from the horizon

I don’t do things by halves, so when I’m going to fail at something, I’m going to do it properly. The goal had been to take a year off, travel the world without the bondage of a job, without the certainty of employment.
I lasted a stunning one… week.

I should have known, and I partially did have the idea in the back of my mind. I was attending a Training of Trainers, run by a training organization (RedR). I enjoyed training and it was an area I wanted to move more into. So when I expressed my interest in becoming involved in running trainings with RedR, an invitation was extended – come stay in the guest house, spend some time in the office and see where I could help.

Once in the office I found my place in helping to organize an Information Management training in Water, Health and Sanitation (WASH) for engineers who responded to the floods in Bihar, India in 2008. I’m also looking at getting involved with their Logistics and Supply Chain Management trainings.

To my defense this isn’t actually a job. At this stage it is voluntary, and although there may be paid work later, my focus is on getting experience. Initially I’ve stayed with RedR for 2 weeks, as I have another training with them starting tomorrow, and I am still taking some time off to travel and do other things. And the work hasn’t been full time, so I’ve had plenty of time to relax and catch up on things (such as my blog!).

Also after rushing for the past 2 months, finishing up in Aceh and making the most of my time back in NZ, it was good to stop. In a place where I had no ties, no networks, no commitments, no responsibilities. Although it was a new place, I quickly got my bearings, and realized that everything I needed was within 500m of where I stayed:

It has been good to be able to exist in this minimized sphere of existence for a couple of weeks. Life became simpler, no having to worry about a wide assortment of things to do, different activities, travelling different places, people to meet. I was in a new place, which already decreased my level of engagement, and unlike Indonesia, people here seem to ignore the fact that I’m white, so no serenading of “Hello Mister!”, I could skim across the surface for a bit. Just get up, go to the gym or run circuits, sit, go to the office, eat, go home, read, sleep, repeat. I could focus on my immediate needs and plan out where I want to head next, without the distractions of normal life. I know that it would get to me after some time, I got stuck in a similar rut in Aceh in 2007, which by contrast was extremely unpleasant, but for a limited amount of time, it was a welcome pace. And quite certainly, the eye of the storm…