So technically speaking as I am (shudder) no longer a traveller I am no longer authorised to bombard you all with travel emails, I know and am sorry, and this is the last one, I promise...until next time... The thing is I have some news I'd like to share with you. Yes it is mostly a guilt riddling scheme, designed to get those of you I have yet to impose my presence on out of the wood work, but also I just thought you may be interested to know and share opinions on the fact that...well...
I am emigrating to New Zealand for a few years!!
As you do...?!
(Well you should, and you would if you ever went there...I will be building a band waggon, the more the merrier so hop on board and come on out with me....)
There doesn't seem to be much in the way of resources for special needs there, specifically autism; so at the moment my plan is to look into studying a Developmental Psychology/Teaching post grad out there part time, and with the rest of my time attempt to start a group aimed at either individuals with autism themselves, or their families and siblings. A place of respite for all involved, whether it be from the life of inclusion and a not terribly autism friendly world, or for relatives to brain storm ideas/just realise they are not alone and to make some contacts and devise some strategies.
The original plan was to go at the end of summer! It may sound rushed but why give myself time to wimp out unnecessarily, is there really any point hanging around when I have this vision of what I want to do out there and where...where as here..to be honest...leaves me less than visonless! Unfortunately, and probably enhanced by the wonderful world of travelling, I just don't find this a terribly inspiring or motivational country to live in anymore, and all of these plans I am making don't seem to sit quite as well when I envisage them here as opposed to in New Zealand. I wont go too far into my unpatriotic rant as, well, we'd be here for hours, you've probably all been subjected to most of it before anyway, and boy will my cheeks be red if I find out something scary like New Zealand's on the other side of the world and freak out about the scariness of it all and come rushing home after a week!!
But at least I'll have tried it- best way of finding out how deluded one's dreams are I feel is to chase them like a loon!!
However, this plan has been scuppered. Hat's off to her, Mammabear is a cunning one and seems will do anything to keep me here, even if it means sweet talking the doctors into drawing out the check ups she has left over from when she was poorly at Easter time. Obviously (though I am totally on top of this conspiracy) I cant leave until she has been fully whipped back into shape, so I have developed plan b...big finish still the same...but in the interim I am going to make it my business to learn all I can about business, and enrol in a course (if I'm a student I'm still avoiding the real world you see) in the big smoke for a few months/year, probably move up there to (oh just to clarify, sorry about the confusion in my last email but I meant I've moved home as in out of mum's and back into my home. Though, for all you cocky and terribly amusing people who questioned my "new" address the phone number is actually new, so don't write it off just yet thanks), as well as learning more about Autism (which you can never know everything about), salsa and trampolining (well, when my ankle's better...sprained it, and I didn't even need a waterfall to fall off with the lovely summer weather we've been enjoying).
The perfect combination of skills I think for such a venture...well lets face it people, who would've thought it'd take me 23 years to realise I need to learn how to bounce?!
So the moral of this story is I have a busy few months/year ahead of me, and though you may all have bought yourself some time, I want to make to most of it, no slipping back into old routines and bad habits, I want to catch up with and keep in touch with you ALL, so lets arrange it...or I'll have to keep up with these "travel emails"...and the London commute ain't pretty...
C x
