Touchdown

Monday started early with breakfast on the roof of Toyota’s DC Offices.  The view was great!

After breakfasat, we  went into the largest conference room I've ever seen.  We got an overview on Toyota's environmental initiati, which are very impressive, and I will maybe able to share more about that later on.  Then we were briefed on South Africa by Johnny Moloto, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of the Republic of South Africa

We were on our own for lunch, and found a restaurant close by called Chop't.  It was an awesome salad restaurant where you could choose one of their signature salads or design your own, and they chopped it up in front of you.  The guys wielding the chopping blades were ridiculously fast, and I'm not sure what those blades are called, but they are curved and held with two hands.  The salad was great.   If there's a restaurant like this in the St. Louis area, somebody please let me know.

After lunch we left for the airport for our flight to Johannesburg.  Boarding was a long process and there were several delays, so we took off 2 ½ hours late.  The plane was huge and very full.  We talked and people-watched and ate and slept if we could, and after about 7 or 8 hours, I can't remember exactly, we had a pitstop.

My first sight of Africa:  Dakar, Senegal where we stopped to refuel.

After a long 17 ½ hours from takeoff in DC, we finally arrived!  We went through Customs, and I got my first stamp in my passport.  It was a much easier process than I had envisioned.  We all had to get money changed to South African currency..  

South African rand.  $1.00 = 6.6 rand



After exchanging our money, we took a bus to our hotel where we had an amazing buffet dinner.  It was the first time I ever saw tripe on a buffet table.  It may have been the first time I ever saw tripe.  And no, I didn't eat any.  :)