Mr. Super Fabulous

I am in Johannesburg, safe and sound. 
Customs was easy and short. I found my shuttle driver. I got my local SIM card (thank goodness, my work phone has zero reception). I got my local cash, which was not easy because the ATM was out of cash but the man in the exchange window right next to it was very nice. Getting the cash then and there may have been riskier more expensive but it meant I could tip the shuttle driver.
Check in was easy. 
The room is great.

The restaurant in the hotel is ASIAN! The restaurant next to the hotel I got food from is MEXICAN! The restaurant next to it is ITALIAN! So for my friend who was looking forward to descriptions of interesting food, ….. every cuisine alters at least a bit when it locates in a new place, but I don’t think this is what she was hoping for. 
When I went up to the restaurant I asked how he was and he said, “Super Fabulous” which is so much better than we usually answer and feel.

ALSO great, apparently there is a FREE SHUTTLE from the hotel to the embassy. Wow. 

I’m too tired to use the gym. I slept some on the plane, so I’d be functional upon arrival, but not so much that it would mess with my ability to sleep now. 

My friend in Cape Town said to cancel the guide, she’ll take me around. I say no three times before saying yes, right? 
//I’ve cancelled my guide and will spend the whole day with her!//

Thank you for the good wishes for the trip. 

The Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany are buying 100 Leopard-1A5 battle tanks for Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russia has lost 25 tanks in the last two days. 
Brijendra Rana, an Indian pharmacist who lives in Kharkiv, was honored for helping the military. When Russia invaded in 2022 India helped get thousands of their citizens out of the country but he elected to stay. He got a call recently, assumed it was another order, went to Kyiv, was introduced to the commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces, and handed the “Badge of Honour” – one of the Ukraine’s most prestigious civilian awards. 
Vladimir Osechkin, a Russian dissident, is helping Russian soldiers flee the war.