We returned to England last Sunday and didn’t exactly get the warm welcome we had hoped for by setting foot back in the country at a harsh -4 degrees. Of course it felt worse than this as 8 hours before it had been a lovely 30 degrees, as well as the fact that I was still in shorts and a t-shirt as I refused to wear warm clothes on my final day in Barbados.
I’ve been back for nearly two weeks now and had a chance to reflect on what a wonderful experience the last 3 months have been. Getting to work abroad from such a young age had been something I’d wanted to do since high school and for the work to be based around football was an absolute bonus. I thoroughly enjoyed my time and learnt a lot from other people about myself – mostly that I’ll probably struggle to survive a British winter again after skipping the last!
Unfortunately my time back home hasn’t been as relaxing as planned as I was back in hospital less than 24 hours of being in the country after the pressure of the flight seemed to have caused the problems with my nose to reoccur. Multiple trips later and different meetings with various doctors it’s been decided I need a minor operation to overcome the bleeding and hopefully prevent any problems in Tanzania – my next destination.
Of course though, Tanzania is now just over a week away so everything is a bit of a frantic rush. All the necessary medication has now been bought, a ridiculous quantity including over 100 malaria pills. It’s fair to say that half my baggage allowance will probably be gone on health prevention! This will be my first true experience of Africa and if it’s half as good as experience as Barbados I’ll be very happy. I’m excited to get going on what I’m sure will be an eye-opening 3 months however I’m not ashamed to say that I’m quite apprehensive about living there and the risks that are involved – And the spiders and snakes which seem to be abundant and they’re both creatures I don’t like to see!
The link to my blog whilst in Tanzania is http://sokasafari.wordpress.com so be sure to have read of my experiences there. This will probably be my final post on this blog, so thank you for reading and thank you Barbados.
Finally to any future ‘gappers’ who are reading this, if you have any questions about my time on the programme in London, Barbados or Tanzania, please do not hesitate to drop me a message. I’ll be happy to answer any queries as best I can.
Adios for now