8th September 2012

I’m on the road again. There’s that strange yet familiar feeling of displacement as I sit gazing out onto the tarmac at Dubai airport, the gentle hum of commercialism buzzing around me. I have ticked all the time wasting boxes. I have spent too much money on electricals and replaced my sadly deflated neck pillow. I have paid an extortional amount for a coffee and eaten a rather unappealing panini. I need to remember that spicy sausage does not normally equal tasty. Now it is time for me to sit in the haze of my jetlag and wait…only another 2 and half hours until the next flight…

Around me sit people from all over the globe trying desperately to get some sleep, or to calm their children or to make the time go faster in any way that they can. There are the lucky ones – snoring softly as others cast jealous looks their way. And the talented ones – next to me an African woman has camped out on the floor using her jumpers as pillows, and seems to be sleeping. And then there’s me…tip-tapping away, attempting a head start on my blog for this leg of the journey.

After two wonderful weeks at home, I am feeling a mixture of sadness and excitement about leaving again. Seeing family and friends has been really great, making the inevitable reality of the end of the trip a somewhat more palatable prospect. The job interviews still weigh on my mind, although the pervasive anticipatory anxiety has now been replaced by a frustration at words that cannot be unsaid, and a strong desire to hear the news – good or bad. I know what I need to think – “nothing I can do about it now.” But this is always easier said than done right? 

I shall let thoughts of Turkey distract me…