Tuesday 17 June 2014.

So it's just a little over a month now before I embark on the next chapter of my last year as being a moody, stressed out teenager. Australia is swiftly approaching and in 32 days I would currently be on route to Hong Kong (22:10 departure from LHR) so I should be sitting comfortably watching a film right now, or eating. Or both - the latter seems more legit!

Anyway, lets get back to the blog. Since my last entry I've managed to get my Blue Card application signed and emailed to Toni - my mentor at The Cathedral in Townsville. After the long haul trying to find someone who was eligible to sign it, I ended up having to pay for a lawyer. But it's all done and dealt with now. Pheeww.

Last friday was the pre-departure briefing in Reading which was fun! My dad and I left the house around 7am to make it to Reading for 9:45 - and tbh we only had a few minutes to spare after we got lost in the town centre. I met Sarah and the other gappies leaving from the UK and also the other volunteers that are heading to New Zealand around about the same time as us. The day wasn't too bad although the rooms we were sat in were perfect naptime conditions (my dad kept falling asleep lightly towards the end of the talks). After receiving our welcome packs along with our free LGV T-shirt we started cracking on with the day with multiple ice-breaker games and the safey DOs and DON'Ts. After lunch the Australia and New Zealand groups split up and we had a deeper discussion about our specific host countries. Lauren was a volunteer who had spend the past 5 months in Australia from last January - June and shared her experiences and tips with us all.

To round the day off I bought a LGV hoodie! Everything is starting to feel very real right now, but yet at the same time I still can't quite believe that in just over a month I will be on a plane travelling half way across the world and calling Australia 'home' for the next 11-12months of my life. Crazy huh?

Last little bit before I go, I just wanted to write about all the German volunteers I've been speaking with on FB messenger. It was Sarah's idea to put all the vols who are staying in Townsville to all be in one big conversation and we could all share our excitment, our worries and most importantly, where we all want to travel to while we're out there. The Shalom school is where the majority of the gappies are placed, as it's just Valentina and I at The Cathedral - but our two schools are only like a 20 minute bus ride away from each other (we're nearer the centre of town which means, we're closer to the beach! Woo!!)

Anyway I best be off as its currently 00:24 here - how scary is this, my next post will be around a day or two before I leave. I'll let you in on what I decide to pack and how stressful it is/was/or whatever. Until next time...