:)

Hey guys :)

Okay so it's now Sunday again...and i phoned PT twice last week and received pretty much no new information whatsoever. I was told to be optimistic about going to Honduras because it looks likely...but not from the info they gave me last Wednesday it doesn't! The country was under curfew because they were having a coup, so the rep's plane couldn't land, so they couldn't tell me anymore information about the placement. That evening i was talking on facebook chat to Casey who is a volunteer on the Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras, and he was saying that the country was still under curfew, though the islands weren't in any kind of danger...
Honestly i'm just a bit confused, and there is no way i'm going to build myself up and start thinking that i'm definitely going to Honduras because i've been let down twice already and i'm going to stay as cautious as possible until i find out what is really going on.

I feel quite bad, because along with me, my partner Emma is still at home...we did choose to wait together for the placements we both want, but part of me thinks it's my typical bad luck that has landed us in such an unfortunate situation :( Hopefully she doesn't blame me though, just as i don't blame her...i don't blame aaaaanyone (not PoinTing any fingers of course).

Mum was working tonight, so there was no big Sunday dinner, and in my opinion, pie, beans and chips with Stephen were just as good!! We were talking about my going away, and he gave me a lot to think about in terms of making the biggest success of my year. To summarise...
When i get there, it's all about how successful i can make this year for everyone involved in the long term. If, by the end of week 1 all the kids love me and it's all going hunky dory, then that's good, but i should be looking at a way of sustaining that success for the rest of the time i spend there. Plan and review what i'm doing. It has to be taken seriously, and i intend to look at it that way.
Stephen suggested that i could create something along the lines of a handbook. Start at the beginning and try to establish what stage i am at, what level the kids are at, what the general feeling is. Then i will go to the middle of the book and write down where i want to be 6 months from then, and finally what do i really want to have achieved, in detail, by the end of my year... and over the course of the year, fill in the bits inbetween with all the goods, the bads and the uglies of the days gone by...
but without giving away too much, this is going to be very detailed indeed. Like i said, i'm going to take this completely seriously, as it should be taken. I'm looking forward to making the very most of this tough challenge, and i know that this is where my natural motivation will break out and make me proud. It will make others proud of me, but more importantly i will be proud of myself too. About time too :)

So thank you very much Stephen for motivating me, helping me and treating me like the adult i am trying to be. Thank you :)

Now, i'm away down the road to watch Dirty Dancing with my aunty Jilly! Though, before i go, i want to leave you with some words of wisdom that reverberate in my mind for a variety of reasons...
I'm sure they will help you too, in one way or another :)
Love, Jen xxx

"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful."
- Dr Albert Schweitzer