Well, only 15 hours until we head to the airport bound for South Africa . We’re all packed (and – gasp – all the gifts fit in our luggage). I’m ripping a few favorite CDs to take along – three weeks without our music would be unbearable. We’ve got fresh I-20s and letters from the schools. My aunt Dori sent us some dried fruit from Harry and David’s that made it just in time to become an airline snack.
We talked to Nonswakazi last night, and she said that Lavinia in Bishop Tutu’s office had gotten agreement from the consulate to take affidavits from the S.A. police and the bank that holds their house note as proof that the girls will return to S.A. after their semester at school. Looks like all systems are go for the girls’ visas.
She also said that our trip up the Eastern Cape would be a few days longer than we thought – 8 or 9 instead of 5 or 6. We’ll be spending a couple of nights in Kruger National Park and a night or two at the farm where she grew up, as well as going to Nelson Mandela’s current home town and the area where Maboy grew up.
Our friends Shosh and Bob Wodzisz have lent us their digital video camera for the trip, and we’re taking both a digital still camera and a 35mm camera to boot. Lots of pictures, lots of videos, lots of stories.
This morning when we woke up, there was a dusting of snow on the ground, so it looks like Cleveland will have a white Christmas after all. I can’t say that I’ll miss it! We’ll come back to enough snow, I’m sure.
My brain is slipping into adventure mode. Calm but eagerly anticipating whatever might come. I have no specific expectations. I’m open to anything that might happen. At peace with a big smile on my face.
Merry Christmas, everyone. I’ll be passing Santa in the air early tomorrow morning. He’ll have already been to Cape Town, finishing up the Eastern time zone, and off to Central, Mountain, and Pacific.
