I've been on this island for two weeks as of today. There are some things that I won't be able to write about because the nature of my job and the nature of the island, but those things are actually just a minor part of my experience here.
One of the most interesting I've noticed so far is that no one from DC has reached out to me to see how I'm doing. I've talked to quite a few people there, but it's always because I check in on them. I am not upset or angry or even saddened by this. The last few weeks of my time in DC sort of prepped me for that. I also think social media has a large part to play in this. I have posted some picture and shared some statuses explaining how happy I am to be here, so people may not feel a need to reach out. They think they have the full idea of how I'm doing. But as anyone who has ever posted on social media knows, we only post our best selves.
This entry will be sort of a reflection on the physical journey to get here. I left DC on a Sunday to head to Texas, where I would attend a training (we had to do a bunch of online modules) and get a physical/have some blood drawn. I would be in Texas from Sunday night to Tuesday morning, after which time I would fly to Honolulu for an evening before making the sojourn to Kwajalein.
My time in Texas was uneventful until one of my best friends semi-surprised me. She happens to be from the Dallas/Fort Worth area and her brother happened to be getting married the weekend after I was there. So when I texted her, she and her husband rearranged their plans to drive up earlier to have one last dinner with me before I left. They took me to this fantastic open air Mexican restaurant that serves nothing but fajitas and enchiladas. Anyone who knows me knows that true Mexican food is among my absolute favorite foods in the world, and as much as I may want California to hold up the gauntlet for northern mesoamerican cuisine, I must acquiesce that Texas is the new title holder. We caught up, laughed and took some pictures. It is friends like these that remind me how loved I am.
After being overstuffed with cheesy goodness, they dropped me off at my hotel. I do use the term hotel loosely though. One of the first things that the trainer said to us in our training was that women should not be in the back parking lot alone and if gentlemen decided to go to the strip club (that was within walking distance), they should be on the lookout for the pimps following them to the hotel because a few weeks ago one of the candidates for deployment was beaten up and robbed while grabbing a smoke in the middle of the night.
That notwithstanding, I went upstairs and got a good nights sleep. I had to be in the lobby at 5:00AM the following day to get to the airport to make the flight to Denver before heading to Honolulu.
I should mention that I made this trip from Dallas to Kwaj with a future coworker. He and I made it to the airport with some time to spare, so we took advantage of my lounge access and grabbed the free hot breakfast at the American Express Centurion Lounge at DFW. It was pretty cool, though I was a little sad I was there too early to take advantage of the free massages and manicures they offer. However, I did have a few mimosas to calm my nerves before the flight.
Getting to Denver was no big deal. Fortunately the United pilot knew how to land the aircraft gently, unlike the American Airlines pilot that basically slammed the plane down as hard as he could on the runway at DFW. I made a call to my grandmother and my mom, letting them know I was on my way! It was sort of weird calling my mom from DEN when she was only an hour away, knowing I wouldn't see her for a long time.
I made the decision to upgrade my seat from economy to first class on the flight from Denver to Honolulu. I can safely say that was probably the best decision I have made in the last month. I was able to lay flat and actually get sleep. I watched some TV, ate the surprisingly edible food United served me and didn't feel insanely tired when I landed in Hono.
While at the airport, my coworker and I had little direction from our employer as to where to go or what to do.... So after waiting about fifteen minutes, we realized we needed to go to the shuttle counter and order our own since no arrangements were made for us. Not a big deal. But then we waited around for an hour until a shuttle would take us to our hotel.
Fortunately, our hotel was in Waikiki. At check in, I was talking to the incredibly friendly front desk agent and let her know it was our first time in Hawaii (only sort of true, but it was my first time in over twenty years) and that I owned a travel agency back in DC. She gave us both complimentary upgrades to higher floors and a room with a king bed.
When I landed in HI, I opened up FB and saw that an old coworker from my last job before starting my company was also in Honolulu. Turns out she was staying at a hotel about a quarter of a mile away from me. So I texted her and she was free for dinner! We grabbed drinks and burgers at Dukes on Waikiki beach. We caught up about all of the things that happened in our lives over the last two years. She had gotten married, switched jobs a few times and was doing really well. I hadn't really had much happen in my life save for this new adventure.
But it was a surreal moment. I had said my goodbyes to the people in my life when I left DC. I wasn't expecting to see anyone in Dallas let alone Hawaii. But I am so thankful and happy that I got to see people along my trip to my new home.
We had another early morning the following day, so I think I was asleep by 9:00pm. When we arrived to the airport the next day at 5:00AM, the first thing that struck me was how open air the entire airport was. I guess that you can do that when your average temperature doesn't get below 72˚F.
We checked in for our flight and headed over to the gate area. It was under construction and there wasn't much sitting room, but my coworker and I found a spot and hunkered down. I asked the gate agent about another upgrade and she let me know I was first on the list. Having status on United finally paid off because I was able to snag a business class seat from Hawaii to Kwajalein through our stopover in Majuro. It was a long flight but no longer than flying DC to LA so I was comfortable.
I didn't get off the plane in Majuro but some folks did. I had wifi on the plane and a window seat so it was easier to stay on board than climb over the gentleman next to me.
After about twenty minutes, folks re-boarded and we were off to Kwajalein!
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