We woke Saturday early a.m. to catch a taxi out to Shipol airport. On our way we found out from the taxi driver that the land where the airport is (and the whole city for that matter) used to be a giant lake. The early Dutch dammed it up and filled it in to make their city. You know, the boy with his finger in the dike...Well, it appears that when they went to dig the foundation to build the airport, they actually uncovered a 300 or 400 year-old galley. So, they named the airport Shipol (which means "ship hole"). After a 36 Euro Egg McMuffin breakfast at the airport ($36), we retrieved our luggage from the luggage locker and climbed aboard our KLM flight for Johannesburg. We have no idea how much the state-of-the-art luggage locker, which should have been about $25, actually cost. Katilee, Jack, and I (Bob) went to retrieve the luggage and I kept putting my Visa card into the slot. I presume the door was supposed to open, but it never did. Every time I put my card in it would make that whirling-receipt printing sound and "beep." See, all the instructions were in Dutch. Having taken French as a kid in school and having traveled through Europe a couple of times, I thought I would be able to figure out the instructions. So, I would put the card in and the screen would say something to the extent "laajhtggjrtnthg saatrtghhtjghtght." After 3-4 attempts at pushing different buttons and reinserting my Visa card, the luggage locker door popped open. We grabbed the suitcases and shut the door, and my Visa card popped out. I think "laajhtggjrtnthg saatrtghhtjghtght" actually means "Hey idiot yank, keep putting your card in and pushing buttons so we can charge you a lot of money because you are too dense to ask the guy at the counter for help."

We decided that we like KLM-they seem to be a very kind and courteous carrier. Lots of water and food and, unlike the U.S., no charge for beer, wine, and other libations. It was a beautiful flight and we could clearly see the Alps (see picture), the Mediterranean Sea, and the Sahara Desert (see picture). Unfortunately it was cloudy when we were over the jungle so we were unable to get a glimpse of it. Hey, but by then the Scooby Doo movie was on the screen so no cared what we were flying over. Plus, we had the onboard Dutch radio selection of hits from cheesy Dutch singers interspersed with some of those great hits from Culture Club, ABBA, and Air Supply.

We landed in Johannesburg at 11:00 p.m. African time. They've got it figured out here. Did you know the entire country of South Africa is on a single time zone? Unlike the U.S., which has a bunch of time zones. Or even worse, Indiana, in which part of the state participates in daylight savings time, and the other part doesn't. Back in Michigan we live only 25 miles from the Indiana border but never have any idea what time it is there.

Once we retrieved our luggage we headed for the customs area. Anticipating a lengthy and in depth customs search, we were surprised when we got to the customs area and no one was in sight. After a few minutes we found a woman who looked like she was an airport employee and asked her what we were supposed to do. She checked around and said "the customs guys went home." What? So what were we supposed to do with our port of entry and declaration forms?"Just put them in that bin over there" was her response. The bin looked like a garbage can. "Yeah, but I have a laptop and a couple of digital cameras and the forms say I have to declare these upon entry to South Africa." Her response: "Do not worry about it, you will be okay." Welcome to South Africa.

Once we entered the main airport terminal, we were introduced to what we have found to be the enterprising life that is abundant in this country. Being a country which is still to some degree in transformation from the old system of Apartheid, there is a huge percent of the population that is unemployed. However, rather then hold up a sign at a street corner that says "Will do work for food" or "Bless you," these guys actually seek opportunity to earn money. We had no shortage of chaps who were willing to push our luggage cart and show us the stand where the hotel shuttle would pick us up. Again in typical Bensley fashion, our first reaction was to shoo them away. "No thank you, we can do it ourselves." Yeah, 16 bags of luggage and a couple of little kids after a 12-hour flight. Sure, we can do it ourselves. However, we soon gave in to their persistence. We remembered that our friend Andre (who I will be working with at the University of Port Elizabeth) said that unlike the U.S., where you typically give the guy a dollar a bag, you just give these guys 5 or so Rand for their effort. Well, it happens that 5 Rand is about 45 cents. But that is a decent amount of money here, as the value of the dollar is so much higher then the Rand (8.5 times). So, we stuffed away our pride and decided it was best to go with the flow and accept the help for 45 cents. Actually, we ended up giving the bag guy a Euro as we didn't yet have any Rand. We gave the hotel shuttle guy a couple of American quarters as we didn't have any more Euros. Our advice to anyone who is coming here is to completely accept the help of the people who are trying to earn a living. It is extremely inexpensive and helpful and completely supports people-and sometimes a complicated to understand extended family-who are trying to make a living during this transformation. For less then a dollar, we were able to focus on sharing with our children the excitement and joy of seeing South Africa for the first time, rather then trying to lug around 16 pieces of luggage.

The next day we awoke and caught a late afternoon flight to our final destination, Port Elizabeth! We were met at the airport by Andre and his wife, Marina, and their two small children, Andre and Jana (pronounced Yana). The de Jager's are wonderful people! (Now go to Week 2)