So I am here – finally – in Johannesburg – sitting in a Spur
restaurant.
Where to start… Luke and I set off from the villa at about 2.15 –
pulling my bags up the hill to the Grand Hyatt to catch the airport shuttle. A
good idea as it was very direct – about an hour and 40 mins – having a last
sight see of Seoul. We thought of using the metro but then decided nope – too
much and it would’ve saved about 15 mins or so. I wanted to leave before Morgan came home –
we had told her that I was leaving but I guess I never actually said goodbye as
such – so be it….
So at the airport, Luke checked me in on line. We had then to go to the
counter to get my boarding card. That was when the fun started – I had
completely forgotten that I should also have my South African passport as well
as my British passport – I left SA and entered Korea on my UK passport but to
get back into SA needed my SA passport or else a visa on my UK passport! The
lady was very sweet but kept on saying how can they let you back into the
country of you don’t have a visa…. I have a letter dated 1997 in my UK passport
from the Dept of Home Affairs giving me permission to have dual citizenship but
that I needed to produce this letter and my passport to re-enter the country (SA). Anyway when I
told her I had my SA passport number she finally said I could go – the other
thing was that my UK passport did not have an entry stamp in it as I guess with so
many people coming in together – it didn’t get stamped!! Anyway she wrote the
entry date in and said good luck – she was sure that they would let me in…..
Luke had a burger while I went off to find a plug for my computer so that I
could find a document that might have my SA passport number in it!!! I found it
on my Volunteering in Nepal documents!! YAY!! All very tense.
Luke caught the
metro back home and I checked through customs and bought a book – in fact one
set in Seoul – that I started while waiting to board.
The flight was great – a 3 hour flight to Hong Kong – the
lady wisely booked me an aisle seat as close to the exit as she could, with no
one next to me – the transit time was bit tight but the airline met the Jhb
passengers off the plane and took us through customs with crew and staff so all
was fine. I ended up in an aisle seat
again with two empty sets next to me and a big guy from Senegal on the other
aisle seat. He invited me to use all the seats so I managed to spread out and get
some shut eye. Quite a different experience from our (Business class!) flights to Korea but
nevertheless just fine! I even got to
watch “Far from the madding Crowd” and literally squeezed in seeing the ending
as we landed at ORT. I was caught
completely by surprise as we touched down – was dozing I think and thought oh
my these are pretty bad rumble strips/speed humps we are driving over when I
looked up and out the window and saw the land flashing past and suddenly felt
the tears welling up – I was really choked – it felt so wonderful to be back on
SA soil… Then of course I started worrying about how I was going to go through
passport control without a passport!!! So I handed in the UK passport at the SA passport holders point of entry – of
course she wanted to know if I was a SA citizen – I then showed her the letter
and off she went and came back with a large chap who said I would have to go
with her – Pindile – to get my fingerprints checked. Off we went - I felt sooo
foolish. I heard them talking and said in Zulu that I had forgotten it and then
one said, in Zulu as well, did she lose it or forget it and I said no I had
forgotten it and that it was in my son’s home in a drawer!!! That reassured
them as they were concerned that I had lost it! They asked me for my ID which I
think I have also left in Seoul!! I showed them my SA drivers licence. They
asked for my ID number, then the SA passport number and date of issue and
expiry. I then had my thumb print taken and all matched what they had on their
system. Anyway I was given a section 22
or something warning which was a first warning. I could get another warning and
on the 3rd time. I would lose my passport and not be allowed to
leave the country every again!! It felt
so weird to be asked how long I planned on staying in SA ……!!!
When we traveled
to Korea, Mel had all the documents together and handled all the airline check
ins so it just made sense for me to give her mine as well. The problem is that
I never got them back from her. I had my UK passport as I needed it to get into
the tour of the palace that I did in Seoul. I completely forgot about the other
documents!!!!
Once through, I called John tell him all was well – I was in
floods of tears by this time – I guess I hadn’t realised how stressed I was by
it all!!! Besides all the other stuff
probably (no, definitely!) going on – being back in SA again, leaving Luke and
Mel and the children…..
I must say it feels wonderful to be here - to hear the
accents, to see the familiar looking people, to see so many black faces again,
to see the usual restaurants. My friend Sheila, who was going to chill with me
until my CT flight, was not able to be here after all. So I tried to get an
earlier flight as I had a 4 hour wait, but there was nothing available so I
checked through my bags and have been sitting here in Spur – had two cups of
hot tea and cold milk, an enormous breakfast – eggs, steak, bacon, wors,
tomato, chips, mushrooms and toast, all for the princely sum of R 79.50!!! I
have just loved listening to the chatter around me - and sitting here with all
the different races and languages that make up the people of home!! Am now
enjoying a rooibos cappachino so I really feel that I have landed!
Something
else just occurred to me – I am enjoying seeing people interacting and not
sitting next to each other having conversations with some one else or with
their heads buried in an e book or more likely a game!!
Josh called me soon after I landed – that was also a bit of
a tearful call – then I chatted to Beulah who is fine but very tired after
having chemo and steroids yesterday. So there it is – I am here and happily so
– of course I am already thinking about Morgan and how she was when she got off
the bus yesterday but I know she is fine. I will come back to get up to date on
the last few days in Seoul – was fun. Now the last leg to CT and mister John –
YAY!!