Touching down, in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

After three planes, over 8,000 miles and a day of travelling, we have finally arrived in South Africa! It feels surreal to be here, after months of preparation, I cannot believe that this adventure is finally underway. Yesterday at the crack of dawn, we departed from RDU Airport and flew to JFK, commencing the first leg of our trip. The first flight took about two hours total. After a two hour layover at JFK, we boarded a jumbo jet to Johannesburg, where we were in the air for approximately 15 hours. Surprisingly, the flight seemed to go by rather quickly.

Aside from the casual deep sleeping snorer, and the flight attendants cart which was magnetically attracted to bumping into my elbow, it was a rather pleasurable experience. Catching up on South African 6th and 7th grade curriculum, and reading Alan Paton's, Cry The Beloved Country seemed to enable time to pass by rather quickly. Throughout the entire flight, we were able to track our airplanes progress, via a t.v. screen that recorded our planes speed, distance to destination and estimated time of arrival. It was fascinating to see a visual representation of our planes route, and the countries we were passing over along the way.

After a smooth landing in Johannesburg, we barely had enough time to gather our luggage and race to the gate to catch our connecting flight to Port Elizabeth. While on this short, hour and a half flight, I sat next to one of the Consulates of South Africa, who was just returning from a diplomatic trip from Singapore. This  interesting woman told me that her son was actually going to school at Springfield College, in Massachusetts and was an avid rugby player, instantly we hit it off. After conversing and brief bouts of dozing in and out of consciousness, the wheels of our 747 touched down smoothly in our final destination, Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

The process of getting our luggage, was pretty painless and after about 20 minutes we headed towards the exit, to find our ride to the bed and breakfast. At first the driver didn't realize how much luggage we had and only brought one vehicle to pick us up, a white Hyundai SUV that could barely fit three people comfortably let alone 9 of us with luggage. After waiting approximately 15 minutes, two more vehicles showed up. We eagerly piled into the SUV's and began our drive from the airport to the bed and breakfast.

Our cab driver was very friendly, enthusiastic man in his mid 50's. During the drive he informed Dr. Roseboro and I of some of the cool things to do and see while in P.E. Some of his recommendations were to visit the Addo Elephant park, The Nelson Mandela Stadium (built for the World Cup in 2010), and a few adventure tourism spots in the surrounding area. From the airport, to the bed and breakfast was about 10 minutes away. For most of the drive, I sat nervously in the passenger seat, as driving on the left side of the road was a completely foreign experience to me. After a few minutes of the nerve racking cab ride, we arrived at The Algoa Bay Bed and Breakfast, our home away from home for the next 30 days.

This beautiful, quaint piece of real estate is blocks away from Algoa Bay, and we can see its pristine blue water from our balconies. I have my own room, with Wi-fi access, a nice size T.V., and a balcony that over looks the bay. The accommodations and staff could not be nicer. We are located in a very safe, secure neighborhood in Port Elizabeth. So far everyone that we have met has been extremely friendly and cordial. The weather here is absolutely beautiful, a little windy, but in the mid 70's with zero percent humidity.
Right now, it is springtime in South Africa and within the next couple of weeks summer will kick into full gear; this already nice weather will only get better.

Tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m., we will be heading to the Emafini Township School to begin our Township teaching experience. I absolutely cannot wait, for I know that this experience will be an eye opening opportunity, that will have a profound affect on me and help strengthen my views on pedagogy.