Time to Fly

So this is it. Not in a historic, Michael Jackson's final swansong sort of way, no, but this marks the very beginning of what should be an incredible five weeks.

My alarm clock is set for 3 am. If all goes to plan, I'll be on my way to Istanbul by 7 am and will touch down there about 4 hours later. After a considerable departure lounge wait, spent making final preparations for the lessons which begin on Monday, I'll complete the rest of the journey to Ethiopia, arriving about midnight tomorrow. Then a couple of hours kip (hopefully) at Addis Ababa before flying on to Gondar at 6 am on Wednesday.

That final journey will, I'm told, be in a De Havilland plane. Like any other boy who was an airfix enthusiast at the age of 8, I immediately thought I'd be flying in one of these, a De Havilland mosquito from the Second World War:

Fortunately, they have made more modern planes since then, but it should be an adventure nonetheless. Ethiopian Airlines tells me there is a 'chance of storms' on Thursday morning. Cool

Nerves about the journey aside, I haven't felt this excited in a long time. Perhaps because I really don't know what it will be like, and because it's going to be so radically different from what I'm used to, I have a real urge to get there and get things going. I'm looking forward to meeting the other three 18ish-year-olds who are going to be there too (and who will be my co-pilots on the final flight in the Mosquito), although my efforts to stalk them on Facebook proved fruitless.

But more than anything, I'm looking forward to immersing myself in a culture which is foreign to me, with people who have been labelled the friendliest in the world, and with kids who's desire to learn could never be doubted by anyone. Bunking doesn't really exist as a concept.

I have no idea when I'll next be able to post a blog, but I'll be sure to keep a record of everything, ready for the opportune moment when I manage to find an internet café or a computer which has survived the inevitable power cuts and lack of any computer support technicians. And I'll be taking lots of pictures, which I might be able to feed you with at some point. If you want to leave me a message on this blog, that's probably the easiest way to get hold of me, but otherwise - see you in August!