Contrary to Popular Belief...

I think about writing a new post all the time. But I am either at work, out with friends or simply too tired to write. That has been my life for the last couple months.

Even now, there are so many things I want to say but I am not sure where to begin.

Work has been challenging, but it has been good. Every day I feel more confident about what I am doing and I have fewer questions than the day before.

A nice perk of the desk officer job? I got to take a familiarization trip to the region! It was so beneficial to my work that I feel blessed to have been able to go on one so soon after starting work.

I shall begin with the preparation...

September 26th -
Arranging an overseas trip with multiple legs and stops is a rather complicated process. There is a travel company that arranges the flights for us, but up until the day before I left I was on the phone with them at least once a day. At this point, I was just going to be happy if when I showed up at the airport someone would let me on a plane.

Packing was interesting. I have never been on a trip where I had to have business attire. I packed a couple suit jackets and nice pants and skirts along with casual clothes for the evenings. It was supposed to be in the 80s and 90s where I was going and it was starting to turn to fall here in DC. Plus there is the fact that I am always freezing on planes. I need long pants and a jacket just to survive the flight.

September 27th -
The day to leave has arrived! Its a Thursday and I am not going to arrive in Dili, Timor-Leste until Saturday. This is going to be a long trip...

My loving husband dropped me off at the airport. He tried to go through security with me (since he has a badge) but they weren't having it. Apparently that only works in Colorado and sometimes in Oklahoma. So we had to say goodbye before I descended into the security area. It was hidden from the public view so I had no idea the line was so massive. Being former TSA, I am always interested in how other airports set up their screening areas. Dulles is crazy efficient. There were over 30 screening lanes with glass dividing doors and after the ticket check you pick your own lane. I thought security was going to take forever but I was through in no time.

I was in the second to last row on the plane but I was by the window, so I thought that was nice. No one came to the middle seat so I was excited about that. Since the flight was 14+ hours on the way to Tokyo, each seat had its own personal tv, which was awesome as well. The girl on the aisle in my row could not get her tv to work. She had the flight attendant reset the tvs in our row three times (I was trying to watch the movie Brave and it was starting to get ridiculous with how many times I had seen the same part). In the end her tv simply would not work, so she decided to move seats. Three hours into the flight, and I had my own row!

It was pretty nice that I was able to stretch out and have a real rest for the rest of the flight. I was able to sleep for about 5 hours, which I thought was key since I wanted to acclimate to the new time zone as easily as possible (boy was I in for a surprise...).

We arrived in Tokyo and I had to go through security again to board my next flight to Singapore. I have never been to Japan so I was excited for the little glimpse of the country I was able to see out the window. Unfortunately it was a cloudy day so my glimpse was very limited. While I was going through security I was wondering about the lives of the security screeners. I am sure they find their jobs to be mundane (as I sometimes did when I worked airport security) but I was fascinated because they lived in Japan. Theirs was a life I was trying to comprehend but I could not because I don't know anything about what the everyday life in Japan might be like. I am sure there are things that are similar to my own, but at the same time I am sure there are things that are vastly different. It makes me think that no matter how boring and repetitive your own life may seem, there is someone out there who is fascinated by it because their own is so different.

I think by this point it was September 28th. I am not really sure. I was only in Tokyo's airport for about two hours before I was on my way to Singapore. I arrived in Singapore after it was already dark. I think it was still the 28th and I had to overnight in Singapore before my flight to Dili the next morning.

The Singapore airport is like a little city. There is a movie theater and parks and just all kinds of things. Look up Changi Airport and just be amazed at what is going on there. The sad part was I didn't have any time to experience any of it. My arrival time was almost midnight. After my bag arrived I went straight to the hotel that is part of the airport. Of course, it was the middle of the day back in DC so I was not tired. Looking back, I should have tried to go out to the city a little. I was told that Singapore never sleeps but I figured since it was so late there would be nothing for me to see. So I stayed in my room, had a bath, had a rest and got up at 7am the next morning to catch my flight to Dili.

Next time on the blog...
Read about my flight and first days in Dili, Timor-Leste!

In the meantime, look up Changi Airport and then (if you haven't already) find Dili on a map. Its way out there and pretty close to Australia.