So the day has almost arrived!
Tomorrow I head off to Zambia for the first leg of my trip.
It's hard to describe how I feel about it, this time last week I was over the moon excited, today it's a bit closer to sheer terror about the scale of what I am trying to do. Don't get me wrong, I've always been ambitious but there is a possibility I've bitten off more than I can chew this time - only time will tell!
In fairness I've been extremely lucky. The reason I am going to Zambia is Florence Mwando. Florence is a retired Ophthalmology nurse (ENT and Eyes are under the same directorate in NUH) and I was introduced to her by my matron, Keith, when I started planning my trip.
I had already planned out Zimbabwe but tagged 5 extra days on at the beginning when Florence was able to arrange for me to visit the hospital and University that she trained in in Lusaka.
For anyone that has never met Florence she is a force to be reckoned with and I could not be better prepared for the first leg of my trip. I'm almost convinced that she is going to turn up at the airport when I fly out tomorrow and decide she is coming with me as her major concern is that I am far too confident for my own good and need a steadying hand😄
Either way, Florence has me pretty much sorted especially when it comes to the many different types of mosquito repellent which my bag is now full of!
Speaking of which, I started my anti-malarials today. Not the crazy ones that give you hallucinations so I'm crossing my fingers and toes that I avoid any other side effects and they do the job! I tend to attract all the biters so best to be prepared!
That's it for now. My packing is still all over the floor of my bedroom and needs culling (again!) but I'm avoiding it like the plague at the moment. I'm blaming the hot weather for my lack of motivation and before anybody says anything it is currently hotter in Nottingham than it is in Southern Africa! Highs of 23 in Lusaka and 28 in Nottingham this week, get me to Africa so I can cool down!
I'm hoping to blog about once a week while I am away, wifi depending, and keep you all up-to-date on what I'm up to.
Let project 'Around the World in 129 Days' begin!
Kate 😊
