First Hours in Johannesburg

Johannesburg, South Africa

I've never been on a plane so long in my life. I've been in South Africa for a grand total of 3 hours now and I'm just now beginning to get some feeling back in my lower half.

Though long, I think about the comforts we were afforded--beverages whenever we wanted, meals with small desserts that I didn't eat, blankets, pillows. They did everything to make the journey most comfortable.

I can't help but put this journey in another perspective: a slave ship. I peered out the window at the sea and clouds below and thought how? How did we survive that, those conditions, that length of time? I really couldn't stop thinking of all we've been through so that I can be on that plane, turning down chocolate mousse.

My heart is flopping around in my chest like a fish out of water, just being here. I was greeted outside customs with a sign that said my name, a brotha named Teba. We already have really good camraderie. I can tell he's an educator. With each mile we drive, he's teaching me something about Jo'burg and other parts of Africa. What a resource!

It's dark, but nothing right now looks unfamiliar, except that the driver's side is on the right, just like Trinidad. Leave it up to America to get things backwards! . There are BMW's and Toyotas. Everything is in English. Johannesburg is very developed from what I see: the buildings, the vehicles, the roads--it looks no different from driving in the Midwest in the dark. Here's the beautiful thing: all the people walking the streets are my people. This is a Black nation and how it feels to be in a Black nation.

I'm at the hotel. This place isn't f-ing around. There's an apple in each room, they say. I will be sure to ask what the significance of that is. The rooms are decorative and charming. Just for good measure, I took a bubble bath, something I haven't done in years.

My face is all over Johannesburg, they say, on flyers. Teba showed me one and I was so touched. It's me all right, laughing at a now-African sky.

Tomorrow I have to be up early for a radio interview. Then a TV show later on tomorrow afternoon. And then I perform. They're keeping us busy. I"m grateful for this evening to relax and rest. I am loving it, though I can't wait for the sun to shine on Johannesburg. Can't wait to sink my teeth into this place.