Am i ready...?

So where am i up to? Am i ready to leave?? What have i been doing?

Well so far i have sorted out all the important bits. My flight was booked months ago, i secured my visa for the year then too and got insurance to cover me too. So what else is needed?? Having never kicked off to the other side of the world before for so long, i really didn't know the answer to this question....

I started checking on the net, reading in books, talking to people who had been away and thinking about the kind of things i figured would need to be sorted.
So, as per usual for me, i wrote a list of things to be done and checked off before leaving, and looking at the list today, i must admit that i have cruised through most if it. Of the things that are not yet fully sorted, most of them are out of my hands at current and either i'm waiting on email or snailmail confirmation and then i'm pretty much set.

The small matter of packing and what to take to the other side of the world for a year has not yet been thought about to much, i'll deal with that a couple of days before flying i reckon....

So what else have i got up to? Yesterday i had an awesome day down in London where i went to the Bank of New Zealand to see Jason, a kiwi from Auckland who lives over here working for the bank, who set me up with my bank accounts, one of the last big things i needed to sort out before i leave. After sorting out the bank i went to the Tate Modern Gallery for a bit of wander around then met my cousins for few beers and a meal. To see london yesterday was a completely different experience compared with previous visits. I think my mindset has completely changed, and i was in London for a very different purpose than usual but it all came together to show me a new place which was exciting, interesting, stimulating and new. Armed with this, i felt like it was a warm up or test for dissapearing over to NZ, and it reassured me that i am making the right decision. It also gave me a little bit of head time to think about why i'm going to NZ... And the question still eludes me a touch. Seeing my cousins last night, i put this question to them and asked for their thoughts. It developed into a really interesting and intense discussion, pushing the realms of my comfort zone as i toyed with ideas to just bum it about, meeting people as i go, or to stop somewhere as a base for a while, meet people and get to know them, then branch out from where i end up settling for a bit on trips away with the people that i have met. Last week i would have told you that i was 100% set to be the traveller, buy a camper van and travel for a whole year. But yesterday, i seemed to have a bit of an epiphany, a realisation that i might want to stay somewhere for a while and get to know the area, the people, the culture, make friends and have experinces utilising local knowledge rather than just following the guidebook routes. Also as i am heading out on my own, it could be quite a lonely year just meeting people in passing, having an experience with them and then saying goodbye. I have also been in contact with an outdoor education centre on the north island with whom i am in the final talks of setting up a placement with. I have to make a decision soon on when i am to arrive with them and how long to stay for. Origionally i was thinking of doing a few weeks but now i am tempted to stop for a couple of months...really find out how they run things, get to know the guys there, have access to some great opportunities and see the outdoor industry in a new light, the way NZ run it. I think this can only be a good thing for professional development, but do i want to spend a year away working?? No, not the whole year, but i think some stablility after a couple of months there will be good for me. After that i can head off and see the things i am still yet to visit, and 6 months is plenty of time, especially if i can be fortunate enough to extend my visa to the 23 month allowance that is possible once i enter the country. I guess i've just hit a bit of a dilema in the last 24hours, maybe its cold feet as the trip is so close, maybe its more than that but my gut is telling me something that i think my head is trying to convince me is not true....

Give me another night to think on it and i reckon i'll have come to a decision on it all.... I trust myself with that