Feeling a bit bored with the fan park at the beach I decided I would go back to the race track to hang out with the girls. It should have been about a 15 minute drive but I got lost so it was more like an hour. I had both Jess and Bev (on a pre-paid cell phone that Bev let me borrow) giving me directions but I still got messed up. I was pretty frustrated but relieved when I finally arrived. It was a South Africa match coming on as soon as I arrived so the place was packed out. Jess and Nicola were both too busy to chat so I just watched the match... It was not good. Poor South Africa, that might have been the nail on the coffin for them.
Once it was over the race track cleared out mostly and Jess got cut. Nicola had to stay a bit longer though so Jess and I drove down to Florida road to kill time. We had a beer at a bar called "Booty". It was crowded but not a very good vibe. Funny enough tough, the drunk girls we gave a ride to the night before were there. I'm pretty sure the one who had been crying didn't even remember us. It didn't take long for Nicola to call and say she was off work so Jess and I went and got her and we drove both cars to a club called "Burn". It was a really weird place. It sort of reminded me of the masquerade in Atlanta. Total grungy rock bar. We played pool and had some super cheap drinks but eventually decided it was too dead and boring plus we were all hungry and tired, so of course the obvious solution was to hit up Johny's Rottis again! We took the monstrosity home, split it three ways, and went to bed.
The next morning I got up and packed up my stuff. Nicola left early and aid goodbye and after a quick breakfast I did the same. It was sad saying goodbye to the Poulos family. I felt like we really connected and everyone was so over the top hospitable. I am so lucky to have Cassy as a friend. She really went the extra mile to ensure I had a great trip and I cannot thank her enough.
So I loaded up the car and made the long trip back to Johannesburg. It was a pleasant and beauiful drive. At one gas station a local boy saw my american flag on the car and had a million questions for me. I ended up giving him a 1 euro coin from Spain and a US quarter from Mississippi. It was like Christmas for him. I felt good about doing that for him.
As I got into Jo'Burg area it got really smoky with wild fires on the plains. I saw one fire directly in the center of a township slum. It made me sad to see it, as if those people don't have hard enough lives as it is.
I got into Jo'Burg and after a slight missed turn confusion, found my way back to Ryan's apartment. We thought about going to a concert at that club "Gin" but we were both too tired so instead chose to go to the movies. The place Ryan drove us to was a casino so naturally I liked it. We walked through the casino floor but I was pretty much out of money so I did no gambling. The movie choices were weak and we eventually settled on some art film called "The Limits of Control". It was awful. Maybe the slowest film I have ever seen. When we left there were two different people dead asleep in their chairs!
After the movie we went back home and called it an early night.
The next morning we got an early start and my goal was to pick up some last minute gifts with my final 200 rand. I got some black label beer, and some sweet chili sauce, and some biltong! Yum! Hopefully customs will not say anything about it since it is meat. It's not like they ever actually check your stuff at customs anyway.
I also really wanted 2 vuvuzelas which ended up being almost a 2 hour journey since they were all either sold out or way overpriced. I was successful at the last minute though. Ryan followed me to the airport and parked while I dropped off the rental car. We at at KFC in the airport and got my boarding passes and stuff. Then we found a television and watched the second half of the U.S.A. vs. Slovenia match. It was intense! USA was down 0-2 and ended up catching 2 goals to tie it up in the last 15 minutes of the match. There was actually a 3rd goal which should have made it a victory but the ref called a bogus foul. We got robbed big time. So once again a draw for USA. The match ran a bit late so I had to say a quick goodbye to Ryan and rush to catch my flight just as it was boarding.
The 10 hours form Johannesburg to Frankfurt was another overnight on a 747. Somehow by the grace of God I ended up on an exit row, which on a 747 means you can stretch your legs out all the way without hitting anything. The guy next to me, Adil, was joking that we were the luckiest people on the plane.
The two of us got along quite well. He was from Belgium and just returning home from a business trip in Durban. He works for H.P as a lead engineer.
After the flight he invited me to join him in the Lufthansa elite members lounge but when we got there I wasn't allowed in. Apparently they recently changed the rules to "no guests". So I just hung out with Adil until his flight to Brussels boarded since I had 6 hours to kill anyway. Once I was alone I went to a cafe and pad an exorbitant amount to get wifi on my iPhone for an hour. Then slept on a row of benches until boarding time. As I was boarding my flight to Atlanta I was hit with culture shock. Americans everywhere! To be honest I resented them all. It may be that it was an indicator that my adventure is ending, or maybe because it is a reflection of my own culture which is weird, or maybe I liked being unique and a foreigner, then suddenly I was just like everyone else again. Either way it was a bad feeling.
I go a lucky seat again as I was at the front of the row so I have a little more leg room and a wall instead of a seat in front of me. This was a newer plane too so I could watch movies and television on demand on y own personal screen. The Lufthansa 747's don't have that.
All in all the return trip was way less brutal. Now 10 hours later I'm watching the ground creep ever closer... now the runway... touchdown! well, that is it I guess. I hope you liked my story.
I loved your story! Seriously. Glad you made it home safe! Next adventure, Chicago? Eh?
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