On the Road Again

Kris and I are wrapping up at our respective offices this week and then we hit the road, or rather, the coastal skies above the Indian Ocean. I don't know what our internet connection is going to be like, so I just wanted to let folks know what we're up to in case it's a while before we can add some buzz to the blogosphere. On Sunday we're leaving Rauwnton Abbey for Hibberdene where we'll be volunteering at a camp for kids. No, we're not campers, we'll be helping out. I'm not going to lie, my Cub Scout skills are pretty rusty and I'm not even sure what badges I earned, much less what I can pass on to the youths. Campers and counselors alike will be rapt by Kris's angelic voice or gift as a natural raconteur, I will surely be relegated to hauling firewood or some other task deemed fit only for a beast of burden.

After leaving Hibberdene we will fly from King Shaka Airport in Durban headed for the coastal port of Maputo in sunny Mozambique. I'll have to dust off one semester's worth of Portuguese from ten years ago. I still remember how to say, "My name is Peter," "Where is the beach," and "I don't speak Portuguese." Not super useful, but if I can understand directions and avoid accidentally comparing someone's mother to a goat then I think we'll be just fine. After two days in the capital we're flying again to the beach town of Vilanculos where I plan on reading, swimming, and remaining horizontal for as much as possible. After our beachcapade we're flying back to Jozi, sweet Jozi.

Maybe by then 12 million Joburgers will have adopted Kristen's nickname for Johannesburg: "J-Burg." Clearly Joburgers are a people who love brevity and will only need a few more days before succumbing to the rational behind Kristen's campaign to rename the city's nickname. I'm sure our millions of readers would agree that "o" is the worst letter on a keyboard. If any South Africans are reading this I ask you two things:

1. Please forgive the lack of "u"s 
2. Get on board early with calling Johannesburg "J-Burg" if not for all the time it will save you, but also for the inevitable mad street cred.

Anyway, it is going to be a lot of flying, which might unnerve some people, but I'm glad we're flying. Walking would take 672 hours or 28 days according to Google Maps. Also, flights and potentially sketchy wifi always makes me think of Louis CK telling Conan O'Brien why people should not complain about minor flight inconveniences. This video never fails to make me laugh, but I warn you, there may be some bad words in it.