There's no denying it, these bloggers are bound to make you jealous. Whether it's their guts, their energy or their tan you admire, overseas volunteers have got plenty to share with you about their remarkable work in fascinating countries. Read on to find out what you could be missing.

All | Ashley | Natalie | David | Sheila | Jonathan | James | Abi | Fiona | Community_Action_International | Project Mongolia | Sarah | Emily | Dana | Selina | Lucy | Hannah | Sally | Lucille

Wednesday Aug 01, 2007

So, they're throwing me out...

It's my last ever night in Lüderitz. How has this happened?

We've been frantically attempting to finish everything up with the paper and get everything sorted for the next volunteers, so I haven't had time to give too much thought to actually leaving. But I am, tomorrow. It's funny, when I thought about applying for Project Trust the main thing that people picked up on was the fact that it's an entire year working overseas. When it comes to the end, it doesn't feel like it's been nearly long enough – I've been ripped off, dammit...

I was thinking about what I'll miss most when I leave – it's impossible to choose between the amazing landscapes, the view of the sea from our flat, the spectacular sunsets, the weather (it was almost vindictively nice today, like the sun was saying, "Look! It's nice here! Why leave?")... But work-linked, when will I next be able to introduce myself as a journalist? It gives you the right to be nosy wherever you like! Walking into somewhere and saying, "Hi, I'm Lucy from the Buchter News" gives people the impression that I know what I'm doing. Now, I'm too used to having a believable purpose that doesn't require an explanation. I'll end up walking into places I obviously don't belong, saying, "Hi, I'm Lucy... Actually, I'm just Lucy. Um." And seeming more confused and incapable than ever before.

I think I've gained a lot from committing myself to a year away from home. There are skills and experience, but one of the main attitude changes I've undergone this year is that I'm no longer afraid to think about living away from England for the rest of my life. This has made me realise that a year is really not as long as it sounds, and that distance doesn't have to be a daunting thing. I don't want to cut all ties with the UK or anything like that, but I just always used to imagine myself growing old in England. I've widened my horizons to more far-flung old age homes, haha.

Obviously it will be great to see everyone again when I get back, and I'm sure I'll love uni. It's just that I knew nothing about Namibia before I came here, and it's proved to be such an amazing country – there's got to be thousands of other places that I know just as little about that are just as worth living in. That's badly expressed but you see my point.

I can't get too upset about leaving as we have some holiday time first. Me and Bozena are going up to Windhoek, the capital, tomorrow, then on Friday we head up to the Zambian border to go to Livingstone and see Victoria Falls.

Christ, I'm lucky. Life is good.

Posted by Lucy Hayes ( 10:09 PM )
Link to this post Comments[3]