Stuck in an Elevator

We had just checked in to the hotel in Washington, DC,  and were taking our luggage up to our room on the 7th floor.  The doors to the elevator were very slow to open and close, so I figured it was just pretty old.  It started making some noises that didn't sound right and it stopped.  I thought we were just at our floor and waiting for the doors to open, but they didn't.  Somebody said we were stuck, but I didn't believe it.  But we were.  Stuck on the 6th floor, or maybe somewhere in between the 6th and 7th floors.  FORTUNATELY, it turned out that one of the men on the elevator was a hotel manager.  He had a magic key or something and made a phone call, and the elevator doors opened.  We were on the 6th floor and he had everyone get out.  It's not like we wanted to stay on.  :)  He asked my roommate, Crystal, and me where our room was, grabbed one of our huge suitcases in each hand and started running down the hall.  We had no choice but to follow him.  He led us up the stairs and deposited our suitcases in our room.  I was really impressed that he could lug those heavy bags so fast up those stairs.  The funny thing is, he said that they had had problems with that elevator earlier in the day.  Now, why didn't they shut it down???

Johannesburg and Pretoria

Today it felt like we were actually here.  Most of us were better rested and ready to get started.  We had an overview of the history of South Africa and other presentations before boarding our coach to the U. S. Embassy in Pretoria.  We have a lovely guide, Pumla, and I will try to post a picture of her later.  She shared that the part of Johannesburg we were in was the richest square mile in all of Africa. That's pretty amazing.  

We traveled to Pretoria down new highways that were built to host the World Cup last year.  When you look around, you get the sense that you could be anywhere.  There are familiar brands on lots of the billboards, as well as familiar places like Shell, BP, McDonalds, and KFC. 

South Africa has three capital cities, one for each branch of the government.  Pretoria is the judicial capital.  We went down streets with embassies from all over the world.  When we got to the American Embassy, we were not allowed to take electronic equipment inside during our briefing, so I don’t have any pictures from there.  We went through security and met in the library for briefings on education and environment before going to the Union Building Gardens where we sat on the steps in the sun and had a picnic lunch.

Union Building

We also toured the Apartheid Museum which shows the rise and fall of apartheid with videos, photographs, and artifacts, but the text panels that gave eyewitness stories of the events were very moving, and it was a very emotional experience for all of us.

Dinner was at Gramadoela's Restaurant - even Queen Elizabeth has eaten there.  Check out the menu!

             The Buffet                                                                                 MaryLynne, Pam, and me.