Prelude to a Life
I turned 40 on June 8, 2003, and expected life to begin. Well, I expected great things to happen with my children grown and our economic situation pleasing. 40 came and went without fanfare, without life change. I soon realized if anything was going to happen, I'd have to make it happen. And what changes did I seek? To grow and stretch, to experience other cultures and languages. In May 2004, I booked a trip to Tanzania, leaving Atlanta for Arusha on Dec. 12th, 2004. The kids reluctantly gave me permission to be away for Christmas. The trip would include hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro and going on a five-day safari in the Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti. That should be enough stretching. And so I began to prepare for the trip by buying clothes and equipment, getting immunizations and a visa and physically training for the climb.
Yet, something was missing. Instead of being a pampered tourist, I really wanted to plop down and assimilate, to contribute in some way. If that wasn't an option for the Tanzania trip, certainly there were other ways to live and work abroad while giving of myself. After researching humanitarian organizations, I settled on VSO, a UK-based organization started in 1958 which recruits volunteers from around the world to share their skills and knowledge. Of course, the VSO had to select me, too. Together we've worked to determine the best role for my skills; as marketing and communications advisor to TICH in Kisumu, Kenya, beginning in February 2005.
Kisumu is the third largest city in Kenya and is located on Lake Victoria and the equator! Mt. Kenya is approximately 150 miles away, so climbing Mt. Kenya is now on the list of things to do. I'm selling my house on Dec. 10th and will leave for Tanzania on Dec. 12th. Jaime, my daughter, will let me crash on her couch until I leave the country. For the first time in my adult life, I'll be free of a mortgage, free of dependent children (sort of!) and free from debt. I like this change. It feels as though years of accumulated dead skin is sloughing away and a new me is emerging. Or perhaps it's the REAL me emerging. Either way, it feels glorious.
Yet, something was missing. Instead of being a pampered tourist, I really wanted to plop down and assimilate, to contribute in some way. If that wasn't an option for the Tanzania trip, certainly there were other ways to live and work abroad while giving of myself. After researching humanitarian organizations, I settled on VSO, a UK-based organization started in 1958 which recruits volunteers from around the world to share their skills and knowledge. Of course, the VSO had to select me, too. Together we've worked to determine the best role for my skills; as marketing and communications advisor to TICH in Kisumu, Kenya, beginning in February 2005.
Kisumu is the third largest city in Kenya and is located on Lake Victoria and the equator! Mt. Kenya is approximately 150 miles away, so climbing Mt. Kenya is now on the list of things to do. I'm selling my house on Dec. 10th and will leave for Tanzania on Dec. 12th. Jaime, my daughter, will let me crash on her couch until I leave the country. For the first time in my adult life, I'll be free of a mortgage, free of dependent children (sort of!) and free from debt. I like this change. It feels as though years of accumulated dead skin is sloughing away and a new me is emerging. Or perhaps it's the REAL me emerging. Either way, it feels glorious.
posted by Cindi at 4:53 PM
3 Comments:
I'm reading about your adventures. Amazing, both what you are experiencing and how you are writing about it.
Hugh
Eye-opening. You may be experiencing something more important than credit scoring. Nah, could it be?
You go, girl!!
Rich
Hi Cindy,
I've been catching up on your adventures. What an adventure you are having!. You have a great gift for writing. I hope your notes will end up in a book at some future date. We all miss you at the club
Ed
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