanda (the third youngest) has her eyes set on GW for school. So I get to play DC tour guide when she's in town next. Yay! So I guess I'll see them again another time.



Will be leaving for Zambia by way of Nairobi this morning (booked our tickets at just shy over 24 hours before departure), that is, if I don't get arrested in the airport for having plastic bags -- polyurethane bags are illegal here. How green!



Signing off from the payes des milles colline [land of a thousand hills],

love, leah


ps. since wireless internet is unpredictable here, i'll have to post my photos later, as there is nothing more frustrating as getting stuff halfway uploaded and then realizing that the line got dropped. soon! promise!

tragically stereotypical...

... but this was the highlight of my day (and my trip so far).

i love that every kid, no matter where they are from, loves looking at his/herself in a digital camera.