The itch
Over this past week the itch has come back back…the longing to be somewhere else and in some ways someone else. This time last year Melanie and I were in the throes of planning for our China trip – half the fun is in the planning and anticipation! But I’ve had a bit of a brain wave in the last couple of weeks. My contract with PCI is a 3 year one. I guess there’s always the potential it could be extended, but we’ll see how it goes. I’m thinking that June 2009 will be a good time to do a spot of travelling again if I can save up enough between now and then. I’d like to go to Africa – to Rwanda, to meet Nsengiyaremye whom I sponsor through Compassion. By that time he’ll be 17 with just a year left on the Compassion programme. It would be really amazing to meet him but tough too.

I’d also like to volunteer for a couple of months somewhere. I’ve come across Global Vision International and they offer the chance to do a variety of conservation as well as community projects. It doesn’t sound like me at all, but one project is with desert elephants in Namibia and I think it would really float my boat. So who knows? Thinking about something like that gives me something to aim for. But I think I need to get out of the country this year for my sanity as well. I’m slightly limited in my resources having just started a new job. I’m planning to go to Aberdeen for a few days in August, to catch up with folks from my uni days and also spend time with a cousin. That will be good, but I feel like I need to see some mountains – they do wonders for my soul (hence the trip to the Mournes yesterday as mentioned below!) So the other day I decided that I’m going to try and do a wee 5 day walking break in Switzerland at the start of September. Don’t know if I’ll be able to pull it off, but I’ll do some homework and see how it goes.