My African Adventure...The Time Grows Near

6/21/2011

 

Welcome to my Blog for My Angolan Adventure.  I'll be posting updates here as my trip to Angola progresses.

 

Some Background:

 

I am a PM Consultant and Trainer in ITC's Project Management Center of Excellence on the Standards & Competency Team.  In short, one of my duties is to help train and develop our IT Project Managers at Chevron.  Sometimes that will take us to the far reaches of the globe.

 

In this case, I will be traveling to Angola to deliver 7 sessions of 5 classes over three weeks.  I'll be leaving on Thursday, June 23rd and arriving in Luanda, Angola on Saturday morning the 25th.  I'll be in Luanda, the capital of Angola, for two weeks.  My colleague, Robin Henry, will join me on July 2nd.  On July 8th, we'll travel to Chevron's camp in Malongo for an additional week of training.

 

This is my first "international" assignment with any employer.  As it so happens, this destination requires a lot of prep to get to...

• Lots of shots (if you're not up to date)
• A letter from your police department stating you're not a criminal
• A long and laboruious Visa process (including asking for and receiving an "official invitation" to the country)
• Logistics, communications, comunications and more logistical communication stuff.

Getting Down to the Wire...

It's Tuesday, the 21st of June.  I'm getting a little nervous.  But one of the things I found is you need to talk to people who have experienced travel to a far off land.  And talk to more than one.  You get different perspectives and they cover a breadth of information.  In doing that, you'll run across somebody who's more than willing to share a lot to make sure you are comfortable (Thanks, Linda D.!).

As the date for departure looms closer, the wife is getting a little more nervous (as am I) and the stress level is rising.  Two things are top of mind:

• Making sure I take everything I need and am prepared for almost a month away.
• Making sure that all the logistaics and arrangements on the other end are getting done so that I can deliver a successful training experience along with my colleague.

I'll keep you posted with updates as I move forward.

Mark Weinmann 6/21/2011 - Concord, CA