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AMASHIWI

"Culture is the heritage of us all. some may be more interested than others in the treasures of the past, but no one can fail to take a pride in his country's participation in the story of mankind, as represented in carvings, sculpture, music, paintings and the other arts. And there is a personal commitment to this, for no man can really say he is alone: we are all joined through our identity, with the cultures which are part of the mainstream of life"
- Simon Kapwepwe, Zambian Independence Freedom Fighter

"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm" - Winston Churchill

"Try to be the rainbow in someone else's cloud" - Maya Angelou

"Your time is limited so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinion drown out your inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition" - Steve Jobs








Monday, 16 August 2010

Being A True Afropolitan

Thought I would not get to post till I arrived home and got used to the high that comes from the motherland's loving embrace as the heat envelopes you as the plane door opens and the love from family cleanses your soul and revitalises your spirit...And the food coma that I can't wait to indulge over the coming weeks from home cooked food that only Mummy can make just right ;}.  However, here I am at Dubai International Airport taking advantage of the free internet to make this 9 hour layover bareable!

I am a very loyal person in general.  Although I adapt well to change, I can be very reluctant to let it occur, I like the comfort in routine where I can in my constantly evolving life.  Since 1992 I have flown on average 4-6 times a year with British Airways back and forth from the West to home, mainly because they are the most convenient.  However, in recent times they have wobbled, but as I am a frequent flyer they have rewarded me.  But their price for the ticket home was preposterous, and South African Airways weren't much better. .  I am flying for $1000 less with Emirates so the inconvenience of flying 5/1/2 hours to far East and then 2 hours too far South to then go back up 2 hours again with an SAA flight, making a journey of a total of 14 hours layover and 26 hours flying worth it.  The good thing is my in-flight routine is transplantable so I am able to preserve the continuity of routine n that regard.

Emirates are lovely and they are showing Africa the love too.  They are launching a new flight to Dakar next month and are offering free hotel stays for the first travellers.  They also have a lot of African stories in their magazine about interesting things going on on the continent and here in the airport I saw for the first time learn to speak Amharic, Yoruba and Zulu CDs!  Their in-flight entertainment is unparalleled with so many options from all over the world.  The air hostesses aren't forced to wear heels, they can wear flats to work the almost 16 hour flight or trousers if they wish to and their flight staff are a Benetton ad. They are really a first class organisation.  Will do a separate post on them when I get my hands on the magazine again when I take my next flight in a coupla hours so I can convert my pleasurable reading into a post :).

If this post doesn't make any sense forgive me I'm jet lagged due to the new and awkward timing of my flights. If it does, ignore the former statement ;}

2 comments:

  1. I'm on hold on the phone with lufthansa as i read this. They are telling me my flight ticket which i thought was open is void :(
    might just switch to emirates. hope you're well

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  2. Man I hate it when airlines try to pull that one! Emirates may be a little convenient seeing as they take you a little far out but their service and prices are worth it. Plus you get to rack up extra miles :)

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