Packing up....

Whey hey!! My flight details and passport have finally arrived back to me ... cutting it a bit close to comfort, but a very welcome package! My passport has been stamped for the first time in my life, and declares me a month's stay in the country before I receive the full year's working and living Visa



All my time now is being dedicated to sorting through my life's possessions and starting to sort them out into piles - problem is there's just so many piles-things for all occasions and inevitables-my sister's bed is so covered in bits and bobs that it's hard to see the actual colour of the bed covers now!


Im packing all my toiletries, emergency rations and healthcare bits, alongside handcrafts and personal mementoes for the year. There is a slowly decreasing pile of clothes sitting in one half of the suitcase, with packs of M&S underwear with pride of place on top (I've been told underwear is not the easiest items to buy overseas ... well it's more standard of underwear you've got to be careful of apparantly!)

I met up with two people from my local Methodist church recently who have been living in Tanzania for the last 18 months - one has been working with disabled people within a small fairtrade organisation, teaching locals handcrafts and how to make their own clothing through weaving and using looms. Her partner is actually a VSO volunteer working on the 2 year program around management of HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns and training programs. They have given me lots of little 'top tips' (as Antonia calls them quite infamously now) about what I might come across or face in my future work, as well as practical and sensible advice.

I went to an outlet mill centre in Colne (Burnley way) last weekend to meet my two fairy godmothers - Olwyn and Clare - for some serious last minute suitcase searching ... as you will notice we had great fun trying out all the different options in the shop, but ended up choosing the boldest and biggest there ... but its also the most practical as it has a slight expanding central section in case the suitcase 'puts on weight' at any time, and has a T-bar handle which really are fantastic for turning corners with one hand if like me you will have many bags to keep track of or to hold onto!!

I also ended up with a fab laptop bag which disguises itself as a normal smart backpack. It has lots of storage spaces behind zips for leads/paperwork and any extra items I'll have to smuggle onto the plane ... due to the 'one bag' rule that clearly forgets the need that women have for handbags for those little 'essentials' that we seem to need to store in case we might need them!! Olwyn and Clare spied some fab lightweight trainer shoes that are also designed to be used in water ... so somehow they jumped into the trolley too when no-one was watching ... but they will be perfect for paddling at the beaches to avoid any little creatures burying themselves in my flesh! eugh!!


Do you think I could fit a whole person in here...can think for lots of people who would gladly be smuggled away with me??!!!









It will fit ... if its the last thing I do ... well in fact that probably will be the case ...








I was asked by one of the children at the youth group some time like a teddy bear or toy ... I have only one teddy bear, and I've had him since I was a baby, and really hadn't thought that he might like to come along with me and have some adventures of his own! I was persuaded to take my ted anyway, and somehow from that came the suggestion that I do a teddy's travels collection for the children at Family Friends, as happens in some primary schools when children visit different countries.

There is a link to my teddy's travel log from this blogpage, and I am trying to catch him in action at different stages of my adventures. So here he is again keeping in amongst my belongings, making sure I don't miss him out when Im finally packing!!