Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
-Mark Twain
After 20 years of working in the beautiful city of Sydney we are embarking on a new adventure…
Sydney is just starting to warm up for summer – the birds are singing and the flowers are blooming – so why head into another winter?! Well… it is 28 years since Tim first climbed the Atlas Mountains, wandered the souks of Marrakesh and was bombarded by the sensory overload of Casablanca. It is a wonderfully fascinating place that draws you back, and so this will be our fourth visit. We’ll be teaching English at the same time as trying to learn some Arabic ourselves. We’ll be exploring worldviews and helping the locals to not only communicate in English, but also understand some of western culture and thinking too. We’ll be learning their culture too and making new friends. And we’ll be having fun!
Why would we want to leave? Doesn’t everyone want to come to Australia? Well, our careers in pharmacy and engineering have been great but after 20 years it’s time for a change. Teaching is rewarding. Enabling someone to do something today that they couldn’t do yesterday is so worthwhile. Also, we have family in the UK; it’s too cold to move back there but Africa is colourful and warm, has great food, beautiful architecture and fascinating culture. And learning a new language will be a good challenge for the brain: if we want a coffee we will have to learn how to ask for one.
In our room there was a huge pile of random items that have now been finally shoe-horned into four inadequate bags. All the essentials for survival in Africa: laptops, MP3 players, cameras, mobile phones, Tupperware containers, safety pins… but, sadly (for one of us), the hair straightener won’t fit…
Although some people have been surprised at our plans, everyone has been wonderfully supportive. We feel that we’re just where we should be right now. Sydney is a beautiful place and we have some amazing friends here, but we’re really excited about leaving, and today is the start of the next chapter…
A Tale of Two Travellers 