Monday, 18.2.19

In Johannesburg, I then found out by chance, using a very small sign, that my suitcase does not go through to George after all. So I had to check out and then check in again. When checking out, I had to go through a security check. Since I wasn't sure which line to stand in with my Swiss passport, I asked one of the security officers. I told him that I came from Switzerland, he just said 'Ok' and held a gun to my forehead. It was a laser gun that they had to scan something with. But at 4 o'clock in the morning, it scared me a bit. The suitcase arrived and after checking in again, I was exactly on time at the right gate. We continued with a small and rather old airplane for 2 hours to George. George is a very small airport, you get off the plane on the tarmac, then go directly to the baggage hall, which had two baggage carousels, and after the baggage hall directly to the small arrival area/entrance hall. Now I'm waiting here for my host father Paul, who was supposed to pick me up. Africa-like, he picked me up half an hour late at the airport and then asked if I had landed earlier : 'D.
Now we still had a 1.5-hour drive ahead of us, during which he constantly told me things about himself. I believe there is nothing Paul hasn't experienced yet. He also told me that Stephanie, my host mother, and he had to move out of the old house for some reason (I didn't fully understand the reason) and move into a new house tomorrow. On the first night, I can sleep in a hotel or Air BnB, he said. He will find something. People live here totally in the present and don't think too much about tomorrow. When we arrived in Plettenberg Bay by car, we went straight to the market place. This is a place in the middle of the city, where there are various small cafes and food stands, and in the middle there are some tables where the locals drink a little coffee and chat all morning. There we met Stephanie and two former volunteers who are on vacation for two weeks here. Sarah from Switzerland and Rouven from Germany. Paul then said that they are going for a hike, if I want to join. And so my first day was already planned. A bit tired and with the wrong equipment, we went directly from the market place to a national park where there was a special tree walk. This was the perfect program to acclimatize myself. Because I could have also walked through a forest in Wängi for 3 hours... you wouldn't have noticed any difference! But it was good to get to know Sarah and Rouven a bit. In the evening, we went back to the market place and Paul took me to my accommodation. I spent the night with a very nice lady who also rents out some rooms to volunteers. I had a short hour to shower and then I had to go back to town as I had arranged to have dinner with Sarah and Rouven. During this hour, I also wanted to charge my phone. But unfortunately, the South African adapter I bought in Zurich didn't fit into the South African sockets...
Luckily, Paul still had one at home that I can use now. We ate at the restaurant 'The Table'. My Margherita pizza was very good and cost about 5 francs! For the next day, I arranged to go horseback riding on the beach with Sarah. On the way back, I asked Paul when I have to start working. He then said that I can start whenever I want. I like that!