Time Is Running Out

Finally I have started getting my shopping list sorted out for my African trip which is getting closer and closer - time is running out to get it all done. The list isn't complete as I keep getting a brain wave and adding a few more items.

I have been amazed by the price differences for products online, I have been looking at prices for a children's world map. The top end price was £18 and my purchase price £4.99. This was for the same map - unbelievable! Maybe I have not been shopping for so long I have forgotten all this sort of price difference.

Some of the items I am going to try and blag to keep costs down, I want some posters, hair clips and other hair accessories, colouring books and crayons, pencil's etc, maybe even some lollipops too.

My budget of £200 for gifts is not going to cover what I have planned to purchase but I have been given an extra £100 through work which will cover the extra needed. My next problem is that of weight, as my limit is 23kg but can go up to 32kg but this will incur a £50 excess baggage charge. I am taking two giant Twister games which weight 4kg each and so I am now having to think about what everything is going to weight.

Another thing which did surprise me was just getting myself to use my designated credit card (i.e. the card I have paid in full) to buy the gifts. Even knowing that I have started to load the card, didn't change my apprehension at using it. Truth be known - it was more than a month ago that I started thinking about what I wanted to buy from the list of gifts the Charity had given me as an example. But I just couldn't bring myself to do any more than that - just think about it. Spending money has become a bit of a trial.

This trip is a real dream come true. Years ago while at intermediate school my class used to sponsor a child in Kenya and I was always involved in the 40 hour famine that was held each year on behalf of Tear Fund. So the idea of finally going to Africa is so awesome! OK, I have been to South Africa before but that just doesn't seem the same thing. I know it is going to be life changing and that is a good thing. I know it is also the first of many visits which for some one who loves to travel is great news. But the whole trip comes down to just two days - the 5th Dec in Kenya and the 10th Dec in Uganda - that's when I get to met my sponsor children. Everything else is fill in.