After landing at 10:15pm and getting to the hotel around midnight on Wednesday, I realized I had to be at the office first thing on Thursday morning. No time for jet lag readjustment, like the good old Peace Corps days. I was at the office all day Thursday and Friday with only a few solid hours of sleep each night. I just keeping drinking coffee to get through the days.
Since I am working full-time while I'm here, blogging gets put on the back burner until I have time (and energy) and something to say. (Do you really want to hear about the emails I respond to each day? My guess is no.) However, I will write a blog post about the Window of Opportunity project later next week.
So what can I tell you right now? How about my first impressions of Johannesburg.
It's a giant suburb. There's a downtown business district that I'll never go to; the rest of it is all clean, tidy suburbs. In fact, the PATH office here is in a mall.
The Rosebank Mall is huge - I think it's actually three different malls that connect. There are tons of restaurants and cafes, so all of my meals are eaten in the mall. PATH has put me up in the Holiday Inn for my stay . . . it's also in the mall.
There's not a whole lot of activities to do in Johannesburg; it's not a "touristy" city. The one must-see place is the Apartheid Museum. I finally ventured outside of the mall today and went to see it.
I expect work to keep me very busy for the next few days, as we prepare for the large stakeholder meeting on Thursday. But maybe I can convince one of the South African staff to take me on a field visit and get some photos.
Since I am working full-time while I'm here, blogging gets put on the back burner until I have time (and energy) and something to say. (Do you really want to hear about the emails I respond to each day? My guess is no.) However, I will write a blog post about the Window of Opportunity project later next week.
So what can I tell you right now? How about my first impressions of Johannesburg.
It's a giant suburb. There's a downtown business district that I'll never go to; the rest of it is all clean, tidy suburbs. In fact, the PATH office here is in a mall.
The Rosebank Mall is huge - I think it's actually three different malls that connect. There are tons of restaurants and cafes, so all of my meals are eaten in the mall. PATH has put me up in the Holiday Inn for my stay . . . it's also in the mall.
There's not a whole lot of activities to do in Johannesburg; it's not a "touristy" city. The one must-see place is the Apartheid Museum. I finally ventured outside of the mall today and went to see it.
It really gave a thorough history of events that led up to the apartheid, starting with the influx of immigrants during the gold rush in the late 1800's. The museum displayed major events that happened during the apartheid and included artifacts, newspaper clippings, photos, and a lot of videos from each decade. Unfortunately, the Mandela Exhibit was closed for construction. That was a letdown.
I expect work to keep me very busy for the next few days, as we prepare for the large stakeholder meeting on Thursday. But maybe I can convince one of the South African staff to take me on a field visit and get some photos.
