Paul Derengowski, Ph.D.
Our South African journey to pick up my doctoral degree actually started about a month before we took off on July 28, 2018. After being notified that a graduation date had been set, I commenced setting everything up for my wife and I to fly to South Africa. Although I had not booked an overseas flight before, I was quite familiar with flying about the country, so this was not some earth-shattering event for me to handle.
When the morning of July 28 finally rolled around, we got up at our usual early morning time and started putting the last touches of our departure together. Our first flight from what I thought was Dallas-Fort Worth International was not scheduled to take off until 4:05 p.m. So, we were in good shape—until I tried to check-in and get our boarding passes. That is when things got weird.
Somewhere along the way our flight from DFW to Atlanta was changed from DFW to Dallas Love Field. Although there is not that much difference between the two, I had also scheduled to park our car at one of the Park-n-Ride spots. So, between reorganizing the route we would take to get to DLF, I also had to reschedule the lot where we would park the car. Thankfully, I caught this faux pas before we left. Otherwise, we very well could have missed our flights.
It took us about an hour to get to DLF, but we arrived in plenty of time. By the time we got through security, we still had almost two hours to sit around and people watch. People watch and try to figure out a new cell phone we purchased for the trip. Needless to say, by the time the trip was over, figuring out the cell phone was much more interesting—at least to me.
Finally, 4:05 in the afternoon rolled around and we boarded the plane to Atlanta. It was about a 2-hour trip. What made it a bit exciting was the fact that we would only have about 45 minutes to get from Terminal C to Terminal F after landing. Terminal F at Hartsfield Airport in Atlanta is where most of the international flights take off. The good thing about Hartsfield, though, after flying in and out of there before, is that it has a very efficient underground train system. So, even though we were pressed for time, we made it to Terminal F in good time.
After clearing customs, we boarded the jumbo Delta 777 plane with about 300 other passengers and crew, and we were off. We departed Atlanta on-time at 8:03 p.m. We would fly non-stop to Johannesburg and take about 15 and one-half hours to get there. Most everyone, including my wife and I, spent most of the time sleeping or watching a variety of movies or programs. A person could not really do much reading, per sé, because the lights were turned off, for the most part.
What was interesting is that throughout the night and wee hours of the morning I would occasionally check out the flight path of our plane. Whereas upon our return flight a few days later, when we flew almost directly from Johannesburg to Atlanta, our departure route took us almost straight south, along the coast of South America, and then when we were directly due west of Johannesburg, we made a beeline east. I estimated that it took us four hours to cross the pond and then another two hours airtime before arriving at OR Tambo International Airport.
Another tidbit of absolutely useless information came upon exiting the plane. It was amazing just how trashed it looked. Blankets, pillows, water bottles, and trash, in general, was strewn about, as if a tornado trooped its way up and down the isles during the flight. The only thing missing was the dead body and maybe a flaming barrel in the back with all the vagrants standing around warming their hands. It kind of makes a person wonder what kind of house these passengers keep at home. For some strange reason, after seeing the mess, they probably do not.
It was after we landed at OR Tambo that the adventure included elements that we probably did not plan for quite as we should. We arrived, but our luggage did not. To be continued.
