Friday, December 19, 2008

Two weeks left...

There's only 2 weeks to go now until I'm out of this country and at the moment I'm feeling a variety of emotions... mostly excited about the trip, but also a bit scared. I have spent the last year inside a square. Inside that square there is a house with two parents, a hospital where I earn money, a scout group where I have lots of fun doing crazy stuff with a bunch of teenagers, a gym with friendly faces to say hello to whenever I rock up, and more recently I have added a cycle club where I have met a heap of people who share the same passion and have introduced me to the fun of racing criteriums and endurance mountain biking...

But I'm about to leave that world behind and travel outside that square. The last minute anxiety starts to sink in. I am going to be a zillion miles of home. Mostly I am scared becaues I don't know if I will be able to make the distance - and I really want to cycle EFI of the way (E= every, I=inch and the F= any word beginning with F that you think best describes those inches - could be fun or fantastic... or something else). I'm scared of getting nasty sunburn because of increased sensitivity from taking malaria tablets. I'm scared of the first few days that are always scary when you're in a new place and don't know anyone. I'm scared of saddle sores (aka bike bum).

But I know these fears are also what makes the trip so exciting - there is the excitement of getting to see a new continent. The excitement of camping in a tent for 4.5 months (and if you know me well you will know that I LOVE camping - there is nothing quite like it!). The excitement of meeting 50 new people who are just as crazy as I am.

The unknown is just as exciting as it is scary!!!