Pincushions

We have been making some progress in getting ready to move abroad. One job we can now tick off the list is our consultation at the travel clinic. This took about an hour and we now know that there are about 17 injections between us! That's only 8 inoculations but some have 3 doses, I think we may feel like pincushions at the end of it. The nurse spent a lot of time explaining that none of the vaccines would prevent these nasty disease so we need to keep an eye out for the symptoms.

We will have to make a start with the injections soon as some need to be given 3 months before we go and it looks like we could be on the move within 4 months. We have been quietly pottering along, talking about our move and suddenly there is a lot to do, this thing is gaining momentum.

All Our Stuff

It sounds easy. Organise to ship what we might need for 3 years to Malawi and persuade family and friends to store the rest of our belongings. But there is a lot of stuff that is neither useful or beautiful; things that reflect our life, places we have visited, lived, people we have known and lived alongside. Maybe we have just accumulated more than other people. I am envious of friends who have unclutered homes, which must be easier to tidy. They would find moving abroad easier too.

Really, we don't need very much and I am longing to live with less and to be able to say that I can live without all my stuff, to turn my back on consumerism. Apparently a 40 ft container should be big enough to send the necessities to Blantyre. Our life condensed into 683 cubic feet.

there will be no more colds

There are some things that I will not miss about life in the UK and colds is one of them. Apparently we get less colds in hot climates because the viruses don't function so well in the heat. Our youngest has the delightful habit of being sick when she gets a cold; of course there are plenty of other things that can make her throw up and I am sure we will experience many of them.

I imagine that life will be simpler in Africa. We will have less stuff, the decision about what to wear will be easier as there will be less options. Explaining this to a two year old who has strong views on her outfits may not be simple. The shopping will be done daily or every few days as food won't keep as long. I am not sure how reliable the power is so we may have to do some laundry by hand, something I have hereto only done with my delicate underwear (and even that was a long time ago). In some way it may be more like life in the UK was in the 1950s, only hotter.

a good day to start

It's a sunny day, full of promise so it's a good day to start writing about our adventure. I am about to take 2 children (under 2) and my husband (the doctor) to Malawi for 3 years research. I am in charge of the logistics of getting us, a vehicle and our stuff to Blantyre.

We have been talking about this project for years but we are finally, really going. I have started filling in passport forms and talking to letting agents and shipping companies. I don't suppose that it will feel real until we actually land on the warm tarmac in Africa. Saying goodbye to family and friends will be hard and I sometimes feel selfish as I know that family will miss seeing our girls grow older. This blog will be a way of keeping in touch and recording our journey.