Monday 26 February 2007

The final days before departure

So sorry that I haven’t written for such a long time but you would understand if you had followed us around for the last few weeks before we set off to foreign parts. In fact, I am writing this in Guyana. It is the first time we have had to breathe for well over a month. It is Sunday morning and we have just been to church.

In the last month we have been preparing, letting the house, selling the cars and dealing with those million things you have to do before you go away for a long time. Most of all we spent 15 days enjoying ourselves and saying goodbye. Thanks to everyone for meeting up with us and your warm best wishes.

The big news however is that just ten days before we were due to leave we had a phone call from VSO with the devastating news that our placements in Linden, Guyana had fallen through and that we may not be going. We were told that they were working on new placements but they would be in the capital, Georgetown. This was a big blow as we envisaged ourselves, having done all the preparation, with no house, cars, phones, jobs or money. The lodgers were moving in just a few days after we left and where would we live?

We had 6 nail biting days and we told very few people about it as it would have just complicated the goodbyes. But where one door closes another opens and just four days before we were due to leave, our placements at NCERD, Georgetown were confirmed. Wow! That was a close shave!!!! And less than 96 hours later we boarded the plane and now that’s history!