I think it’s safe to say there’s going to be a fair few posts about travel in the next year or so. I know I don’t go for another few months but here’s one to start off with. Most of my travel plans have been put on hold until I move house in just over a week. But, I’ve been thinking about it over the last few days. There’s all different kinds of reasons why I’m travelling. Why I’m going now. Why I want to. I’m not going to bore you with them all, but one is that I want a change in what I do for a living. I’ve figured out I want to work for an organisation that makes a difference. I think that’s why I was so passionate about working for the Police. I don’t just want to work somewhere that makes money for the shareholders. It’s not that I don’t like where I’m working at the moment, far from it, but it’s time for a complete change. I’m done with sitting in front of a computer all day. I’m done with agendas and politics. I’m done with bureaucracy, form filling, templates and methodologies. I just want to get on and DO. Make a difference.
So in my year out I’m going to see what’s out there. Try as many things as I can. Get involved in things. So the first thing I’m off to do is an Education and Community Development internship in Zambia. I’ll be helping to contribute to the education and welfare of the local Zambian communities on the outskirts of Livingstone, as well as learning various skills for my own development. I’ve got a special pull to Africa; I’ve wanted to go there and do something like this since I was very little (I can remember the exact moment, sat in Primary School watching a film on drought), and when I went to South Africa in 2009 and 2011 it was like going home. I can’t really explain it, but I just felt right at home there. I’m hoping the same will apply in Zambia.
I can’t wait. I’m hoping to get involved in other volunteering projects in the other countries I’m going to along the way, but these are likely to be more fluid and picked up along en route. And if all goes well, there’s a longer internship I’ve got my eye on in Africa once my year is up. And after that, well who knows?
Oh, and yes, I know wherever I end up working there is likely to be agendas, politics and a certain amount of bureaucracy. That’s life, and I am realistic. But, well, at least I’ve got a year off and a chance to find out for sure. And, if I don’t like it, I’ll just change it.