I swear I've done this before

Hour 5 of a 31 hour journey (from leaving my place to arriving at the nuns quarters of Holy Names, Bela Bela, Lesotho, Africa)

I'm by no means a novice when it comes to traveling, quite the opposite.  Have you seen that movie Up in the Air w/ George Clooney?  I'm him, an efficient machine working through the confines of
airport regulations and processes.  Today, you would have thought it was my first time traveling by air and maybe it was because I have been wound so tight the past 3 days as a ball of stress trying to get everything together, or maybe, it's just one of those days. *starts to sing*

Last night I thought I was MASTER PACKER, cramming every crevasse of the one piece of luggage I wanted to check, which had docking ports of lap tops that are being donated and "I know my status" red bracelets for the people who have completed their HIV/AIDS testing in the clinic that's set up at the school we'll be doing work, and some shiz of mine I wanted to sneak in there.  It was perfect until I got to the airport and it was 5lbs over and the over weight fee is $150!!  Robbery!  I do have to say, I'm pretty impressed I hoisted 55lbs onto the scale with one arm pretty effortlessly :)  But god, I hope my skin acclimates to the sun and that I don't get sunburned.  Good bye extra bottle of sunscreen and aloe!  Hello more crammed carry ons.

Security - liquids - forgot to take them out and for the first time this year had my bag searched.  guh!  What am I?  NEW?!

I don't check bags, I especially don't check bags when I'm flying into one of the most sketch airports in the world, Johannesburg.  My backpack has flown many a times w/ me on Alaska with no problems.  Apparently Delta does have a problem with my bag and it was an inch shy of being able to fit into their little template of acceptable luggage so now, ALL my things, excluding the electronics, travel books and blah blah, has to go through the hands of some dude in South Africa.  I hope they don't take my flip flops!  Or my sheets... or ANYTHING!

I get to my seat and good god all mighty - whatever Jay and Silent Bob guy, BUY A SECOND SEAT!  I'm sitting next to a lady who is hacking out her lungs and is so big neither of the arm rests can go down and she keeps shimmying into my already cramped window space.  As I type, I'm smooshed against the wall and the sun is making the window shade all different levels of fire.  Come on ATL - get here now!

Here's to hoping the 15 hour flight where I sit dead pan in the middle of the monster plane is better than this.

To all those who sent good vibes to me via email, THANK YOU!  I'd love to reply to you all but we're about to descend and I think gogo is going to stop working soon, not to mention my battery is about drained.

Love you all!!

xxxo
dirty and bruised  (although, right now, I'm clean but *looks at my inner knees* bruised, yes)