T-minus 1 day

Finally on the morning of the day of departure I have found time to write a pre-departure blog post.
I am just about packed and read to go, as much as is possible. At the moment I am just excited and full of adrenaline but with a large amount of apprehension. I really am going into the unknown, because of which I am struggling to really mentality prepare myself for where I am going. Over the summer cycling through Europe on my own I got a good taste of being alone in a foreign country and away from my friends and family, although I will hopefully become good friends with my fellow ex-pat teachers. So the isolation I have some idea of but the standard of the living, the people and the static isolation are things I have no real knowledge of or idea how to prepare for. I have been told and researched into all of the above but I don't really think you can get a proper idea 2nd hand. So I go into it with an open mind ready to throw myself into village fully and really get the most out this year.

I have a few weeks to wait until I get to see my life for the next year. I fly out this evening to Brisbane, stopping in Dubai. Where I am staying with Aunt Beryl and Uncle Roger. I don't know them at all, the last time we met I was very young, them living in Australia really hasn't helped. I have a week in Oz to explore and have a proper holiday. I then fly to Port Vila the capital of Vanuatu. I am here for a week too but rather than I holiday I have a number of official/important things to do including extending my visa, currency exchange and buying phone card and stamps etc. I am also supposed to go to the north of the Island for a few day to get an idea of the real 'island life' away for the commercialisation for vila. So although I fly out this evening, although don't arrive in Oz till Monday, I still have two weeks before I actually get to Pentecost and my home for the next year.

I am told that the internet at the school on Pentecost is working for the moment. The last time it broke it remained so for 8 months. I should therefore be able to update my blog with so regularity, although if I suddenly go quiet you will understand why.

I hope that I can make this blog interesting to read and that you are interesting in what I am doing. I will try to update regularly when it is possible and I am not running on 'island time'.

Speak to you all soon.