Saturday, January 21, 2012

This UNV has landed!

and apparently so has the president of the Republic!

The flights were long, as expected, but, after sharing experiences with the other volunteers, it seems I got it easy, only 2 hours of waiting time at each stop (Frankfurt and the Singapore) while others had to sleep either at airports or in hotels along the way. One girl started her trip on Wednesday from Brasil and unfortunately her bags didn't manage to follow her!
The only thing I didn't manage to do was sleep on the way...in more than 36 hours I only managed 5 hours of very light sleep...lets just say that the entertainment system offered by Singapore Airlines didn't help either! I watched 8 films in all: 'The Warrior' (recommend), 'Dolphin Tale' (recommend but if you're a softie like me you will cry), 'The Whistleblower' (which coincidentally is about a scandal involving the UN in women trafficking in Bosnia, totally recommend it), 'I don't know how she does it' (I think SJP is losing her edge, not recommended), 'Drive' (loved the music and the film was good but not spectacular), 'Real Steel' (fun family action), 'One Day' (recommend), and 'Our Idiot Brother' which apparently wasn't memorable because I couldn't remember it for the longest time but it was funny!

And then, much to our surprise, on arrival in Dili (the flight was packed with UNVs and other international staff) there was an army committee waiting for us with uniforms, rifles flag and all! Yes, I did have a moment's thought of "Wow, they really know how to welcome their volunteers" until the President of the Republic stepped off and was welcomed by the committee ;)

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