Que Sera Sera

This time last year I was preparing for my second Christmas in Tanzania searching the market for an elusive chicken willing to be sacrificed and roasted. I missed the crisp winter nights at home, the festive lights, the parties and Billy Idol blasting out in shops crammed with food, gifts, clothes and a billion other material things that seem indispensable on December 25th. But there was something to be said for the simplicity of being gifted a pile of mangoes and a packet of cashew nuts. Of not having to cook a meal that covers a dining table and is left half uneaten. No need to buy bigger better noisier presents or watch the Queen's speech or play games that end in stony silences over the evening turkey buffet. Where thanks are given to one God or the other for the blessings of family, health and income. Mangoes had never tasted so good.

I loved being back in the UK. The supermarkets, dirty late night take-away's, fancy toiletries, Friends reruns, efficient transport networks and holidays. Having family and friends who know you and love you despite that, who you can confide in or conspire with because you speak the same language and share a history. Having access to an endless supply of entertainment and distraction. In the last few months I tried bikram yoga, zumba, joined a running club, dating apps, had painting and guitar lessons and honestly, it's exhausting. All of the choice we have, decisions we face, and questions we feel obliged to have the answers to. What's for dinner? What am I doing on Friday? Who am I seeing at the weekend? Swipe right or left? What are my future plans or why don't I have any...? I told my Tanzanian colleagues that they were the lucky ones in some respects. That there are different challenges and obstacles in life whether you live in Africa or Europe. But who would believe me with my nice clothes, money, big house and a one-way ticket back to London. I wouldn't and they didn't.

So, six months of being back home has gone by in a flash. Full to the brim of family, old  friends, new friends, indulgence and extravagance. My next adventure is here and in 2 weeks I will fly to Sierra Leone with Save the Children to work in the Kerry town Emergency Treatment Centre. The plan is to stay for 6 months as their lead in-country pharmacist helping with the current ebola outbreak. Yes dad, if it makes you feel better I will always wear latex gloves and no mum, I won't go jogging on my own....

"He knows not where he's going,

 For the ocean will decide.

It's not the destination,

It's the glory of the ride."