Traveling completely alone has always been something I have wanted to do but never truly done.. Yes I have traveled with a friend, parent, organization, group etc but never just me! But today I can say I am!
A few weeks ago I was invited on an amazing opportunity to go to Indonesia with Cisco's MEDI (Middle Eastern Diversity & Inclusion) group for their fifth Developing Local Talent in Technology (DLTT) workshop. There were four tracks in IP telephony, wireless, security & Professional Development. I was apart of the Professional Development track and led some of the activities. It was an incredible learning experience and fun first business trip! I am excited to see where my path will lead from this. I was able to extend my network and have made some very good connections with a few Cisco managers. My resume has now been submitted for their internship program which I hope I am picked for for this upcoming summer.
The trip taught me a lot about Cisco in general and it is definitely a company I would love to work for and feel am a good fit for. Who knows what will happened but regardless the experience was one of a kind and a wonderful opportunity.
Since I traveled the 22 hours to Indonesia I knew I couldn't just visit there, especially if I want to meet my 25 by 25 goal. So three of us headed to Singapore for 3 days after the workshop. The other two- Sima & Jasmin left at 4 am this morning to begin their 30 hour journey home. They are flying back to Jakarta and then have a layover until they get on their flight home.
So now I am all alone in Singapore. The check out at our hotel was noon so I was able to sleep in, workout with a Jackie video, repack, and get ready for the day. It was a perfect morning for me to prepare myself for being on my own. I have so many nerves of excitement running through me right now. This past week when I was in Indonesia I got sick my last weekend and it gave me bad nerves/anxiety for traveling solo but thankfully now that I am better all those feelings have disappeared and been replaced solely with excitement! I feel so grateful to be accomplishing so many things I have set for myself to do.
I have an hour to kill before I'm taking the causeway to Johor Bahru, Malaysia so figured blogging would be a great time filler.
I will be couchsurfing for my first time alone without my dad by my side. The guy I am staying with is Shaun and he is 26. He had a lot of positive reviews and we seem to have similar views on life so I'm looking forward to meeting him.
Once I get over the causeway (its about an hour in a bus) I will go through immigrations and then go to a McDonalds nearby and wait for Shaun to pick me up. I have recently found out Johor Bahru isn't that great so I might shorten my stay and take a bus to the capital, Kuala Lumpur for a few days before starting my journey home. I fly from Singapore back to Jakarta on Sunday and then have a night before my flight home. I leave Monday at 2:30 from Jakarta and return to the US Monday at 6:40 at night. Right when my body is fully adjusting to the time difference (15 hours ahead of US) I will be back to my regular time zone.
I am looking forward to the next few days but am also looking forward to going home too. Its amazing how much I miss cooking when I'm gone. Sleeping in my own bed will be a big plus too! :)
Okay well thats just a little update of my life lately! Enjoy and happy travels.
Melanie here! I enjoyed this piece, please email me--I have a question about your blog. MelanieLBowen[at]gmail[dot]com
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