The Long Road Ahead – Travel and Flight to PNG

04-May-2011, 0445 AM

The last weekend I spent in CT felt as if the world was closing in on me all of a sudden as the time crunch and countdown really started ticking.  For a person who is really somewhat organized, and I would surmise that my co-workers and even my family will vouch for that fact, I have never ever felt so disorganized.  Very early Monday morning—0200, as my brothers and I went back home to get some sleep, I thought at one point that I forgot the Canon digital camera that I must bring with me to PNG since my brother mentioned seeing  it on the countertop and wondered if I was going to be needing it.  In the end, he figured that I will be since I must have packed it, but, my mind was already wandering in all different angles that I didn’t even remember packing it in my carry-on.  When I finally went to sleep that morning, the little 3 hours that I managed to squeeze in, only then did I remember not enabling my Outlook out-of-office assistant.  I don’t know how I was still able to get some sleep that night because I was still thinking of many other things that I could have potentially forgot to do. 

I really do give thanks and credit to my youngest brother since he will be doing most of my business affairs while I am away, with some help and assistance from the rest of my core family.  We were still doing some last minute preparations when we got up that morning.  Choosing Theodore F. Green International Airport in Providence, RI as the start of my trip proved to be a wise decision since the travel on I-95 North was a very smooth and unencumbered ride.  I could only imagine what the ride and traffic would’ve been like had I flown from John F. Kennedy Airport in NYC.  The ride was fairly unremarkable since my mother managed to hold the tears back at this point.  After checking in at Delta Airlines, I spent a good hour with them still before finally checking in.  It is during this time when I said “I have to go” that I felt really sad and anxious inside because I am separating myself from them.  One can really picture the surface value of our close and tight family bond because we generally tend to consult with one another on big decisions and items on the table.  My PNG trip was laid upon my entire family on December 27^th, 2010, when the entire clan went to my house as I hosted our annual Holiday Event.  At the plane, just before I turned my Blackberry off, my sister sent me a text message about Mom finally breaking into tears as I walked away.  She actually had a picture of her wiping her tears and posted it in Facebook.  I know that my mother loves me very dearly and that she supports my work and professional decision to do this Fellowship for 6 months even though it pains her to think that I am actually going to be gone for that prolonged amount of time – and to that I thank her, and all of my clan for doing the same.

Arrival at Detroit MI was rather unremarkable.  By the time that I got off the plane, it was already time to check in on the next one.  I was somewhat taken aback when I found out that the longest leg of the flight will be on a Boeing 777 carrier.  Not that it matters, as long as I get to Hong Kong safely, but I thought that it was going to be on a Boeing 747, or maybe even an Airbus A380.  So much for that, eh?  The accommodations of the business class in this flight were rather nice I must say.  Spacious private pod, complementary beer, wine, cocktails, comforters, feather pillow, entertainment center—all of these provisions made for the grueling 15-hour flight much easier to tolerate.  I was able to catch up on my show The Tudors, the medieval England where Kings and Queens and Bishops, and peasants, embodied life, peppered with greetings such as “Your Majesty”, “Your Highness”, “Your Grace”, and “My Lady”. 

I arrived at Macau International Airport safely and I went through Immigration without problems.  2 large size and 1 medium size luggages were somewhat much for one person to carry but I managed through.  When I checked in at the Ticketing Agent for Air Niugini, I found out that I have to pay for the extra weight of my luggage since they only allowed up to 35 kilograms each.  So it was 4,200 Hong Kong Dollars, or $522 to be exact!  Totally unforeseen and unbeknownst to me that I will be paying for this much that I immediately thought about all the extra provisions that I brought and should have not , but I was prepared nonetheless.  I channeled my thoughts on the fact that this won’t be the problem focus of my trip.  The problems will be at the health centers where I will be working, and those are the things that I need to think and focus on.  The flight to PNG was turbulent at times and totaled approximately 5 or 6 hours.  But we landed at Jackson International Airport in Port Moresby without any problems.  (To be continued…)