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.

#IBMCSC #CSCIndo8

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!

#IBMCSC #CSCIndo8

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!

#IBMCSC #CSCIndo8

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.

#IBMCSC #CSCIndo8

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.

#IBMCSC #CSCIndo8