Day 248: Birthday plans updated!!!

First let me start by saying how much I truly enjoy the month of May. I'm not sure if I get favored more during this time or what, but it seems that everything truly begins to work out now. After many stressful nights working in SE Asia, suddenly the stars aligned and God sent me something truly destined for me.

So on my birthday, this year I will be traveling to the Dominican Republic and not returning until after Memorial Day. Doesn't that sound beautiful? Don't I sound blessed? Isn't life unbelievable? There is a path, that God has been continuely directing me in and I know as soon when I return it will be made plain.

Now the only thing that is crazy is my flight leaves at 7am, meaning I will probably try not to sleep and go out in DC the night before. CRAZINESS!

I am so excited.

Day 249: 13 hour flight and it's all right

My DC to Dubai flight was 13 hours and cramped, on my first airline. (the second: Shout out to Emigrates airline! Was terrific, more leg room, better food, and better equipment!)

Oh but the company was very good to look at it.

Of all people, I would be put next to a very tall, very muscular Black man from the South (my type), who had a significant other but we had great conversation in between me sleeping on and off, and then waking up thinking he stole my airplane pillow (That is precious cargo on a 13 hour flight, I almost lost my marbles, but once again it had to do with me being on a 13 hour flight, he didn’t steal it.)

We talked about relationships, love, I told him about my previous ones, he told me about his, I saw pics of his family, we talked about a lot actually, kids, etc. But he said two things that stuck with me.

1.       He asked my age and then after I answered said, “With all due respect, you look older than that” That statement threw me for a loop and I knew that I would definitely be telling others about that. I don’t think I look any age, and if that’s true, I’m never wearing my hair in braids again. He just meant it because he truly felt it, and thought I was closer to his age 34 (also my type of age)

2.       He asked me if I had a boyfriend, and when I said something like no I just got out of a relationship, he said well why don’t you have a boyfriend now. He was also very outright with his love life and I missed and appreciated the men that I was used to back in the day, loving love, loving their girl, waiting relationships, not minding to try. Unlike the Metropolitan DC man, so refreshing and all my worries from previous posts about all men changing went out the window. Now I know where to look. (Well I always knew)

He was willing to travel to Dubai to see his Girl, I had guys that weren’t even willing to go 20 minutes up the street more than once every two weeks. (cough* Loser  cough*)

Day 250: Lessons Learned and my favorite things in South East Asia

Continuing with my travel, I will tell you my lessons learned next time I travel here.

1.       Don’t shower in the morning. It’s cold……Shower at night so the water has time to warm up in the pipes all day.

2.       Bring an ipod/music, my world is bare without and there’s no Pandora here, and YouTube can’t even play 15 seconds of a song.

3.       Bring an alarm clock. Darn phone, I use it for so dag-on much, I need the real stuff too, sometimes.

My favorite things

1.       I really, really, like that at the door of our rooms, there is a switch that turns all the electricity on or off in our rooms, when I come in, I turn it on, then proceed to turn on a light, and when I leave, I turn it off, thus saving a lot of electricity currents (For example, if you leave things plugged in)

2.       I really like the food: dal, thaalia, naan, yum, yum, yum. (chickpeas, mixed vegetables, and bread)

That’s all for now!

Day 251: My Worst Asian Nightmare

Hi all!

As you know I am currently on the Asian continent travelling for my job, and just last night my worse Asian nightmare came through. I have travelled a lot previously in my day, but only to Central America, never to the Asia or African continent, so I wondered how they viewed Black Americans here. First let me preface but saying, in my current field (and almost any for travelling, Peace Corps, mission trips, etc) I hardly ever see an Black American face. We just don’t go into this field. I often meet a lot of Africans in my field and believe me brown faces are everywhere, but sometimes it’s nice to see a Sista Gurl or a Brotha. Not so much.

Fast forward. I was in my room watching tv, on a very early jet-lag morning, and I see it. My worst Asian nightmare. Madea’s Family Reunion is playing in BANGLADESH!* And worse I saw a commercial for COPS. So I was sorta  curious about how Asians would treat me, a Black woman, here. And now I have to hope that there aren’t biases based on these shows showing my people as buffoons, and Sambos, and worse.

Luckily, they recognize stereotypes (I didn’t ask anyone a math or science question, racists!) and realize that all people have different personalities not based on the color of their skins.

Thank you!

Do-kno-bat! (Bangla! Phonetic so you can use it too)

*It was my least favorite part of the movie, or any movie, Cicely Tyson’s 25 minute monologue, that I wish would forever be cut out in editing.

Day 252: So I made it!!

Hi EVERYONE!!!! It is 12:25p.m. in Bangladesh and 2:23 AM in East Coast time. And I am up!!!

I tried to take sometime yesterday after falling asleep at 6p.m. and waking up at 3a.m. to write and I realized that this wasn't the usual Naturally Beautiful Black me, it was like a long journal full of information, and not my short witty, give a little bit and take it back.

I will start this as list of stuff, I hope to tell you about.

1. My tall, dark, and handsome seatmate from DC to Dubai, and how it spawned the thoughts of differences: For example he mentioned that he knew no other Black people that travelled, no Black women, my age without children, and any persons with jobs like mine vs. my thoughts of knowing more than the average Black person/traveling more and how I usually know the least in my group of
co-workers (usually never seeing another African-American in my field ever)

1a. Also speaking to him (though not my type) sorta of revitalized my want to move down south or find a Southern man, because of how free he was to love. I was elated to see that not every man had changed by DC men are just well, "different"

1b. Also I have to take a moment to discuss how I laughed when he asked me my age, and then said "respectfully, you look older than that"

2. My lovely time in Dubai, when I snuck out between flights, and how amazing, beautiful and diverse, it was.

3. My new "travel buddies" that I met on the plane

4. My crazy sleeping patterns.

5. Trying to walk across the street in Dhaka

6.  Getting on the airplane with Bangladeshis

That's all for now. I also want to talk about my hesitancy to talk about my loved ones, (or infatuated ones) because how quickly it turns to sour especially when others are involved for the pressure.

Day 253: Black girl in Bangladesh

I have made it to April....doesn't it seem in January that you will never make it to that point? I will be traveling today, (this evening) to Bangladesh. I met this crazy guy on Sunday, that said, what you should make a travel blog called Black Girl in Bangladesh...I loved the idea, even love how it sounds.

While you know I will not be updating here for the next two weeks, please know there will be a massive document upload in the beginning of May for my travel blog, subset: Black Girl in Bangladesh. I will try to capture all that going on there, any anecdotes and tons of pictures.

Sounds fun, traveling mercies, and good news when I return, oh and birthday ideas!

Muahh!

Day 254: How martyrdom ends.....

Recently work has been tough. Staying late, doing extra, stressful meetings, long days, no lunches, etc. you know the things that happen from time to time (well unless you work in education), but the reason you make it is it is not all the time! My job is very individualistic, you come up with your schedule, complete projects on your own time, and no one really knows what you have going on. That means everyone expects you to do their projects immediately and timely. Can you imagine?

This has affected me directly, but I feel you can only do so much work before the quality of your work suffers, so I prefer quality over quantity. I will not stress my body for anyone because at the end of the day, no one cares. No one is going to come to my rescue or care that I chose to hurt myself for work. I felt bad as I told my supervisors that I would not be able to complete the work that they thought I could do because they had too much, because you expect to want to fulfill your supervisors' wishes. Since I work for 4 different teams, and around 7 different supervisors that can ask for my help, NO is a word that I must cherish.

I have a supervisor who is literally in the same boat. She is working for 5 different companies, simply because she is efficient, knows what she is doing, and never says no. The difference is the projects that I'm given takes several hours to complete, the ones that she is given take months to complete in several countries and all happen with weeks, and in some cases days of each other. She is literally working every night in the night time and every weekend, and running herself ragged, all because she feels as if "she has to". Everyone keeps asking her to do more things, then expects her to do more, then wonders why she doesn't perform as a superhuman. She is making a martyrdom of herself. But, for what, giving your life for a cause that you believe in, you will always be part of something big, something amazing and you die a hero. But working yourself to death??? You just die and they get 5 people to replace you. No one cares they just want the work done.

So please, work hard, do the most, challenge yourself and lead up to greatness, but don't kill/hurt yourself over it. It's not worth it.