Last night I flew back to Johannesburg after three days working in Cape Town. The journey home was a great experience after the high of connecting with wonderful people in the mother city.
It started at the brand new Cape Town International Airport – clean, spacious and bright. Our Kulula flight at 6.30pm was full, and included the disabled basketball team who boarded with crutches and wheelchairs at the back of the plane where I was sitting. This group entertained us throughout the 2-hour flight with a continuing banter in different languages with the cabin crew. The cabin crew entered into the spirit of things, offering face painting to passengers, and even the usual Kulula jokes were funnier than normal. The crew also entertained us by singing songs on the journey.
On arriving in Johannesburg the cabin crew disembarked the basketball team first – a change from the normal way of doing things which would be to ask them to wait until everyone else had gone before bringing on the wheelchairs. This was accepted by everyone in good spirit, even though it took 20 minutes longer to disembark.
Walking though the OR Tambo airport at Johannesburg I was struck by the colour, flags, everyone wearing soccer shirts (‘Football Friday’ in Johannesburg) and how everyone was smiling. As I walked to my car I found myself smiling also and happy to be home.
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