Sorry I don't have time for a longer post, things have been a little manic at home and I have been running around like a headless chicken!!! I am all packed (18kg :) ) and ready to go, well nearly! I do have a delightful knot in my tummy from nerves and excitement hopefully that will fade soon!
I won't have any Internet access while in the first leg of Fiji so I probably wont do another post for about 10 weeks! but I promise it'll be one of the first things I do!
I love you all and am going to miss everyone so much!
Wish me luck!!!!!!
Tuesday 12 April 2011
Thursday 7 April 2011
Hello Backpack!
Only 5 days to go!!!!!!!!!
This is where I will be living for the next 10 weeks. http://wikimapia.org/1647078/Nasesara
For the last month I have taken over my sisters room and started to put everything I want to take with me in there, needless to say it was pretty full!!!! I only have a few more things to buy so I decided just to see what I could fit in my backpack (its 85l so I figured I could just crawl on in there and save myself the plane ticket!) I have heard about every one's dilemmas with packing and how you have to pack everything then halve it, but I don't know what I've done but everything fitted in really easily!!! with a bit of space for the extra few things!!! I truly am blessed..it means I can take more shoes and more clothes! yay!! (although I did try to actually get it on my back and couldn't quittteeee lift it up, oh well details details!) It's such a relief to have got nearly everything off my giant list, the trip to boots was fun about a million boxes of plasters and a nice balance to have to pay at the till :( and also thanks to Malwina who is oh so wise and knowledgeable! but anywho that is the price you have to pay I guess!
I met nearly everyone that I am going to be going to Fiji with, they are all soooooo nice! I cannot wait to get to know everyone! Such a mix of people and some truly spectacular accents (yes i am talking about you Scots Ann and Julia!!!) Ann and Julia have already left to go travel America a tad and its making me sooo excited seeing what they are getting up to!
With only a few days left I have already finished both my jobs! It was so bittersweet because it did mean I don't have to get up early in the morning and work but also having to say goodbye to all my friends at work who made the hours float away! Since I had to say goodbye to Oli last July it has been praying on my mind having to say goodbye to all my friends and family, I am terrible with goodbyes! So many people that I am going to miss I do not know how I am going to cope! Although I only met Malwina last october-ish she has become such a good friend and someone I can talk to about anything. We talk nearly all day long on our blackberry's and it's going to be like a part of me is missing without her! My cat Izzie, although it may sound sad and lame she is such a good companion! I will miss her dribbling on me in the mornings and her sleeping at the foot of my bed taking up so much space and purring so loudly I cannot sleep! My family, my sister whose fascinating stories always lighten up my day and knowing that there is someone in the world a little more crazy than me is very comforting! Everyone at both Sainsbury's and Pembroke Road who are always up for a good natter! Fiona (who I'll hopefully be seeing in Asia somewhere....) and John always there for advice and a night out or cup of tea! and of course my teddy, I'm trying to get in the last few squeezes but I just do not know how I am going to cope without him!
I am quite proud of myself with all my preparation! I am normally the most disorganized person but I have been very efficient! I have got my entry for USA, Australia, I even sent off my passport for my Vietnam visa which was terrifying 2 weeks before you leave... but thankfully it came back to me safely! All my jabs and the endless amounts of medicines I need! Me and Julia even got organized about the Hostel for Sydney! And what was even more of a shock was Oli pulled his socks up and made a plan!!! Very exciting!!! Cannot wait to venture around Asia with him!
I cannot wait for the sun, white sandy beaches and I am sure I have forgotten so if you think of anything let me know please!!!!
This is where I will be living for the next 10 weeks. http://wikimapia.org/1647078/Nasesara
For the last month I have taken over my sisters room and started to put everything I want to take with me in there, needless to say it was pretty full!!!! I only have a few more things to buy so I decided just to see what I could fit in my backpack (its 85l so I figured I could just crawl on in there and save myself the plane ticket!) I have heard about every one's dilemmas with packing and how you have to pack everything then halve it, but I don't know what I've done but everything fitted in really easily!!! with a bit of space for the extra few things!!! I truly am blessed..it means I can take more shoes and more clothes! yay!! (although I did try to actually get it on my back and couldn't quittteeee lift it up, oh well details details!) It's such a relief to have got nearly everything off my giant list, the trip to boots was fun about a million boxes of plasters and a nice balance to have to pay at the till :( and also thanks to Malwina who is oh so wise and knowledgeable! but anywho that is the price you have to pay I guess!
I met nearly everyone that I am going to be going to Fiji with, they are all soooooo nice! I cannot wait to get to know everyone! Such a mix of people and some truly spectacular accents (yes i am talking about you Scots Ann and Julia!!!) Ann and Julia have already left to go travel America a tad and its making me sooo excited seeing what they are getting up to!With only a few days left I have already finished both my jobs! It was so bittersweet because it did mean I don't have to get up early in the morning and work but also having to say goodbye to all my friends at work who made the hours float away! Since I had to say goodbye to Oli last July it has been praying on my mind having to say goodbye to all my friends and family, I am terrible with goodbyes! So many people that I am going to miss I do not know how I am going to cope! Although I only met Malwina last october-ish she has become such a good friend and someone I can talk to about anything. We talk nearly all day long on our blackberry's and it's going to be like a part of me is missing without her! My cat Izzie, although it may sound sad and lame she is such a good companion! I will miss her dribbling on me in the mornings and her sleeping at the foot of my bed taking up so much space and purring so loudly I cannot sleep! My family, my sister whose fascinating stories always lighten up my day and knowing that there is someone in the world a little more crazy than me is very comforting! Everyone at both Sainsbury's and Pembroke Road who are always up for a good natter! Fiona (who I'll hopefully be seeing in Asia somewhere....) and John always there for advice and a night out or cup of tea! and of course my teddy, I'm trying to get in the last few squeezes but I just do not know how I am going to cope without him!
I am quite proud of myself with all my preparation! I am normally the most disorganized person but I have been very efficient! I have got my entry for USA, Australia, I even sent off my passport for my Vietnam visa which was terrifying 2 weeks before you leave... but thankfully it came back to me safely! All my jabs and the endless amounts of medicines I need! Me and Julia even got organized about the Hostel for Sydney! And what was even more of a shock was Oli pulled his socks up and made a plan!!! Very exciting!!! Cannot wait to venture around Asia with him!
I cannot wait for the sun, white sandy beaches and I am sure I have forgotten so if you think of anything let me know please!!!!
Monday 21 March 2011
3 weeks to go...
For the last few weeks there has been a burning question in my mind, am I ready? A little pink notebook of mine is filled with lists and notes of things I have to buy, forms I have to complete, things I have to do before I leave. My plan of action was to start early and get things done little and often, this seems to have been successful but why on earth did I leave all the important things to the last minute??!?!?!? I have to accept that I will never be ready to leave and after weeks of preparation and planning I will forget something and that in the grand scheme of things it probably will not matter! But when you have an adventure in front of you with not much clue what will happen the planning and preparation is all you have!
For those who have not had to listen to me go on and on and on about my plans for travelling here we go...I leave mid April for Fiji as part of an expedition team to work on a volunteer project in a small island community. I will be living, working, eating, playing, teaching and building around and in the community. Everything has been planned out by project leaders so I feel this will be a good way to ease me into my new found Independence! The group of volunteers I will be with I may not have met but I'm sure within time it will be like we have know each other for years. This week I am travelling up to Leeds to meet the team and have a general chitchat about the expedition, needless to say I cannot wait!
For the next leg of the journey I will be leaving Fiji to travel onwards to Australia and Sydney in particular. I will be doing this with Julia who is part of the Fiji expedition team (who I am so excited to meet for the first time on Wednesday!), and although we may not have anything organised I am sure/hopeful that everything will fall into place.....maybe....with only 20 days to explore Australia, can we do it all? of course we can!!!!
So on the 12th of July I leave the land of kangaroos and Julia as well :( and arrive in Bangkok! Where after just short of a year I will be meeting up with Oli, the bit I am most excited/nervous/happy about of the whole trip! If I thought me and Julia were a bit on the disorganised front, my plans travelling with Oli are even more so! I think we are both far to excited and distracted about finally seeing each other than making a plan or a route through Asia!!! Who knows we will probably travel along the coast of Thailand visiting as many beaches as possible then into Cambodia where Angkor Wat awaits (much to the jealousy of my dad) and maybe a kayak along the Mekong river? Then we will hop on over to Vietnam and have an adventure up towards Hanoi city which will most probably include some form of motorbike journey if I know Oli at all! Where on the 8th of August we will fly home to Bristol. After 4 months of travelling my bed will be calling and a nice hot bubble bath I imagine!
At the moment I can feel my dual personality coming across, one side where I will miss my family, friends, the comfort of my home my things around me and the sense of anxiety of what is to come, living out of a small backpack and if i am ready. Then on the other side the excitement of an an adventure: new people and friends, new cultures and customs, new homes, a break from daily hassles. Which side of my dual personality will shine over the other is yet to materialize but I know whatever I do, wherever I am, whomever I am with, I will be having the time of my life :)
For the next leg of the journey I will be leaving Fiji to travel onwards to Australia and Sydney in particular. I will be doing this with Julia who is part of the Fiji expedition team (who I am so excited to meet for the first time on Wednesday!), and although we may not have anything organised I am sure/hopeful that everything will fall into place.....maybe....with only 20 days to explore Australia, can we do it all? of course we can!!!!
So on the 12th of July I leave the land of kangaroos and Julia as well :( and arrive in Bangkok! Where after just short of a year I will be meeting up with Oli, the bit I am most excited/nervous/happy about of the whole trip! If I thought me and Julia were a bit on the disorganised front, my plans travelling with Oli are even more so! I think we are both far to excited and distracted about finally seeing each other than making a plan or a route through Asia!!! Who knows we will probably travel along the coast of Thailand visiting as many beaches as possible then into Cambodia where Angkor Wat awaits (much to the jealousy of my dad) and maybe a kayak along the Mekong river? Then we will hop on over to Vietnam and have an adventure up towards Hanoi city which will most probably include some form of motorbike journey if I know Oli at all! Where on the 8th of August we will fly home to Bristol. After 4 months of travelling my bed will be calling and a nice hot bubble bath I imagine!
At the moment I can feel my dual personality coming across, one side where I will miss my family, friends, the comfort of my home my things around me and the sense of anxiety of what is to come, living out of a small backpack and if i am ready. Then on the other side the excitement of an an adventure: new people and friends, new cultures and customs, new homes, a break from daily hassles. Which side of my dual personality will shine over the other is yet to materialize but I know whatever I do, wherever I am, whomever I am with, I will be having the time of my life :)
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