Two weeks and counting
Counting down now to just a couple of weeks. There have been a few developments that I thought I would mention.
I still haven't gotten this visa thing taken care of. Normally this would be easy. Fill out the application, get money order($70), get PassPort photo taken($12), obtain a letter from the company that is sending me(not so easy), and send away for a few days. The letter from Avianco was the sticking point. I was limited on my time frame because I couldn't just send my PassPort away for a week. I need it to fly. So time passed by and I didn't get the letter. I e-mailed several requests, but it never got done. Then, the time came when I didn't have time to send it away. Hmmm. Well, I called the Embassy and asked them if I really needed to send my PassPort with the application. It isn't very clear on the guidelines, but alas, I needed to send it in. I probably could have worked out an arrangement with Horizon to fly in and out of Canada with a letter or something, but I still never got the letter from Avianco in time.
So, now I guess we are going to get the Visa upon arrival.
I am still leaving on Thanks Giving, but because of the schedule of Ethiopian Airlines, I will spend a night in Washington D.C.. The messed up part of this is that I was originally going to be arriving in Addis in the early evening of Friday the 27th. I would have been able to stay up a little bit and go to sleep on a somewhat “normal” Ethiopian schedule, but now I will arrive in the AM on Saturday the 28th. This means that my “orientation/acclimation” day is going to be tough! I guess I will have to get some of that coffee they keep talking about.
So, all of this flying is going to be new to me. Not because I don't fly, but because I am going to be doing this as a “regular” passenger. This is very new to me. So I enrolled in 3 millage plans. Air Canada, United, and Ethiopian Airlines. This could be a cool thing if I do this enough. It's a little strange boarding an airplane and having to act like a real passenger......I have rights!
I am on my way to Toronto for a meeting with the president of the company that is sending my to Africa. This meeting is to hand off some AV equipment that I will need for the training. I am getting some uniform pieces too. I suppose there will be some paperwork to be filled out as well.
I have been working on some presentation stuff for the topics I am going to be teaching. Mostly just copy and paste stuff. The subjects are things I know pretty well. But what I don't know is how my delivery methods will be received. Normally I teach by the “firehose” method. Meaning, that when the students get to me they have already been through extensive training. They are expected to know certain things. I run them through the sim training to get them up to speed on how to fly this airplane, and in some cases....how to be an airline pilot.
I adjust well, however, if needed for different types of students learning abilities. This time I think I am going to have to really take my time and deliver this material on a plate with a spoon.
This meeting that I am attending in Toronto should be interesting. If I feel good about the outcome, and I am not left with more questions than answers, then this is going to be a grand adventure!
