I want to be there...

Now!

 

Everything seems to be revolving around prepartion, injections, saving money, booking flights and training. I am excited obviously but I don't want to run out of steam before July as all my thought and action revolves around the trip.

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Different kettle of fish

When I first started looking at jobs I could do within Raleigh I was torn between two - a Project Manager on the sites or a Communications Officer in the Raleigh HQ in whatever country I ended up in. I was completely torn nd undecided right up until the assessment weekend, and eventually let Raleigh decide for me assuming they knew best.

After being offered the PM role I got pretty excited about getting my hands dirty. I was worried the comms role would mean I would miss out on the whole essence of the expedition and essentially just be doing my job abroad.

However, having just read the Raleigh forum with a bit more advice I'm starting to think maybe I got the bum deal. Please find below a list of tips and advice they give to people in HQ:

* The start and end of expedition include a fair amount of going out, so you will want to budget and pack accordingly. This includes "longs" for evenings out in KK.
* Take advantage of the days off.
* Grab a Starbucks/ Coffee Bean/ Yo Yos when ever you can - but note the cost adds up!
* Save your documents regularly - the computer system crashes!
* Be prepared for your bank cards not to work on arrival - call your bank to warn them of your travels or have the number handyover here.
* You are going to be living in a normal house it is ok to allow yourself the odd treat (even a hairdryer!) and normal clothes.
* Buy a local sim card out here it is much cheaper for phone calls.
* Join the Hyatt gym (105RM per month) to keep fit, and keep the weight off after Loi's great cooking.
* A memory card reader and pen stick are useful to bring.
* there is a cheap an excellent laundry service

Starbucks?! Laundry?! Hair dryers?! It's almost luxury. Especially when you compare it to the advice given to the PMs....

* You can never have enough dry bags or zip lock bags
* A good roll mat or therma rest are essential, as are Deet and a really good pair of sandals/tevas
* If you are paranoid then leech socks are worth it (though learning to live with them is cheaper).
* you will learn to love and live of 3 in 1 coffee and milo.
* it is best to replace the string on your mozi net with some stronger and brighter string.
* You can never have enough string or gaffer tape!
* waterproofs arepointless they don't hold up to the rain and you get too hot, though an umbrella can be very handy.
* tech shirts generally don't work in this climate they just smell - cotton is better.
* don't worry too much about your kit, there is a spares box of second hand stuff at fieldbase for a small donation.
* On project make sure you take time out, but most importantly - relax, enjoy and have fun.

All I can say is leech socks?!?!

Whose silly idea was this in the first place?! :)

A little kindness goes a long way.

My English readers (I have been assured I do have some!) will know we've been knee deep in snow the last couple of days, yes, knee deep. For my foreign readers, this enough to bring our fair isle to pretty much a stand still, with schools closing, public transport failing and the nation's population working from home in between building snowmen.

Anyway, as much as this weather and subsequent wind down of normal activity has been disruptive, I have had to carry on with my training. So Sunday lunchtime, I found myself hiking up Surrey's beautiful Box Hill. There was frost, mud, lots of horse poo, hills galore and we found ourselves walking along the hill top as the wind blew the snow, yes more snow, into our faces. We were cold, a bit fed up and tired.

As with the assessment weekend I had a moment of thinking 'this is ridiculous'. Not even the beautiful view could lift my mood from wondering why I was putting myself through this, for the next 5 months!

After finishing our hike, I got the usual sense of accomplishment, and the adrenaline and I rewarded myself with some gorgeous roast chicken that evening (while I'm staying in and saving money good food id my treat of choice :)), so all in all, it wasn't a bad thing. It made me realise I need to touhgen up a bit more and just get on with things.

I am also reminded that this is worth it from the outpouring of interest and care from my friends and family in my preparations. My fundraising is going well, and I'm pleasantly surprised by the kind words and offers of help from people. Perhaps the most surprising thing was when I went for more injections yesterday (Hep B, Hep A and Typhoid) and my nurse, the very same I saw before, remembered me and was interested in finding out more about my trip. She not only recommended vaccinations and health tips which aren't on the Raleigh check list, but, she also gave me my Hep B injection for FREE. FREE! This saved me £36 and was a very lovely gesture as she was impressed that i was doing charity work. She said she would try and help me, as much as she is able to, to get as many injections as possible for free - how good is that!?

I was touched by her support, as well of those of my loved ones, and that's what helps me climb those cold, windy, muddy, snowy hills on Sunday mornings!