I know this is a travel blog, I’m just documenting everything that’s happening in the weeks leading up to our first massive trip. It’s pointless, no one will be interested, but I’ve kept diaries before when large shifts were happening in my life and it’s always interesting to read them back. I could also do full SEO on this and pretend it’s a helpful article on how to prepare for your first travel experience, but I can’t predict what’s going to happen after this so it could be awful advice.
We’re in the process of packing down our lives so that all of our worldly possessions will sit in a single room in our family homes. That requires boxes and storage solutions which IKEA sell plenty of. Well, maybe not plenty. The box I actually had my eye on was sold out and I really should have checked beforehand.
Regardless of the box situation it was nice to spend an afternoon with my sister Naomi before I go away. She’d never tried IKEA meatballs either and had no idea there was a massive restaurant in there so she was in for a treat. I’m pretty sure they have to have that restaurant because people pop in for a single item and lose four hours of their lives in the upstairs section looking at cushions. By the time you get around the building you’re ravenous.
It’s so strange that there are only a couple of weeks left of normality and then everything is different for a long time. I mentioned in my last post about how it’s the same feeling as when I moved to university and it still feels that way. When I moved to Leeds I loved it, but I also have memories of bursting into tears when my mum came to visit because I was so homesick at the same time. It’s more than likely I’ll be having a few emotional Skype calls with my mum when all I want is my comfy bed and a pizza.
Last week nothing felt like it was about to change and now that I’ve started taking down all my prints and packing away my books it’s slowly feeling more real. I guess that’s some advice I can give to first time travellers like myself. If you’re feeling like it’s all completely unreal, start making changes. Get used to not being around your home comforts by putting them away and giving yourself less to miss when you have to leave. I haven’t enjoyed pulling down all of the beautiful things that usually surround me, but I feel like it’s easier to leave the things you can’t see.
15 days to go until we step on that plane.
