Arrival

     I arrived in Joburg yesterday afternoon.  23 hours of travel and feeling ok.  First order of business is to find a bank machine.  People crowded the arrivals lounge, each with their own sign to identify who they were looking for.  In the span of less than two minutes, 20 signs were thrust in my direction and I was asked if I was Emily, Jennifer or Dan.  Lining the arrivals lounge were the Traveller's Exchanges, each with their own huge line up as people frantically changed their American dollars, British Pounds or Euros.  I didn't need an exchange.  I just needed an ATM from which to extract some South African Rand.  Some of the exchanges offered ATM Tellers- like an ATM but a person, charging a commission and giving a bad exchange rate.  I'm sure many a tourist has been loured into their trap because it seems to be the only option.  However, if you leave the chaos of arrivals behind you and travel further into the airport, you get propositioned by taxi drivers trying to scam you into taking their non-metered taxis but you also find the ATM.  Rands in hand, or should I say in travel purse with zipper closed and flap buckled, I went back to arrivals to meet my airport pickup.
     Such an odd thing travelling.  Before I left home, I booked a hostel through a website based on what I assume is other people's reviews.  For all I know the hostel owner himself could have posted all the reviews to attract gullible tourists such as myself.  Then, I send an email to said hostel requesting an airport pickup.  I receive a reply saying to meet a guy with a MoAfrika Lodge sign next to the Tourist Information Centre.  So, off I go to the tourist information centre and meet a guy with a worn, laminated piece of paper that says MoAfrika.  He grabs my bag, we head to his van and there I am driving down the highway in Africa with a complete stranger.  There are so many things that we are warned about.  Safety, safety, safety!  Yet, something like getting into a car with a stranger is inevitable when you are travelling.  These are the small risks we need to take everyday to get around the world.  To me, these risk are well worth the results and a little bit of trust accompanied by a greater sense of respect has never caused me harm.