#South Africa

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.