Original departure day

Today has been a bit strange.  I was meant to be leaving for Chad today and over the last few months everything was geared towards 30th April.  Now it's here, and I'm still in Torquay!  I've kept thinking 'I would've been at Heathrow now'....'I'd have been in transit at Paris Charles de Gaulle now' and right at this moment, as I type, I'm thinking 'I'd have been an hour away from landing in Chad now'.  It's strange to think that rather than sitting in my friend's house in Torquay typing this post, I'd have been an hour away from landing in a different culture and all that that would bring with it.

However, I am now preparing myself for a new departure date of 14th May and in the meantime I am making the most of still being in the UK.  I am enjoying the sunshine but the relative cool of the UK compared with Chad (where it's around 40 degrees centigrade at 9pm).  I am enjoying seeing friends over coffee.  I am enjoying still being by the sea.

Today I met a dear friend at Meadfoot Beach and spent a lovely couple of hours chatting and looking out at this fantastic view:

Meadfoot

I am so going to miss the sea!

I am also making the most of still being near my fab french teacher Justine and doing a bit more practice of my français.

I am also going to see more of my family too.  I wouldn't have been able to do any of this if I had gone to Chad today.  So I am making to the most of the delay in departure.  However I am also keen to get there now and do what I've been preparing myself for months to do!

Small change of plan

I've now been on career break from work for two weeks.  It's been surreal not going to work every day but it's also been great, as it's meant I can concentrate on seeing people before I go, buying supplies for my trip and generally just get my head around the fact that I'm going to Chad.  Soon.  More on that in a moment!

The 'to-do' list has been long and as soon as I have crossed something off, two things have been added, so there was a time last week where it just felt never-ending.  The tasks have been varied which was good!  Here's a sample of the things I've been having to think about before I go

- making a will (weird experience but had to be done)
- sorting my work indemnity insurance
- buying ankle-length skirts
- writing thank you cards
- letting people know I've put them down as emergency contacts (thank you, you know who you are!)
- buying mosi-net treatment
- buying a spare laptop battery
- syncing my ipod nano
- buying an abundant supply of AA batteries
- going to the dentist
- handing over Girls Brigade
- having French lessons
- buying a travel fan
- learning how my solar-powered battery charger works
- taking oral cholera vaccine
- giving mum details so she can apply for a new driving license for me when mine expires June 2013
- sorting direct debits out
- etc etc etc the list just goes on and on!

I've also been meeting up with friends for coffee, going out for meals and just generally enjoying being with the people I know well.  That's been fantastic but also difficult, knowing that it'll be the last time for a while.

Putting your life on hold for a year and preparing for life in a different culture is one major all-consuming task.  However it'll be worth it!

You'll notice there's a lot of mention of batteries in the 'to-do' list!  This is because the hospital is not on the grid and is mainly reliant on solar power.  Therefore I won't have a lot of electricity at my disposal, so I'm going armed with as much alternative means of power as I can!

So, the title of this post is 'small change of plan'.  Due to circumstances beyond anyones control, I've not yet got my visa through to enter the country.  I've known there was a potential issue with this for a few weeks now.  It has now meant that my departure to Chad will now be delayed by a couple of weeks and my flights have been rescheduled to 14th May.  I'm sad that I won't be going on my originally planned date.  However I will get to Chad when I'm meant to get there :)  In the meantime, the extra couple of weeks will allow me to enjoy being in the UK for a bit longer and see a few more people.  I'm especially excited that I get to see my dear friends Bex and Andy get their 'handshake' at the Baptist Assembly in Blackpool next weekend :) 

'Every cloud.....' :)

Leaving work

Friday 12th April was my last day at work before I started my years career break.....and it felt strange!  We'd been out for dinner the night before which was great, it was good to be together out of the work setting and just 'be' :)  However the last day at work was an odd one.  Finalising things.  Making sure I'd handed over everything.  Making sure the out-of-office was on.  Making sure my mobile phone voicemail message was updated.  It was all a bit surreal.  By the end of the day I was done.  Desk cleared,  I was ready to go.  Another ending.  I got back to my friend's house where I was staying and the most crushing headache just developed.  It was like I'd got over the final hurdle of 'endings' (finishing work) and I crashed!  I haven't felt like that in a long time and it wasn't very nice.

So that's that!  I now don't have my flat to live in and I am on career break!!  This week so far is flying by though.  Lots to finalise, people to see, resources for the trip to buy.  I just hope I don't forget anything.....

Moving Out

Good Friday saw me going to Church first thing and then it all started.....the packing.  Little did I know that it would end up taking 11 hours!  I had help from Lucy, a lovely work colleague who gave up a couple of hours to help pack up the kitchen.  It was then Jude, organiser extraordinaire and all-round fab person, and myself.  There were times when I thought it was never going to get done.  There was stuff everywhere.  I was having to think of where things were having to go.... 'can it be packed away for a year?'...... 'do I still need that out for work?' (I've still got 2 weeks left until my career break starts)...... 'will I need this in Chad?'.  Packing up was strange.  It was different to just moving house as I had to pack some things away for a year and keep other things accessible.  However at 10pm it was all done, we'd packed everything and put a lot of stuff in my attic already.  Jude, being her usual very organised self, had also written copious signs detailing what was to go where the next day and a two page list of jobs to be done!  This was a great help on the Saturday as various people arrived asking 'what needs doing?'



Boxes

Boxes




More boxes.....

Saturday arrived.  I didn't want to get out of bed because then the day would start and I would be moving out, something I wasn't looking forward to in some ways.  My flat has been my home for over 10 years (minus 9 months in Cameroon) and it's my haven.  However I did get myself out of bed and at 10am people descended to help me move things to various locations in Torquay, sort a few DIY jobs, put yet more stuff in my attic and clean the whole flat.  Thank you Mark, Gary, Neil, George, Jude and Mum :)  So my flat is now empty, apart from furniture as I'm letting it furnished. 


 

Empty lounge!

Empty lounge!

Empty kitchen!

So that's it.  I'm now out of my flat and staying for two weeks with my friend Julie (aka MJ Groovit....long, and actually-now-quite-old story!!)  It's a weird feeling not having my own home.  Don't get me wrong, Julie has made me very welcome and I treat her place as I would my own (thank you Julie, you're a star!).  However it's not my home.  My home is 5 minutes up the road, standing empty and awaiting tenants to move in on Wednesday.  It's all a bit surreal to be honest but a wise friend gave me some advice on Saturday which helped a lot.

It's strange, because on one hand I'm feeling sad to have left my flat, but moving out is part of the journey, the process of to going to Chad, and I'm excited about that and the adventure it will be!  I can't have the trip to Chad without the sadness of leaving my flat.  That's just the way it goes :)