The Departure: Leaving the US

1-18-10

Well, I never thought I would make it this far. I have been having a horrible time saying goodbye to all my family and friends. I have had wonderful people who had to say goodbye to me in the past week, and it has been really hard to say goodbye to all of them.

In the course of a couple days, I have been packing, repacking, shifting, replacing, taking out, putting in, and everything else I can think of to make sure I had 2 bags that were less than 23 kilos and 2 carry on bags. I don’t even know if I made it. I have always prided myself in packing light. Well, not this time. I feel like I am packing for the winter storm.

My mom brought out a scale for me to weigh myself, and then weigh me carrying a bag to find the difference in weight. The problem was, the scale went berserk. It kept changing my weight every time I went on the scale, my weight changed. It looked like I gained a couple pounds, then lost those pounds plus a few more all in the span of a couple minutes. I know my weight doesn’t fluxuate that much. So we really couldn’t depend on the scale to help me.

There was really bad weather earlier today. Fortunately, on the drive, it was clear. We arrived at the airport, but decided to park the car and walk the luggage over to the terminal. So we went in the parking structure, and couldn’t find any parking. We went around and around, up, then down, and all over the place looking for a parking space. We finally found a place to park, but of course had no idea where we were. We went to the elevator and pushed the button and waited. We waited for a long time, and realized the elevator was broken. So we had to go down the stairs. I had my backpack and the BIG bag. Mom had my other carry on and the other bag. We got the luggage to the outside and just walked in a straight line.

After about 15 minutes of wandering, we asked for directions. The person said we had to go through the parking lot and go to the opposite side of the airport…of course. So we went through the parking lot, but there was a fork in the road and we had to choose which way to go. So we went one way. We ended up at the same terminal we started at to ask for directions! So then we went back through the parking lot, in the opposite direction and kept walking. We, again ended up at the same spot again! We could not figure out how we could go in the opposite direction and somehow get turned around.

Anyway, we decided to turn left and keep walking until we could ask someone else for directions. We kept walking until we got to a sign of arrivals. Air Tahiti Nui was not listed, naturally.

I have to say, there is nothing like getting lost, in my family, that puts the mind and my nerves at ease. By this time, my mom and I were laughing hysterically. We eventually composed ourselves and found someone who told us we needed to go upstairs. So, we went upstairs. Someone immediately came to us and asked where we needed to go. We told her, and she pointed us in the right direction. We did make it, rubbery arms, red faces, and sweaty…so much for my nice shower!

So I went to the counter and they took my funny looking ticket, accepted my visa, and weight my luggage…all went smoothly. Whew!

The next task was to X-RAY my luggage. The line was extremely long, but was moving fairly quickly. The people would pick up the luggage, put it on a cart, and the people would move on their way. The luggage started getting backed up. Sooooo…they stopped the line, with my mom and I at the front. We waited 30 minutes while they were getting the luggage through. In the meantime, we noticed the person who was supposed to be examining the luggage had her back to the screen. Hmmmm…makes me feel safe. Also, all the flight crew got to go right to the front of the line, which backed up the luggage even more and we continued to wait. It was fun. I also noticed how they hurl the luggage onto the cart. All that was going though my head was, “I didn’t have anything breakable…did I?”

So when we finally got through that line, we went upstairs to the bathroom. We had already been there a long time. Then we went back downstairs where we had to say goodbye. Mom told me she would stay until she couldn’t see me anymore. She was true to her word. Every once in a while I would look back and she would immediately wave, which made me wave and laugh. I had just turned around from her as I was laughing when I had to give the guy my passport. He told me, “Just keep smiling.” Well, I actually had to smile to keep myself from crying at that point.

Then I got to take off my shoes and everything else and went to find my gate. Of course I started at the very first gate, and I had to go to the very last gate! I guess I got there really early, because by the time I got there, they were still boarding last minute passengers for Sydney. So I had to sit down. Of course, this was the only gate that did not possess any seats…at all! So I sat on the floor to wait.

I then heard an announcement, but could not understand it at all. All of a sudden, everyone started standing up and leaving. So I stood up, too. I overheard someone mention another gate, so I went to the TV screen to see my flight. It said it was arriving on time, but the gate hadn’t changed. There was another guy who was also staring intently on the screen trying to figure out what was going on, so at least I wasn’t the only one who had no idea what was going on.

The screen suddenly changed and I did have to go to another gate. So I found a seat, and waited again. A little bit later, someone asked me, “Aren’t we supposed to board 1 hour before departure?” I asked him what time it was and it was 11:20 pm. We were supposed to leave 11:55 pm…and the plane was not even there yet. The screen still said we were leaving on time.

It wasn’t until 11:50 that we finally saw the plane. Still the screen said On Time. Don’t know how that works. They told us that we would be boarding in 10 minutes. Well, those 10 minutes lasted for a long time. The screen finally changed to 12:15 departure On Time. That still did not make sense since it was then 12:10. We finally started boarding at 12:20…and took off at 12:55…so only an hour late.

It will be a long flight. Next stop…Tahiti…French Polynesia.

Quick Note

Apparently no one was able to comment or anything on my blog. My brother said he fixed it...so feel free!

Preface

So I know I haven't said anything in a while. It really will be a while before I do any major postings, because I only have a limited amount of time on the internet. It has definately been an interesting experience so far. Lots of stuff has happened.

I hear that all anyone cares to hear about in big adventures are disaster stories. Well...everyone should love the first few posts, because I feel like I have one disaster story after another. You will have to read it with humor. Even though most of my postings will be well after the event, I think I might write as if it just happened that day. So it will be more in the present tense than past. Just to warn you, I tend to write the setting of the story to create a visual as if you were there, so they will be long (whenever I do get the chance to write). Plus, I will be writing from a journal that I have been writing in. Anyone who knows me well, knows I love to write in a journal during overseas trips. I have gone through MANY pages in my journal I recieved from my brother and sister-in-law. At least I won't forget anything. So I guess I will just start at the very beginning.

My journy actually began a year and a half ago after I came back from a Mission trip from Bulgaria. It was an amazing experience of building a Church, building relationships with people, talking with local teachers...I loved it. I have always loved to travel whether across the US or overseas. Bulgaria was my first long term Mission trip and it was an amazing experience (as I have stated before).

Anyway, when I got back, I really had a desire in my heart. This may seem strange, but I had a great desire...but had no idea what that desire was. All I knew was I had to get on my knees and pray. I felt that God was moving me in a direction, but I was not sure where that direction would lead me. So many times during the night (as early as 2:00 am-4:00 am) I would get out of my bed and pray, asking for direction, asking for guidence, asking for help.

I began to feel a pull toward going overseas. So I started researching teaching overseas. I found many opportunities, but I needed to have a TESOL certificate to teach English abroad. I really wanted to go to Europe or even South America. So I took a class to get the certificate. BIG MISTAKE. I loved the class, enjoyed the material and instruction, and loved the time I would get to spend with my friend Daisy after the classes were over (12 hours of classes on Saturday and Sunday for 3 weeks), but it led me to a dead end. When I recieved my certificate, I started searching for schools abroad. All I kept getting was "This certificate is not recognized. You need a different certificate." I got really frustrated and began to realize that my certificate was only recognized in China, Thailand, and Korea. Not the places I was looking into. If you have any questions about where or how to get a good certificate, come to me. Don't make my mistake.

Anyway, after a while, I got an email from a former college roommate of mine, Alison. She told me that she was going through an organization to help her get to New Zealand. She invited me to come with her. It intruiged me, so I started researching New Zealand (a place I never would have thought of on my own). I found an program just for teachers overseas. This program was actually paid by the schools to find teachers overseas and help find jobs in New Zealand. I was able to speak to a person over the phone (who actually works in Austrailia, but works for the schools in New Zealand...interesting). Anyway, I loved the way it sounded, and thus began my journy.

It just felt like the right thing for me. It suited my travel wants, it helped me get out of the state where teaching is not the position to get into, and I felt at peace...at the time. So then, I contacted Alison and told her my intentions, and we began our journy together planning, packing, and discussing where to go and what we wanted to do when we arrived.

Naturally, we were excited and nervous about not having jobs. The plan was I would get a job before we left, and she would follow me whereever and get a job in the area. But, as we well know, our plans never turn out right. I feel that this is the direction God wants me to go, even though I have no idea why. I am trying to trust in Him, but I have to admit that it is so hard to go blindly. Thankfully He has provided me with a wonderful support system of family and friends. They have been wonderful. I know God has a plan for me, and I will just trust that and see where He leads me.

And that is where I stop until next time. I am hoping the next post will be about the pre departure and the departure from the US to New Zealand. Good luck with your reading!

Just a Start

Well, this is my first official post, as the real first one was created by my brother...obviously. Anyway, I just wanted to start off by saying that I probably won't be writing everyday, but when I do write, it will probably be a book. So good luck with the reading (to the two of you who will even attempt to read any of my blogs). This is my first time ever using this, so expect many mistakes. Plus, I am currently in a room full of people and only have a limited time to use the internet, so at any time it could shut off and I will lose everything I wrote. Hope you enjoy this!

I am Leaving Tomorrow

I love my brother.  He is the best person in the world.  If I ever get rich I will give him half of my money.