In two weeks time I will be.....

Yesterday was a day that I had been looking forward to and dreading all at the same time.  I dropped my parents and my sister at Gatwick so that they could go on holiday (sailing in Greece for two weeks.  I am not jealous at all...yeah right!!)

I was looking forward to it so that I could have a break and some peace and quiet at home.  Yes!!!

No....by lunchtime yesterday I had had my fill of peace and quiet and wanted them back here so that there was something going on.  I spent all day in front of my computer doing school work and keeping myself occupied, so at least it was a productive day.

But my parents going on holiday also marks a date for me - it is two weeks 'til I fly out to Qatar.  In fact, in two weeks time, I will have been in Qatar for nearly 3 hours.  In my new country; my new life.

I will have hopefully got off the plane, found my bags, cleared customs and passport control without any hassle (I hope, although why there should be any issues I am not sure), found the person who is picking us up from the airport (I hope this is obvious as I have not been sent any details of what to expect yet), and we might even be in Al Khor by now.  My new home town for the next two years. Wow.

My bag is already packed - I felt like I needed help (more like moral support) to make sure that I hadn't gone over my weight limit and that I had packed the right stuff.  At one point, we had the whole contents spread out around the lounge!  I have a list of what I need to pack in my hand luggage. All appearances show that I am organised and ready to go.  But in my head I am still not 100%.  Everyone I see asks me if I am excited but I am currently struggling to give an answer.  "I am", I say, "but I've never been to Qatar before.  I have not seen any more than pictures of my new school and only met two of the teachers that work there.  I have no idea what my accommodation looks like or at the moment where it is located.  So I want to feel excited, but it is all a bit up in the air so to speak."

So, in two weeks Sunday, I will have collected my parents from Gatwick but rather than travelling home with them, we will be going straight to Heathrow to drop me off.  I hope that they get to meet Gina, Sarah and Olie who are coming to the school with me and are travelling on the same flight.  It might help everyone to relax a little to know that I am not alone when I am there.

And in two weeks time today, I will be there, beginning to find out all of the things that I am currently unsure of.  I am looking forward to this next big adventure in my life (and coming home at Christmas to see everyone)!!

28 days to go!!

It was pointed out to me by my friend K.d H that I hadn't posted on my blog in a long time - thanks for pointing this out and giving me a nudge!! My excuse is that I have been so busy!!

But 15th June was a long time ago!! 

A lot has happened since then....  I have:

• turned 28
• been round Birmingham on the 11 Route, having drinkies with my friends
• been to a party for my Auntie and Uncle's 50th Wedding Anniversary
• had a picnic in the park with my friends
• watched my sister complete the swimming leg of a triathlon in Eaton Rowing Lake in a good time
• been going out with my boyfriend (of sorts) for 2 months
• packed all of my belongings into boxes bound for either Qatar or Kent
• finished work at Shireland Collegiate Academy, apparently giving the best and funniest leaving speech in over 5 years
• moved out of my house in Birmingham and moved back in with my parents
• been to 3 different leaving parties in 3 consecutive days (2 of which were mine)
• met another one of my new colleagues for lunch in St Albans
• visited my family in Devon for 4 days
• fixed my motorbike and ridden it from Birmingham to Kent
• sold my motorbike to my friend Ollie

As I said, it's been a busy time!  I thought that I would be more emotional about it all but I have actually so far been pretty calm.  I was expecting my leaving speech to be said through sobs but I held it together remarkable well - probably because I was so entertaining - my most genius lines being 'I never wanted to be a teacher' and 'I always saw teaching as a route into travelling, so when I came back from Mongolia and decided I didn't want to get married, I needed to get away and I travelled....to Birmingham.' - well, it was funny at the time.  Maybe it was by comedy timing and delivery...?!

The leaving parties were lovely - the first one being for Ian at a bar in town called Bodega.  I had never been there before but I really liked the fact that all of the cocktails were £4 before 7pm - I made sure that I took advantage of that!    On the Friday, I had a BBQ at my house for my closest colleagues - it was really nice and relaxed.  It was fab just chilling and messing about in the garden.  Then my sister arrived for the weekend and most of us headed out into town to go to the Jam House.  It was a fab night out, especially seeing as I managed to get a whole load of us in for free - yay!!  Saturday was another BBQ and party at the house with most of my friends coming along. 

I would like to thank...

All of my friends for coming and making the day so special  - Claire, Nicolle, Karin, John, Shaun, Wendy, Tharpinder, Bal, Dave, Sarah, Rosie, Alex, Jess, Param.

Special thanks to -

• Dave for being a star and turning up with two space hoppers!!  Awesome!!
• Thanks also to Shaun and John for making sure that the BBQ was always full of food.
• My sister Claire, the biggest, brightest star - not only for helping me pack my car, but for making a fab 'Auntie Pat's Lemon Desert' as well as sorting out most of the food which really allowed me to enjoy the day without feeling the need to rush around after my friends ensuring everyone was fed and had drinks. 

You were all so awesome and really helped me to leave with a bang!