REENTRY

We knew we had returned to the modern world immediately upon our arrival to the Johannesburg, South Africa airport, a layover on our way to Cape Town.

We were dazzled by the machine. The 10 large TV screens hanging in a circle in the upper reaches of the domed ceiling of the central hub of the airport were all perfectly coordinated. The pictures on each screen moved like synchronized swimmers, going from faces to toast to warnings about hazardous materials at the exact same instant. Everyone moved at a fast, but not frenzied pace, and with such purpose! The toilets flushed, the lights were bright and the floors, the walls, the countertops all glimmered. The clothes that people wore were clean, not ragged, and their outfits matched. Everyone was wearing shoes, and the shoes fit. And everywhere, as far as the eye could see, were white people. Only the employees – the janitors, the baggage handlers, the check-in clerks behind the airlines counters, were black. But this is a black country. Overwhelmingly black – 40 to 1 black. Where were they all? The employee uniforms were clean, pressed and looked brand new. The employees had a pep in their step and didn’t look bored. They were moving, not sitting. They went out of their way to help us.

Our ride into the city was no less shocking. Road maintenance crews were using bulldozers, backhoes, front-end loaders and earth moving machines, equipment that we haven’t seen in a very long time – and in such numbers. In the “other” Africa, road maintenance crews used only shovels. There was passenger traffic - in both directions - and there were passenger cars, gleaming towers, signs, traffic controls. There was a fast highway, with guardrails, and the city could be seen in the distance.

Hotel check-in was a breeze. The staff (black) was awake, they smiled and sought to carry our bags. The room has a heated bathroom floor, a shower AND a bathtub, a hair dryer and NO mosquito netting.

We fell into bed, anxious to begin our visit tomorrow morning.