We Hope This Is Not A Sign

If packing was chaos, the journey to Jakarta was pure hell. The travel agency the school used instructed us to go to the International Terminal at O’Hare even though we were flying American Airlines (AA) to LA first. Dad objected but humored us anyway, only to proven correct. That’s not the only thing Dad was right about. The weight of our baggage was checked but not the dimensions—still I did not want to take the chance of having to pay ~$200 fine.

Our flight was delayed over an hour and a half, which caused us to miss our flight to Taipei. We went back and forth between AA and EVA Airways and even the travel agency—none seemed willing to help and only pointed the finger at each other. The worst part was that only 5 out of 6 of our baggage were transferred to EVA. Even after 8 hours of talking to everyone and anyone, we still could not locate our box or get confirmed seats to Taipei or Jakarta. At least we got to spend some time with Ate Malou.

It was 21 hours after our arrival at LAX that we finally got confirmed seats to Taipei. Still, there was no guarantee that we’d be able to get on the flight to from Taipei to Jakarta, and there was no sign of our box. Worst was that the missing box contained the baby essentials: Avent breast pump, baby bottles, pacifiers, sterilizers, etc., in addition to my beloved Cutco Space Saver Knife Set and Corelle dishes (the two things that I knew would make anywhere feel more like home). We thought that maybe the box was already in Jakarta or that it would show up somehow—how could it not?

As soon as we got our boarding passes, we bid farewell to Ate Malou and headed for the security check. Dennis was so eager to get on the plane that he left both of our cell phones at security. We didn’t realize this until we were in route to Taipei. It was a long flight, and Dennis was thankful that we were seated at the emergency exit aisle. He was able to stretch his legs out completely.

The very little of Taipei that we saw reminded me of Japan where the males were made up just as much if not more than the females. They stood just outside of their respective shops dressed in all black—tight, long sleeve shirts and skinny jeans—hair perfectly styled, nonchalant stances, and carefully applied makeup for which I’ve never had the patience to use. I’ve always been amused at how many of them are prettier than their female counterparts.

 
There were no seats for us on the day’s only flight to Jakarta, but when Dennis explained that we were teachers and that EVA personnel at LAX had sent a telex regarding our status, they bumped us up to Business Class. For the first time since we left home, something actually went our way.