GOT MY TICKET, GETTING READY TO GO...

I've finally got my ticket!!! I leave on June 16th (just over a week from now!) and I won't be back until June of next year. I've known that I would be leaving in mid-June since I was hired in February of course, but now it seems all the more real. I have a departure date and time. And a nice long 15 hour plane ride from Chicago to Hong Kong to look forward to. At least I'll be travelling with three other new teachers from MN/WI, whom I've already met.


Preparing to pack up and move away for two years takes a bit of planning and thinking out. Here are a few of those things I've done to get ready to go:

• Got a Lonely Planet guidebook: 908 pages, 198 maps, with information on all the major island groups. I am prepared to conquer all the villages of Indonesia now. It's not actually a huge book, just very dense. I also bought a book about travelling throughout Asia and another called "Tales of a Female Nomad," which I thought would make interesting reading. (The second book is by the same author of "More Spaghetti I Say!"; turns out she's had some pretty awesome adventures travelling the world.)
• Got vaccine shots for tetanus, Japanese encephalitis, and finished my hep. A series. Also took typhoid vaccine pills. There was a shot option for typhoid, but the pills last two years longer.
• Have my prescription stock of anti-malarial and anti-diarrhea medication. I fully plan on using both. The former as a preventative measure, the latter as damage control. 
• Bought a good pair of sports sandals. Sturdier than flip-flops, not as bulky as hiking boots.
• Decided to invest in a Kindle e-reader. It wasn't too terribly expensive (although I found it cost a bit more buy the version that doesn't show you ads - bah humbug to that!) and there are dozens of free downloads available, especially for classics and folk tales. A friend of a friend who is now living in Indonesia has said it's been invaluable to him. I love to read, but I can't have a library of paper books. It's no substitute for real books, but this might be a close second. 
• Not buying any clothes or extra things that I could just as easily buy in Jakarta. I have to remember that I'm going to be in a city of 10 million. I'm sure I can find most of what I need there. The only thing is, I won't really know what I can't find there until I am there. Oh well!
• Have an external hard-drive for the little computer I'm taking. Not like the days when my parents packed up their things for Kuwait and relied on school's computers to write letters home! I have the luxury of taking my documents and music and pictures with me.
• Met with a few other new hires who're also going to Bina Bangsa. There are four of us going from the Twin Cities and Wisconsin. We're all from the Midwest originally. (Seems likes it's true: the Midwest produces good teachers.) We went out for dinner in St. Paul and we've been keeping in touch.

What I still need to do:

• As soon as I find out my exact address in Indonesia, fill out the form to request my overseas ballot for the November election. Don't want to miss my chance to vote!
• Pack away things, pack up things. I'm taking one large suitcase to check, and one smaller suitcase to take as carry-on. That's it. I don't want to take anymore than that. At least I don't have to pack bulky sweaters or coats. I might buy a raincoat and umbrella when I get there.

It's getting very close to the 16th. I can't even really comprehend or imagine what turns my life is going to take. I'm not very nervous because I don't know what I ought to be nervous about. I'm just excited to be starting this new adventure.