To Gaborone
[From Saturday afternoon]Â
Once again I’m on my way to the airport in Johannesberg, South Africa. A major difference this time is that I’m going to be able to fly directly from Washington to South Africa. The other times I’ve made this journey I have always had to transit through either JFK, Frankfurt or Atlanta. Even the flight through JFK required a stop in Dakkar to refuel; it was illustrative that the flight from JFK to Dakkar was six hours, but from Dakkar to South Africa, eight.
This flight will last about 15 hours, and I’m going to make sure I sleep. Though I’m ticketed on United, the flight is operated by South African Air which serves good food and wine. I’ve got my music, my headphones, some reading material, and Tylenol PM to make sure I get some rest.
We’re flying an Airbus A-340 600, the European version of a 747. It is a four-engine plane, wide body, and very long range. I remember being surprised at how flexible the wings on this plane are. During a take off, it seemed like the wing tips rose several feet as we gained speed and the wings bit into the air.
My ultimate destination this time is Gaborone, Botswana for three and a half days of business before turning around and coming home. Roughly 26 people from roughly a dozen countries will be getting together for a workshop on nothing particularly interesting to the general public. Still, I am anticipating the chance to meet some long-time colleagues who, up to now, have been names on emails.
I’m told that Gaborone is a sleepy place, but I’ll see for sure when I get there. I do know that, historically, Botswana had been one of the success stories of sub-Saharan Africa until it was decimated by HIV. It is still a stable country, and I’m given no reason to anticipate any difficulty at all.
As usual, the staff at the USAID mission has already begun to take good care of me, and I know I’ll be met at the airport, etc. It isn’t that I mind having to fend for myself, but after such a long trip it is nice to know that I can let someone else worry about the details on the other end.