Important Update

It took two days, but the hotel found Diet Coke for me!

That is all.

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Overwhelmed with All the Feels

Wow. That is the best word I can put around yesterday. There are better words that can be used – gracious, exhilarating, warm, joyful, welcoming. However, I was so overwhelmed and dumbstruck that “WOW” was about all I could mutter.

The day started out fairly normal. We flew from Jakarta to Solo City. Uneventful.

Then, we arrived at the airport and things started to accelerate. We were met at baggage claim by four representatives from our hotel. We were presented with leis. They were beautiful and smelled amazing. The scent reminded me of the white ginger flower from Hawaii. When we arrived at the shuttle to the hotel they had cool, fragrant towels waiting for us and a cooler full of water and Coke.

When we walked into the hotel we were greeted by a large contingency of their staff dressed in their batik best. Quickly we were given a traditional Javanese snack and ginger drink. Then, we were treated to a traditional Javanese dance. It was beautiful and the dancer was gorgeous and graceful. Everyone we encountered during our greeting time was warm and had gracious smiles. We were given our room keys, went to our rooms and our luggage was delivered within a short time. The hotel is amazing. It is so full of Indonesia heritage. It seems every inch of it is covered in Indonesia art and history – even in the rooms. Stunning, really.

We were given a brief tour of the city around the hotel and had dinner at the street stalls. I had noodles and they were quite good. I think the area around our hotel should be pretty easy to navigate. I just need to find some Diet Coke to keep in my room. I am really missing my Diet Coke and anything diet soda-wise is near impossible to find.

Our sub-team had a brief meeting to review the statement of work for the organization we are partnering with. Then, several of us met by the pool to deconstruct the day – which was utterly amazing.

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A Day for Relaxation

Friday ended up being mostly a day for relaxation - which I really needed after the travel from earlier in the week.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post I did not sleep well Thursday night. However, I wanted to make sure I stayed awake all day Friday, but also wanted to do some self-care. I ended up getting a massage at the hotel (turns out several of us did). Prices for a hotel massage here about about 1/3 of the cost it would be in the US. I enjoyed the massage very much and followed it up with some time in the steam room. I even braved the cold plunge pool! I felt like a new person afterward and my muscles were no longer aching.

For lunch a teammate and I found a local food chain called PepperSteak (I think). We both ordered the chicken and mushroom curry (see picture on the left). It was served on a hot skillet with the chicken still cooking. Once the chicken was cooked I mixed it together with everything else and it was quite good. I was really glad we happened upon this place and gave it a try.

I enjoyed the hotel pool for a little while. It's a fun little oasis and I could hardly hear the crazy traffic from outside the hotel.

For dinner the entire team (minus Yemisi, who was still traveling) met for dinner. We were taken a an Indonesia restaurant in the mall across from our hotel. I got lamb fried rice and an avocado chocolate smoothie. Both were good, but I REALLY like the smoothie. There were also an assortment of crackers on the tables that we enjoyed trying - most seemed rice based with different flavoring - like seaweed. We had to guess and what we were tasting, but it was all interesting to try.

After dinner about half of us went to the restaurant on the mezzanine level of our hotel and visited for a couple of hours. It's so good to be getting to know everyone better. I say "better" because we've been chatting on What's App for many weeks and it feels like we already know each other.

Now, the work starts.

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Exhuasting, but All is Well

The last three days have been quite tiring, but I have made it to Jakarta!

Tuesday was my last work day. I expected it to be slow, but then a program on my computer crashed and I spent several hours chatting with tech support. Packing was really exhausting. I did not expect that. There was so much to take - a combination of things I had to take and things I wanted to take. It took some time, but I eventually got things culled down to two suitcases just under 50#s each.

Wednesday my husband and I left for the airport at 3:45am. I had a 6:15am flight to Dallas. Fortunately, my bags are booked all the way to Jakarta. After saying our goodbyes I went through security, found myself some coffee and waited for boarding time.

My flight itinerary: American Airlines Kansas City to Dallas (2 hours), Dallas to Hong Kong (17 hours) and Cathay Pacific Airlines Hong Kong to Jakarta (5 hours). The flights were uneventful, no major delays, good food, my luggage arrived intact, customs was a breeze, but I was pretty miserable and exhausted by the time we landed. Fortunately, checking into the hotel was simple, too, and I was able to get to bed pretty quickly.

Now, it's Friday morning. I lost a day in the there traveling. Kind of crazy. I guess when I arrived in Hong King it was Thursday at that point. I didn't sleep very long last night, but feel pretty alert this morning. Today, I will be adjusting to the time change and the rest of the team arrives.

This has become very real, now.

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Pre-packing

A big part of getting ready for my trip to Indonesia has been pre-planning. I've been quite intent with this in order to not arrive at the weekend before my trip freaking out over how many things I need to do before leaving the country for over five weeks. One part of this has been my pre-packing.

About two weeks ago I pulled out my two suitcases, opened them up and took them into my office. Since then I've been tossing things in them that I will need for the trip, but don't need before then. Being able to fit all these items and then some into my suitcases seems a little daunting right now, but then I remind myself that there are two full-sized suitcases under that messy pile. That doesn't mean I won't be removing things when the actual packing begins, but a girl can hope.

Because I've been doing this and running errands on a regular basis I really don't have much prep work that still needs to be completed before I officially pack on Tuesday.

Thursday night Steve and I went on a date night; Friday night we went to a friend's retirement party; today we went to the Renaissance Festival and will be going to a new Bible study this evening; tomorrow will be church and meeting with the person who is taking over the Walk with Compassion. This leaves me with only having to worry about work, laundry and packing for Monday and Tuesday, There should even be some time in there for playing a few board games with Steve.

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A little overwhelmed

This morning the team had our final call before we leave for Indonesia. For the first time I am feeling a little overwhelmed. Generally, I feel prepared. I've been pre-packing and have all my pre-trip errands run and items purchased. I don't think there is more I can do to prepare.

But, now it's all the little questions that come up - is it better to exchange cash or use the ATM? how much cash should I take? did I give the proper information to my bank and credit card company? have I counted out my meds correctly? have I left anything off my packing list? how long will it take me to get used to using the Rupiah?

I've been watching the clock for the past 24 hours. It's shocking to me that by this time next week I will have been traveling for over 27 hours and will be about an hour from landing in Jakarta.

Plus, I'm super excited to meet all my teammates in person!

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Techno Park

I've received my work assignment and been placed on my sub-team. All in all the 13 of us have been divided into four projects. I will be working with two others from our team - a gentleman from Ireland and a gentleman from India.

The organization we will be working for is Techno Park. It is a government organization, but relies on public funds for operations. Basically, it is a two-fold organization - there is skills training for 18-35 year olds and there is a business incubator. Our tasks loom large and we'll see what kind of scale we end up working on once we are there and have a chance to visit with the people at the business and find out the best things we can do in four weeks to meet their needs.

Their requests are
1. Conduct research to assess labor demand from companies in Solo City to enhance future planning and training programming and gather information about improving access to financing opportunities.
2. Provide recommendations on a database system to record and store accurate labor market data.
3. Develop a roadmap for management of the incubator program, linking participants with investors. 

Those are pretty big requests - and likely more than we can do in four weeks. So, our first task will be meeting with our stakeholders to find out more about the company and really dig in to what their pain points are, do a root cause analysis and agree on what we can best do to meet their needs.

It all seems a little daunting right now, but I'm sure once we are in-country and have a chance to meet and learn from our hosts my footing will feel a little more assured.

Eight days until wheels up!

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Travel Plans

As of today, all my travel plans are booked for Indonesia except for the hotel for the three night I will be in Jakarta upon my arrival.

The trip to and from Indonesia is going to be a long haul - about 30 hours of travel time. I actually paid a little extra for six extra inches of legroom on the two longest flights.

I leave Oct. 4 at 6:15am from Kansas City and fly to Dallas (two hours); from Dallas I fly to Hong Kong (17 hours); and from Hong Kong I fly to Jakarta (7 hours). The rest of the time is layovers - which fortunately seem to be just the right length.

I arrive in Jakarta on Oct. 5 and will spend three days there. Day one will just be me trying to adjust to the 12 hour time difference. Days two and three will be spent with my other CSC team members at IBM's office in the city. On Oct. 8 we fly from Jakarta to Solo City (aka Surakarta) and this is just a 1 hour 20 minute flight.

While we are in Solo City we will be staying at the Royal Surakarta Heritage Hotel. For CSC standard (and for my standards) it's very nice. Typically, CSC team members stay in a more local-type three star hotel, but these must be hard to find in Solo City. The hotel even has a small pool and a workout room. So, I'm looking forward to being able to run without having to leave the hotel.

On Nov. 4 I fly (with several other team members heading the same way) to Bali for a week of vacation. I'm staying at a super cool, very Balinese looking hotel for the week. I plan to scuba dive Nov. 5 & 6. Then, I will explore the island for two days. On Nov. 9 I have made reservations for a day at a spa. It's crazy cheap - and I may never get the opportunity to indulge myself like this, again.

Nov. 10 I fly back to Jakarta. I purposefully picked a late flight (9:15pm) so I have almost another full day in Bali.

Nov. 11 I leave SUPER EARLY to fly back. I'll fly from Jakarta to Tokyo (seven hours); from Tokyo to Dallas (14 hours); and from Dallas to HOME (two hours)!

I can hardly believe I leave in just 23 days. However, I feel good about my preparation. It's nice to know all the plans that I needed to figure out are confirmed. Also, I feel like I've been doing a good job of making a packing list, picking up things as I'm out and about (and from Amazon Prime) that I will need while in-country and finding what will be business appropriate clothing for the assignment.

And, of course, there were the vaccinations. Now, I have to decide if it's worth paying for TSA pre-approval.

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My Visa Arrived!

I sent off for my visa on Wednesday, August 30. It was transported via UPS and included several things - including my physical passport. I understand why they needed my passport, but it was still disconcerting to put it in the hands of others, have it travel to Chicago and back and go who knows where throughout the Consulate of Indonesia. I was relieved when it arrived on my doorstep this afternoon.

The physical part of sending off my for my visa wasn't that complicated. I had to include copies of my invitation letters, a copy of my flight itinerary, a money order for $50, two passport photos, my passport and a self-addressed, pre-paid return envelope from UPS. A lot to keep track of, but not that complicated to gather.

However, the online application took awhile. I had to provide a large amount of personal information, my flight itinerary (including flight numbers and times) , my hotel information (including the address and dates of stay), the details of who wrote my sending letter and who wrote my invitation letter, how long my stay would be, my passport information, where I would be going and why I would be visiting. They definitely make you work for it.

Now that I have my visa I believe I have all the important information for my travels. The flights and hotel are booked and I have permission to stay in the country (although, they make it very clear I could still be refused entry upon arrival).

Soon I'll be posting details about what my actual travels to and from Indonesia will be like.

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IBM Corporate Service Corps - Heading to Indonesia

IBM has a great program in which they send about 500 employees every year into emerging markets across the world to assist local NGOs and governments develop and bring to fruition projects that will help the organizations further advance their objectives. It's called Corporate Service Corps.

There is a high standard for getting in. The application process includes three essay questions that can be pretty personal in their nature - depending on how you choose to answer them and how vulnerable you are willing to make yourself. I don't know how many people apply for it annually, but only about 10% of those who apply get selected. I applied in 2014 and did not make the cut. I applied in 2016 and was ecstatic when I received my "Congratulations! You made it!" email.

If I recall correctly, applications had to be turned in sometime in April. I don't remember what the essay questions were, but I wrote pretty soul-bearing responses to them and I thought that level of sharing would either make or break my being considered for the program. Apparently, soul-bearing way okay.

In early August Steve and I were getting ready to begin a week of vacation in New York. I had been working for the day out of a hotel room in St. Louis while Steve attended a conference. I was just about to sign off of my computer for the week when I received my acceptance email. I immediately started crying. Of course Steve was quite concerned and I had to assure him they were happy tears.

Move forward 11 months and I finally got my assignment - Team Indonesia 8. I was informed I would be going with 12 other IBMers from 11 countries as part of the eighth team to make an impact in Indonesia. We would be going in October and would spend four weeks in Solo City (Surakarta).

In July October seemed a long way off. However, the team has been doing a lot of pre-work and between the weekly calls, individual studying and getting my visa application in the mail (finally!) we are now just about a month away from being in-country.

I've yet to know what my specific assignment will be and I'm eager to find out both that and what sub-team I will be working with.

I'll be maintaining this blog for the next 2-3 months with the final weeks of pre-work, updates while we are in-country working on our assignments and showing final results once our work is complete.

Stay tuned for what is sure to be the adventure of a lifetime!

Find out more about IBM Corporate Service Corps.

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