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High School
South Africa
Welcome - Sawubona
Day 1

Sawubona, or ‘hello’ in Zulu, and welcome to South Africa from your (almost) fearless host Ilana!

Yesterday we left for Johannesburg, South Africa. The flight from Newark, New Jersey to Atlanta was great; yet, the rest of our journey...not so great. Between an epic layover in Dakar, Senegal and a series of unfortunate airplane malfunctions, we logged almost 30 hours of travel time on the plane. More than a full day later we arrived at Oliver Tambo Airport in Johannesburg. I was exhausted, but optimistic.

We were met at the airport by Don, our first guide, holding a large sign that said ‘ProjectExplorer Team!’ I liked him immediately. He seemed very kind and knowledgable and knew that we were all itching to get to our hotel for some much needed recovery after the grueling flight. I have it on good authority that there is a steam room and pool at the hotel. Perhaps we will indulge tonight, before we begin the agressive film schedule.

During the short car ride to the hotel we were not able to see much of the city. We are staying at a fancy place called the Southern Sun Grayston which is located in an upscale suburb of Johannesburg called Sandton. We could hear lots of little chirpy, African birds serenading our nighttime arrival. My roommate for this trip is Jenny Buccos, who is the director of our South African adventure. In addition to Jenny and me, there are 4 more ProjectExplorer team members on this trip - Christopher, Sarah, Meredith, and Henry. (Be sure to meet my fellow explorers - they will show up from time to time in photos, videos, and will be mentioned often in my travel journals.)

We have an early start tomorrow morning and I am exhausted from our travels (this is the longest flight I have ever been on). I am ready for some much needed sleep so I am hoping that I lucked out in the roommate selection process and that Jenny does NOT snore.

Thrilled to now have a South African stamp and visa in my passport,

Before exploring Johannesburg, complete a prerequisite language lesson >