#Johannesburg

I’ve gotten ahead of myself. I should say a few words about this place where I’m living.

Johannesburg (Joburg, Jo’burg, Jozi, JHB) is the largest city in South Africa and the fourth-largest in Africa. Interestingly, South Africa has three official capital cities but Johannesburg is not one of them.

It’s my second full day in Joburg. I’m sitting on the deck of my new house in Melville, soaking up the late winter sun, admiring the small purple flowers on the potted rosemary plant, and listening to a chorus of bird calls. There’s a neon-yellow weaver making a nest at the back of the garden – it’s a bouncy ball of green leaves suspended from a vine hanging off a tree branch.

Full disclosure: I’m posting this the day after I wrote it.

I’m on the plane. Here’s how I got here:

Aug. 5

The initial stages of my journey to the airport were smooth. Dad and his girlfriend arrived a bit late but still with plenty of time. We went to lunch, collected my luggage from the apartment, and took off. I had three suitcases – a small one, a medium-sized one, and a large one. Dad commented that my largest suitcase was ridiculously heavy. I scoffed.

My dad and his girlfriend are coming in 10 minutes to take me to the airport. They’re late, but fortunately I’ve built in a sizable time cushion. I don’t mess around when it comes to international flights. I once trusted the SuperShuttle to get me to the airport for a flight to Africa and wound up checking in with two minutes to spare. Never again.

Deciding to move to South Africa is one thing. Actually doing it is another.

When I made this decision in January, my first order of business was to uproot myself from a marriage, and a house, and an entire life that I realized I didn’t belong in. There are no words to describe this process, and it’s not what this blog is about anyway, so I’ll spare you the details. Let’s just say it was, umm, hard, and required most of my energy for several months. I think the worst is over now.

Six weeks from today I’m switching hemispheres. I’m moving from Washington, D.C, to Johannesburg, South Africa. I’ll leave D.C. on August 5, at the height of summer, and arrive in Joburg on August 6, in winter. So I’ll be living an extra summer this year – hence the name of the blog.