The Journey, part 2

We left the airport and piled into a white SUV. The next step was to go into Upington to do some shopping. The primary goal was to get groceries, along with some other bits and pieces needed at the reserve. I stocked up on fruits, some dried grains, tea, and some cough medicine for the lingering sinus infection that appeared partially through the flight to Dubai. The grocery store had a wide selection of mostly familiar things. Squash, or cordial, is pretty popular here and you buy it in large bottles as a drink concentrate. I took the suggestion of one of my traveling companions and purchased some passionfruit cordial, which was definitely worth trying. While waiting for the project manager to finish his shopping, I had a drink with the other two of my companions at a cafe near the grocery store. We had a delightful discussion about American politics and Brexit.

After a few more quick stops to pick up items, we filled up on gas and bought some snacks for the three hour drive to the reserve. I picked out a bacon and cheese sandwich on french toast and an orange powerade. One of my favorite things when traveling is finding things that are familiar but slightly different, and this sandwich and drink definitely fit the bill.

The drive passed by in a bizarre blur of short portions of consciousness and social interactions followed by long bouts of restless sleep hunched over on my backpack. My first impressions of the scenery were that is was quite flat, dry, and sandy. Most of the trees I saw were short and weathered, and tall grass made up most of rest of the fauna visible. By the time we reached the reserve, the sun had set and I didn't get a good view of my new home.

After unloading our vehicle, I finally met one of two of the Ph.D students (now Ph.D graduate) that I will be assisting in the lab. Philippe greeted my with a big hug and plenty of enthusiasm, which fit well with the impression I had of him from our short discussions. I was led to my room to drop my things, and met a swarm of thirty or so people who currently lived at the reserve. There is always a frenzy of people on town trip days because that's when the monthly stock of personal groceries arrives. Somehow I managed to stay up a couple more hours, and even got a chance to step into the lab and see the mole rats before heading off to bed.