First time mo?

I still remember the euphoria I felt when I was considered at VSO. It was a roller coaster of emotions. I was thrilled at the same time afraid for some reservations and fear of the unknown.

Going down memory lane…

Mozambique was my first placement overseas with VSO. Africa is a dream place for me and for no apparent reason, I imagined it as mysterious but beautiful. The thought of landing in Africa gave me an indescribable feeling of excitement. But more to that was the thrill of flying aboard Cathay Pacific. “Sa isip ko class eto, sosyal”. It will be my first time to travel overseas aboard Cathay Pacific Boeing 747. Yes, I can’t be wrong, It’s Cathay Pacific Boeing 747 bound for Johannesburg. How can I forget that? Ok, ok let me tell you. Back in high school, I delivered the class prophecy. In that piece of document, I was prophesized to fly aboard Cathay Pacific Boeing 747 from the Big Apple going home. I don’t know if it’s a mere coincidence or the prophecy was coming to realize…nah…forget it. The reality is I am going to Mozambique a place I haven’t even heard nor encountered in my geography class.

No Amount of Preparation…

No amount of preparation had kept me relax. February 12, 2002 was the big day. My emotions were mixed at that time. There were many things going on in my mind. It was in limbo. I was afraid at the same time excited because it will be my first time, you know. The pre-departure orientation was quite helpful somehow, with tips and advices but there was information overload. What settled in my mind was the 25 kgs of luggage allowance and that was it. I felt secured because I am going with a friend and fellow volunteer in my batch who will be posted as well in Mozambique. She is by the way a petite woman who exudes beauty, charm and brain combined. It was not her first time to travel overseas having had the opportunity to travel out of the country in her previous job. Having internalized all the tips in the pre-departure orientation, we agreed to weigh and re-weigh everything to avoid check-in hassles and thought where to get a weighing scale. We were at the clinic of Dr. Millette Baleva getting our last shots of boosters and saw the weighing scale. Using our charm, we were successful in taking the weighing scale out of St. Luke’s to a Pension in Ermita where I was staying and then to Pasig City where my fellow volunteer stays.

NAIA here I come…

I was definitely ready. Everything seemed to be in order. I was pretty sure, I’ll have fun on my first time. I reckoned it must be heaven to fly up above the Indian Ocean for 13 long hours. NAIA here I come! We were on time as agreed 3 hours before ETD (Expected Time of Departure. Our ETD was 8:15 in the evening bound for Hongkong and so we were there at around 5:00 in the afternoon, pretty cool. I should say my friend and fellow volunteer was elegant that afternoon in her dress with a shade of red and a black blazer. First tip from her – when you travel overseas you need to wear a formal dress that is respectable in other words “kagalang-galang”. I gave my nod and said I’ll do that next time. That time I was just sporting a casual wear and following the experience of others I wore 3 layers that day, a t-shirt, a sweat shirt and a thick jacket, whew too heavy and very hot I should say I was sweating. We checked in as a group to maximize our luggage weight. Everything at the NAIA that early evening was chaos. Everyone was busy with their own thing moving from one direction to another which seems to go nowhere but move. There was a long queue that we have to follow but I was a bit worried looking at our luggages. She has two (2) check in suitcases plus hand carried bag and some other things while I had one (1) big luggage weighing at around 28 kgs and a back pack as my hand carried luggage plus some other things contained in paper and plastic bags.

Culprit – Likas Papaya Beauty Soap…

Good Afternoon, Kumusta? – was our greetings at the check in counter with a big smile. We checked in our luggage through to Maputo City with a little explanation that we will be doing voluntary work in Africa for 2 years. To my surprise, our checked-in luggage tared at 80 kgs in total. Oh my God, I was shocked! How come? I was throwing many questions than she could answer at that moment. Fresh from WRV (Wider Role of the Volunteer Training) course, she tried her negotiation skills combined with charm, all the angles that she could muster were exhausted. “We are volunteers and we are bringing books with us” please allow us. We don’t have extra penny to pay for excess baggage. Can I speak to your Manager, she pleaded. It was a long discussions and negotiations we almost miss the flight.

The scene at the counter changes into a feast and charity of some sort (LOL). The airline spared us a total of 60 kgs as our checked in which I thought was not bad at all. Still, this means that we have to unload and leave behind 20 kgs from our luggage. Oh my god, how can we do this? First, we unpacked her luggage. The culprit - 48 pieces of Likas Papaya Beauty Soap. I can’t believe this. How can this be? The first thing that she had to give up was the big pack of Jelly ace. I can’t remember how many pieces I ate without really enjoying the jelly ace I used to enjoy. The mood was festive as I offered kids with Jelly ace. It was a difficult decision to make but she has to decide the fate of the 48 pieces of “Likas Papaya Soap” (LOL). Desperate and exhausted, She gave up at least 24 pieces of the soap. We have no choice, we have to leave behind one of her luggage containing things of lesser importance.

The clock was ticking. We have not passed through the immigration counter yet. It was 7:30 and the queue was eternally long. I was sweating hard I can’t contain my heartbeat. Imagine my three (3) layers attire that early evening. I am going to explode. I felt I need a toilet. I started to become panicky and antsy. We have to leave the luggage behind but the security guard won’t accept it fearing it might be a security threat. SOS, I called Lyn (a fellow volunteer) who sent us off at the airport for rescue.

Location please?...

Joel: “Hi Lyn, this is Joel. I need your help. Grabe ang nangyayari ditto I can’t explain it right now. We are now proceeding to the immigration. I need to leave one luggage. Where are you?
Lyn: We are here at the chapel, she replied…at the second level.
Joel: Ok, I am going out right now. Which chapel is that? Where is it located?
Lyn: At the second level
So I went up to the second level, looked for the Chapel and found it without difficulty.
Joel: I am here at the chapel now but I can’t see you. Oh my God Lyn, I am running out of time. I need to go now. I’m gonna leave the luggage at the Security counter. Just ask for it. I’ll leave instructions. Bye. Sorry and thank you.

We passed the immigration with few questions. We ran as if it was life and death. We were the only passenger everyone was waiting for. Everyone was seated comfortably, when we boarded the plane and everyone was looking at us like they wanted to eat us. We definitely looked haggard, torn out, gang raped (sorry for lack of word to describe it) – that was how I thought and felt at myself that evening. Everyone of course had the opportunity to stare at us as we are seated at the tail end part of the aircraft - how about that?

When the plane finally took off, we were just silent. I was recalling what had happened. Everything went quick and fast. Finally, we had started to settle down. Suddenly she apologized and cried for spoiling my “first time”. I can’t help but replied. Nah…it’s okay.

“Wow Mali”…

Few days after, we communicated with VSO Bahaginan and our sigla group (our batch name) that we arrived safe, sound and complete and shared our unforgettable experience. Indeed, everything was “wow mali” that day as we learned that lyn and company were actually at the NAIA terminal 2 while we were at the terminal 1 – how about that? (LOL).

As they say, there is always “first time”. And whether good or bad, will always leave an indelible mark in our mind. They make our experiences in life richer.