What I've Learned

Since coming home six months ago I’ve been living a very different life. These are a few things I’ve leaned.

Persistence is everything. Age is a number. There is a place in Wales as beautiful as the Med. I am a geek. I probably believe in karma. XKCD rules. It’s easier than you think to lose your humanity. I can work 75 hour weeks. University is its own isolated, self obsessed bloody amazing little world. Dan Brown is a truly terrible writer. You can never help who you fall for. Or when. This is a good thing. I can’t open a bottle with my mobile phone. I am a feminist. Disney still makes good films. The recession is real. Its never too late to make new friends. The public are often idiots. They are abused because of this. Family is essential. Friends almost equally so. Coming home can make you feel like a stranger. TV is the thief of time. Procrastination can change your world. I am so, so lucky.

Blood

I'm going to go give blood just after Christmas for the last time for at least a year. It got me thinking about what anyone getting my blood would actually receive! In the last five years I have been vaccinated against:

Yellow fever
Diphtheria
Tetanus
Polio
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis B x5
Typhoid
Measles, mumps and rubella
Rabies x3
Flu

They should have some kind of special bed just for such rare blood or do some kind of experiment to see if it might be the cure to all ills! The only vaccine I haven't had is one for cholera.....damn. I'm going to get cholera.

Fears.

With just over a month to go i'm getting so excited and jumpy i'm beginning to resemble some kind of electrified meerkat. Gathering bits and pieces which will be invaluable, head light, travel towel, wet wipes, thin books, solar charger... everything small I can think of which will help me live for the next year. At the same time though, at night mostly, or at breaks between listening to people cry and depleting my Karma bank at work, little things have started to worry me.

I'm scared of becoming disheartened, of believing there's no hope. I'm scared of massive spiders. I'm scared of people dying. I'm scared of getting malaria or a tape worm. I'm scared of being alone. I'm scared of getting ill, waking up in hospital with needles in my arm and not knowing where they came from.

I don't want to put a downer on anything, but its cathartic to share these things and get them out in the open. They don't languish in my brain but exist independently here. And, to be honest, if I wasn't a little scared, I think I would be rather stupid.

Briefing

Just back from a pre departure briefing in SPW's London offices for the weekend. Its all getting very real now. I'm actually going. I less than two months! There was LOADS of stuff covered, kit to take (bring lots of malaria tablets), a health talk (you will probably get malaria) and what to do in a crisis situation (when you get malaria…lie down).

Some of the sessions also encouraged me to think about HIV and AIDS and the way it affects entire communities and infrastructures. Its not just the human suffering, which is of course appalling, but the stigma, rumours, miss information, loss of potential and skills, economic stagnation, lack of role models, apathy, hopelessness. All of these things must be the result of the generations that have been lost

There is no quick fix. If there was it would have been done by now and I'm not expecting to save the world in 8 months. But hearing from previous volunteers that health and livelihood clubs that were put in place two years ago by them are still running and expanding in some communities makes me really hopeful. My attitude is that the job is only done when we are no longer needed and that any changes must be gradual and sustainable. Even if I am working myself out of a job.

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Two months to go.

Yesterday was two months to the day until I fly out to Uganda to begin my next adventure. I couldn't be more excited and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people that have helped me out. People have sponsored me, bought days, kept secrets, donated sleeping bags, given advice and much much more. So to all of you, thank you thank you thank you.

I must admit that through the excitement I am also a little worried. Will I be able to deal with what I see and with no running water or electricity for months at a time? Will I do any good? Will I have become completely immune to medicine after taking antibiotic malarial tablets for 12 months!? I have a flight into Uganda and a flight out from Cape Town...will I make it!? When will the money run out (notice the "when", there is no question that it will!)? Most importantly, how will I cope without the BBC website?

Despite all this I can't wait to get out there and be where I am most comfortable which is out of my comfort zone. For some reason I can always cope better with the world when I have no clue what the hell is going on. It seems like the natural order of things.