Well, we are ready and set to go. James will be the trail blazer. Once there and having checked things out, hopefully he will be able to tell me what to jettison from the baggage before I follow 2 weeks later. Excess baggage is what we are expecting but when you consider the climate we are going in to, it is not surprising that the weight of boots and jackets puts us well over the airline limit.
We have prepared as best we can but there is still an element of the unknown before us. This is where I mention that every now and then I think "What the hell am I doing?" I am leaving my beautiful family and friends for a year, I am leaving a good job with great colleagues, I am leaving the fantastic Australian summers that I love, I am leaving fresh fruit and veggies at good prices. I am leaving a mattress that compresses a little when I sink into it at night. At the risk of sounding negative on the edge of this big adventure, that is a lot to be giving up.
So, I have had to take stock (apart from all that which is in my suitcase) and look at this objectively. I know, what we are doing is honorable, we are spreading our knowledge with those less fortunate, we are being generous with our time, foregoing a comfy life to improve that of others, all those things that make you feel warm and fussy about our escapade. We might be giving up the comfort of things we know but, I think we are the winners in this. We are going to learn so much from the people we meet, the things we see and the things we do.
I mean, we are going to learn things like how to prepare sheep's heads for dinner, how to store milk in a washed out goat's bladder. We will learn how to cross the road safely in a snow storm and how many vodkas we can drink before having a hangover the next morning.
I think we will also learn how to appreciate what we already have. We will learn to accept that, no matter how hard we try, there will be some things we can't change - but there will be lots that we can help to change. We will learn the value of new friends and remember to cherish those we already have. We will have excitement that we are going to want to share with those at home and experiences that we would love you to be a part of.
So, let another blog begin.
To be continued .......
