Settling In

Everything up until now has been a bit random and hectic. Today has been what I consider a normal day. (Note: there are activities planned for the evening, so my opinion on this may not last.)

I tried to sleep late (7:30) this morning but remembered that Leo must be home by now, so got up a 6:00 to give him a call. In case you don't know about a free program called "Skype", it allows you to call another computer anywhere in the world for free, or a regular telephone or cell phone for a small fee. I called from Skype to Leo's phone and we talked for an hour for about $2! It was so very nice to hear his voice and to chit-chat without being in a big hurry. He sounds VERY happy to be home.

After the phone call, I went out for breakfast so my room could get cleaned. In case you haven't read my posts elsewhere, I am paying about $235/day for a VERY basic room. The view out my window is a concrete wall, the room is small and a bit cramped (considering I'll be living here for 10 days), but the location is good and the bed is comfortable.

At breakfast, one of my new business associates from the Southern Highlands region happened along and we had a nice visit together. After breakfast, I went back to my room to take care of some homework and get ready for class. I attended class (online) from 10:00-11:30. We tackled a new topic, something that I am eager to get started learning more about, so it was a very good class. After that, I did tackle some work projects. I am a little "hamstrung" today since I remembered to bring my printer, went out yesterday to buy some paper, but noticed last night that I don't have a printer cable with me!

In the early afternoon, a 5-minute DOWNPOUR passed through the city. It was amazing how quickly it came and went! After things cleared up, I packed my roll-up raincoat in my bilum (a traditional string bag) and went for a walk.

The beach is just across from my hotel, and because the wind was blowing nicely, I didn't realize just how far I'd gone in the hot sun before turning around and having to come the same distance back. Although I saw no other Caucasians on my walk, I was pleasantly surprised at how friendly the people I encountered were. No one bothered me, but when I stopped to look at something or gave any indication I was curious or wanted to talk, most of them were eager to engage in conversation.

A concrete seawall lines a long stretch of the beach, and there is some kind of program going on to encourage city youth to paint scenery on the wall as a beautification effort. The effects are really outstanding. Some of the graphics are simple and colorful, while others are detailed and quite artistic. As I walked, groups of young men began to set up along the wall to begin their painting for the afternoon. They were friendly and inquisitive, occasionally asking me questions, and always eager to answer mine. By the time I got back to the hotel I was red-faced and sweating, but it was an absolutely glorious day for a walk and I don't regret it. I can't wait to get out in the city more.

So far, here are the outings I've been on:

• I set up a checking account at ANZ bank
• I visited a grocery store and stocked up on bottled water
• I visited an electronics store just to check out the options
• I took a drive out to Waigani to look at a 6-bedroom house as a possibility for a room rental
• I have eaten EVERY meal here at the hotel and am READY for a change :-)
• I visited 2 locations, one in the city, and one further out, that are available as office rentals

I also have a few exciting outings planned on Sunday:

• I have been invited to attend church with a man who sometimes serves as my driver and his family
• I have been invited out for a 3-hour drive into the surrounding hills to see more of the country than just Port Moresby

I'm working hard, staying busy, and still encounter a heck of a lot unknowns here, but I am also having a BLAST exploring this beautiful, friendly country!

Making Progress

I'm sitting in the airport in Brisbane now. (It's a beautiful airport, by the way.) We still have an hour-and-a-half before the flight leaves for Port Moresby. As soon as I get there, there will be one more hurdle, one more mountain to climb. The Visa system for getting into PNG is a little, well, different. I'm trying to get in on a business visa, which is a step up in complexity from a tourist visa. While I'm there, I will also be upgrading to a work visa, something that generally takes months to approve.

Still, some things about the trip have been problematic and troublesome, while others have made up for the trouble in a BIG way. So far, I am VERY pleased with my progress. And if my luck (aka God's helping hand) in the process holds out, I will be in my hotel and ready to get to work by 6pm. Still...that's a really long way to go. I think I'm prepared, however, and I KNOW I'm ready to get to work. My time here at the kiosk is about to run out, but I did want to let everyone know I'm doing fine and have almost made it to my destination.

Stuck in L.A.

Most of my friends on Twitter and Facebook have been following my little adventures, but a few people only follow me here, so I thought I'd provide an update.

Rebecca came to Port Lavaca on Thursday to help me pack, make sure she can cover for me while I'm gone, and go over some of the ExxonMobil project updates. In other words, in many ways, she's going to be me for a while. We had a good time together, and on Friday morning, she gave me a ride. Our first stop was the post office, where on a wing and a prayer, I posted two packages to be sent to PNG. The first one contained my school books, a couple of novels (for friends) and a couple of children's books (to give away). The second package contained my old [beloved] laptop, with a handful of keys missing...the one that I use to conduct ExxonMobil business. We think we can expect them to show up in a week, but the guy at the post office made no promises.

With only one more stop at Taco Bell for a delicious "last Texas meal" we headed straight for the airport where I was dropped off. Thankfully, my 2 packed suitcases made it just barely under the weight limit and I was checked in. I caught my flight to Dallas (DFW) with no trouble.

In Dallas, I had a long layover. While the Dallas airport is really nice, even the ticket agent I talked to told me to watch carefully for a gate change. She was right. My first gate was one of the A gates, but within a few minutes of my arrival, it was changed to C24. After sitting there a bit, I checked the board and confirmed with the agent that yes, my gate was now moved to D20. I ate supper at TGIFridays (yum!) and sat around D20 for an hour or so. One more look at the board and a confirmation with an agent, and off I was again, back to gate C24. Now if you haven't been to DFW, getting around the airport is relatively easy, but it still takes time. The distance between C and D terminals is big, requiring you to go up and down escalators, catch trams, and the like. So DFW offered no rest for me.

Next arrival was at Los Angeles (LAX). I have to admit that I don't remember much about passing through there. Our flight from DFW was delayed, so all of the International passengers were allowed to disembark first. When I reached my gate, loading had started.

We were flying on a 747-400, although it was not totally full (like the other flights had been). It took a long time to get loaded and take off. I was trying, largely unsuccessfully, to prepare for the 14-hour flight. About 2 hours into it, the pilot came over the intercom to explain that we had a little problem with the plane that could not be fixed mid-air and we would be returning to LAX. We sat in the plane for about half an hour while the engineers took a look at the situation. It turned out to be damage to the outer starboard wing flap. Because they could not retract the flap, the drag it was causing on the plane meant we would not have enough fuel to continue the flight, which is why the pilot brought us back. We were taken off the plane, loaded into buses, and shipped to Doubletree hotel. That is where I sit no as I write this.

I went to bed sometime this morning between 4am and 5am and got some good sleep. Up at 9:30, I called the airlines to find out our plane is scheduled to leave LAX tonight at 10:30. We will now be flying to Sydney, and will board another plane for Brisbane. Oh, and the flights together will take 16 hours. (Have I mentioned how much I do NOT like commercial flying?)

Anyway...that's where things stand now. It's 4pm here and I think I'm going to leave my room for the first time today. While I have gotten some sleep, it was not very restful so I feel a little worn out. Still, Doubletree is a heck of a lot better than being stuck at the airport or worse yet, sitting in the Pacific ocean, so I think I'm going to be fine. I appreciate the good thoughts coming my way for you guys and hope to follow up with good news soon.

Lots of Fun Things Going On

Rebecca and I are really working hard to get things settled before I leave the country. Still, I know there are things we are going to "miss", and others we are just not going to be able to get around to. This week, I have a business conference in Houston on Monday, several projects to bring to a close, a couple to make significant progress on, and 2 that must be started and taken as far as possible. I also still need to take care of seeing a doctor before packing my bags.

I've heard from Leo via email on a pretty regular basis, but also got a phone call from him this week, which was really nice. The company that pays the company he works for was having a little difficulty in paying their bills, which had me worried, but a corporate bailout (of sorts) calmed us all down (okay, calmed ME down, that is) and we are assured that Leo will keep getting those paychecks.

School activities are ramped up a bit as I have begun digging into some projects that require significant time and effort. In Grants and Proposals, I am making contacts, filling out forms, and preparing a very large project proposal for two different activities. One of these is my pet project of providing some inexpensive laptops to technical workers/students in PNG, and the other is newer and involves providing donated books to children on a remote island to the west of PNG. In Teaching Technical Communications I am getting prepared to observe a college instructor to discover what class prep activities could be important to me in my teaching. We also read a LOT of a wide variety of material for that class. My Publications Management class may be the most demanding of all as I am scheduled to create, implement, and provide training for a new database for use by my company, Herries-ETS. This project is costing me a lot in valuable time, but I'm definitely hoping the final product will make it worth my while.

The refrigerator issue is still one that has me baffled. I paid for a unit on October 14, and not only have we not received it, we continue to get reports that it will come "on the next shipment". That's simply amazing. The problem is, I don't have time to deal with this problem! But...it has to be dealt with, so it is also on my list for the week. In other house news, the loft is finished except for the painting, as is true of most of the other odds-and-ends items on our list. It is entirely possible that by the time I leave for PNG, there will be no outstanding items at all.

Hope everyone is doing fine. I'll do my best to check in again before I board that flight in Houston on the 19th to head for "the land of the unexpected".