Wish me luck

I don’t know how cool blogging is anymore or if people still do it, but I’ve decided to give it a go. Or another go. Fingers crossed I’ll actually stick to it, or maybe this will be the only post you ever get to read.

But I’m giving it a go because tomorrow I’m off to volunteer in Cambodia for ten weeks. It may not sound like long but I’ve come to realise ten weeks is actually a long time.

Ten weeks.

Two and a half months. Two and a half months on the other side of the world, maybe showering from a bucket and maybe weeing in a hole. Two and a half months of monsoon rain, because I’ve chosen to visit Cambodia in wet season. And two and a half months of a complete culture shock.  But I’m not nervous. At least I wasn’t nervous until an hour ago when I read there’s a lot of landmines scattered around Cambodia waiting to be set off, and you should always watch where you step because they have snakes and scorpions. There's also tigers, so I'm not too sure whether my rabies vaccination is going to cut it. 

I haven’t actually been out of Europe, apart from a Disneyland trip to Florida when I was four. I can’t say I remember much, and apart from a ‘Beware of the alligators’ sign, there wasn’t really much to be worried about. So this is a big deal for me. Huge. Mum has kindly offered to take me to the airport tomorrow morning and we’ve even factored in time for McDonalds breakfast. I can’t tell if it’ll be a lovely Ok, see you soon Mum when I get to the airport, or if Heathrow will enjoy the site of a screaming 20 year old holding onto her Mum’s leg as she drastically tries to shake me off and leave.

But seriously, I’m not nervous. It’s time to get out of Europe. Flap my wings. Fly the nest. I’m ready for everything Cambodia has to throw at me. After talking to someone from there, going to a training weekend in Swindon, and flicking through a lonely planet guide I think I’m about as prepared as I can be. I’ve packed a waterproof and downloaded an amazing app that speaks Cambodian phrases for you. As long as it works without wifi I should get along fine!

So wish me plenty of luck.


I will probably need it. 

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