Pre-departure

Top pre-departure moments

• 6 months work in Swaziland? Sure..Where is that?   

• Only if they speak with a click.

• Malaria and Dr advice: picture a straight line down the middle of the country..east no, west yes- "do the Mosquitos know that?"

• Imagining living in a hut.    

• Ricky and Paula sponsoring an African child.

• Head lamp, mosquito net, sleeping bag, swiss army knife, water purifier. Check. Wait, working in a office? Professional clothing. Check. Wait, working?

• Drop cloud? Somebody please explain the internet to me.  

• Convincing Mom and Dad I could use a smart phone for Skype, and of course, only if it plays scrabble.

For those that don't know and are keen to know, for the next 6 months I'll be working for the Swaziland Olympic and Commonwealth Games Assocation as a Capacity Support Officer. This work is sponsored by Commonwealth Games Canada, the Commonwealth Games Federation and Olympic Solidarity. Primarily my role is to empower their organization with the tools necessary for preparing for the upcoming Olympics, high performance planning and sport development projects.

While it hasn't quite sunk in that I'm leaving tomorrow, and haven't begun packing yet (typical), I'm incredibly excited and feel very proud to be a part of this program. My team (in Sri Lanka, St Lucia and Barbados) and I, have an incredible opportunity ahead of us. The support and contacts already made by previous CSO's, are making this "move" easier by the minute..

While the last two weeks have been non-stop organized chaos, mostly including the never-ending lists of things to do (vaccinations, things to buy and prepare for, playing in the snow, spending time with family and close friends).. I'm constantly imagining the most beautiful sunsets in the world. Flashes of Safaris and markets, and a lot of sun, are my pre-departure moments of excitement that over-shadow my angst for taking on this once in a lifetime adventure...Plus, going from -16 C to + 31 C can't be that bad!!

So, here I go, this time to Swazi..let the 40 hour journey begin!! 

Ps. Skype me :)

Pps. Like this page for other updates and posts: 
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jeux-du-Commonwealth-Games-Canada/265526150138420, CGC