As I mentioned this past week, we left yesterday for South Africa. I shared more here in this video how excited I am about the trip and some details of why we’re going and what we’ll be doing on the trip.
I’ll be honest, it was really hard to leave my kids this time. I’ve not done much traveling this year and I’ve gotten so used to our quiet, simple life that saying goodbye was really hard — especially since Jesse is coming this time and we’ll be gone for 10 days! But I know I’m where I’m supposed to be and I know that they are going to have a wonderful time with my mom.
The getting to South Africa part is always an adventure! If you don’t want to have a layover in another country, you can take a direct flight from Atlanta to Johannesburg — which is a 15 to 16 hour flight! That’s a LONG time to be in an airplane seat. 🙂
But since this is my 5th time to make the flight (and my 7th long international flight in the last 2 years), I can tell you that it does get easier. In fact, I told Jesse as we were boarding this time, “I realized that I spent more time preparing for the actual trip instead of for the flight.”
That’s worth celebrating because it shows that I’m getting over some of my anxiety of being in the air for that long!
This time around, I’m super thrilled because they actually had wifi on the flight! WOOT! It definitely helped to pass the time for me to be able to get some work done and get all my emails caught up!
I spent the flight sleeping, listening to music and just enjoying the quiet, watching a movie, catching up on emails and social media (since I was offline almost completely the last 2 days because I wanted to enjoy some quiet family time before the trip), writing two posts, making sure to eat good food and drink LOTS of water (one of your big friends on long flights — even if if means you have to keep getting up to go to restroom!), and reading (of course!).
Even though a 15-hour flight seems like such a long flight, if you’re prepared, the time goes by pretty quickly and it can actually be really enjoyable! (Here are some of my tips for what to bring on long flights.)
One of my biggest dilemmas before any trip — especially a trip where there’s 35+ hours of time on airplanes involved! — is what books will I bring?! It took me three tries and a lot of back-and-forth inner dialogue before I pared the book stack down to these 5 to bring on the trip:
- Hope Heals
- Why I Stayed
- Present Over Perfect
- Big Little Lies
- The Kindness Challenge (pre-release copy)
My goal is to actually get all five of these read on the trip! We’ll see if that actually happens. I’ve been trying to read Big Little Lies since last trip to South Africa! I already started it and am hoping it actually gets finished this trip!
Want to follow along with our trip? Be sure to follow me on Instagram.
Lisa Morosky says
I’ve heard really great things about “Present Over Perfect”, and I’m so positive I need to read it, but for some reason it’s got me scared. I think it’ll be one of those books that changes me (hence the hesitation to read it!). 🙂
Caroline says
So glad you’re enjoying The Kindness Challenge ARC! 🙂 I’m Shaunti’s Digital Content Manager — fun to see it in your book list. Love your blog!
Dana says
Jay Wolf is the pastor at my mom’s church, and she just gave me Hope Heals to read too! I’ll be interested to find out what you think of it!
Micah Klug says
I know there is magic in holding a book and turning the pages. One of my favorite smells is that of a book. However, for your adventure and trip, I would highly encourage you to invest in a reading device, whether it’s on your smart phone or a kindle. It would save you so much space from all the weight of those books.
Davonne @ The Tidy Mom says
I second Micah’s idea! I use real books most of the time, but I LOVE my Paperwhite when I travel (other tablets, phones, computers, just aren’t enough like a real book for me, but the Paperwhite is perfect).
I just download books that are free or really steeply discounted (Unbroken when it was just $1.99 for example), then when I travel I’ll take a “real” book or two, plus my Paperwhite, and since I’ve long forgotten most of what I downloaded, it’s full of new surprises to choose from!
Christine says
You need a Kindle! If not for daily use then at least for travel. The Paperwhite is very light and will fit in your purse. It took me about a year to embrace the convenience. You can make he conversion ?
Crystal Paine says
But I just LOVE real books! I’ve tried reading on my phone or iPad and just can’t seem to make the switch. I wish I could!
Abby @ WinsteadWandering says
I love real books, too, and I really dislike reading on my phone or tablet. I LOVE my Kindle, though! The cheapest version is perfect for me. The screen is designed to mimic a book, without the painfully bright screen of a tablet or phone. It’s so convenient for travel, and I’m able to tuck it in my purse when I’m headed somewhere I might have some downtime.
Becky says
I agree, reading on a kindle is worlds better than reading on a phone or iPad! I love real books too and didn’t think I’d use a kindle much but I read so much more now because I always have my kindle in my purse and it’s SO easy to borrow kindle books from Overdrive.
Lisa says
I’m interested in what you think of Big Little Lies. Everyone raves about it being her best book but I tried twice and simply couldn’t get through it. I hated all the characters except the single Mom. Although, true confession, I did look up how the book ended on Wikipedia. It’s a pretty good story but I couldn’t get past my dislike of the characters and the values represented in the book.
I loved What Alice Forgot and The Husband’s Secret but this one just didn’t do it for me.
Crystal Paine says
I really loved What Alice Forgot, but so far I’ve not gotten into Big Little Lies. I’m going to keep at it for at least a few more chapters to see if that changes!
Abbie says
I read Big Little Lies in my book club and loved it. I thought it was a super fast read and read it in 24 hours while my kids were away! Hope you have a great trip!
Claire says
Hope Heals is wonderful. I read it in one day. We are members of FBC Montgomery and this story has been an important part of our church. It is heartbreaking and encouraging at the same time.
Crystal Paine says
Thanks so much for sharing!!
Davonne @ The Tidy Mom says
You always read the best books! Present over Perfect is next on my list – I got to hear Shauna give a keynote at She Speaks and it was AMAZING!!!
Hope you have a great trip & that your kiddos enjoy spending lots of time with Grandma!
Crystal Paine says
I can’t wait to start it!! I would love to hear her speak!
Melissa says
I am interested in your opinion of The Kindness Challenge!
Crystal Paine says
So far, I’m loving it!!