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Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Only one day to go....

This is my very first entry and I hope that I am able to continue updating you whilst I am in Swaziland.
This time tomorrow, I will be on my way to Johannesburg. I have to be at Brisbane airport by 5am so it's going to be a very early start for Mum, Graeme and myself. My parents insist on taking me to the airport and I suspect it will be quite an emotional scene for all my fellow passengers. I have to fly to Sydney first and then I fly to Jo'Burg. I have a short stay in the airport there before I catch a flight to Manzini in Swaziland. I have to stay a night there as I arrive in the evening and I'm told it's too dangerous to travel on the roads at night. I have no idea what "too dangerous" means... Anyway, someone from the Good Shepherd Hospital will be picking me up the next morning to take me to Siteki. I'm told I'll arrive just in time to have lunch at the hospital. I have no idea what I will get for lunch.... I'm certainly hoping that they don't expect me to start work right away. The director of the hospital has already told me that I'm going to be very busy!
I haven't physically packed my bags yet- this is definitely something I will need help with. I have a lot of stuff. It's all in the study at the moment and I keep taking small glances at it all and praying that it all fits. I think I have done extraordinarily well in deciding what is "essential". I'm only taking 4 pairs of shoes and this is quite an achievement for someone like me. The hair straightner is definitely going despite warnings that I may sacrifice all electricity to the hospital every time I use it.
This week has definitely been a roller-coaster of emotions for me. On Monday I was very upbeat, positive and excited. On Tuesday I started the day by crying my eyes out. Wednesday was a mixture of all emotions and today I have started physically trembling. My stomach is doing flip-flops and my head is just racing with thoughts of what I need to do before I go. I doubt there will be much sleep for me tonight...
Mum bought me a journal the other day with the following written on the front page:
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference"
It is with this thought that I say goodbye to Brisbane and embark on my adventure in Swaziland.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I am very proud of you Mel, setting up a blog, very cool. Where is the RSS feed ;)

The Lemings said...

Good luck and be safe! We are looking forward to reading about your adventures.

Love,
Scott, Courtney and Audrey