Indulge me: 2016 in a nutshell

As is traditional, I have been spending a lot time reflecting on  2016 – a year that saw a massive rise in terrorist attacks, Syria, Trump, Brexit and the loss of Prince, David Bowie and George Michael, slightly shit for the world, definitely shit for politics but pretty damn awesome for me. 
For those of you who have no wish to delve into the self-indulgent post that follows, you can leave it here if you want to. Or you can come along as I muse on a year gone by and think about what the future may hold. Of course, it is all about me, Anna May Venture.

January saw my sister and I driving across south Africa. I love Africa and still believe that I will live somewhere on this vast continent at some point in my life. It was an amazing holiday that started with hiking the peaks of the Drakensberg mountains, included lions, elephants, zebras, giraffes and rhinos (Oh My), ended with turtle spotting on the beach and included a luxury that was often beyond my comprehension. The new year had certainly started in style.

From there it was on to Thailand for a beautiful wedding.

I distinctly remember lounging around the pool, reminiscing on 2015 and discussing our plans for the following year. We all felt at a bit of standstill in our lives and wondered what 2017 would hold for us.

I think if someone could have told us then that there would be three babies, three different countries and two career changes between us before the end of the year, oh how we would have laughed! What a difference a year makes.

I returned to Australia without much of an agenda. My plan was, as always, to work a bit, travel a bit. Somewhere in the mist I was to complete my pharmacotherapeutic course and make the transition into remote area nursing, the dream being to move even deeper into an Australia I had yet to explore. 

I got a contract in Kununurra, right in the heart of the Kimberly. I have always had one rule in life: never go back. Even when I have had the time of my life, it is the new and the undiscovered that thrills me, it gives me that sense of adventure and that lust for life. I broke that rule this time and thankfully did not regret it.

This was the second time I had packed up my trusty car and driven over 3000 kilometres up into the Kimberly. I love the solitude and beauty of the open road. I find these long journeys a great chance to reconnect with me, myself and I. 

I love the Kimberly for its wild ruggedness, the hiking, the swimming, the camping. 

The oppressive heat sometimes got to me but great friends and good times always picked me up. There was never a dull moment.

 I loved the hospital, the work, the thrill of the emergency department and the team spirit. I miss it. Would I go back? In a heartbeat.
I have always said that at some point in my life I would love to do a long-term volunteer project. Both Africa and India taught me important life lessons that I believe has shaped me into the person I am today. 

However, I never felt I was there long enough to really achieved anything. It would make me happiest to think that I had contributed to a positive change, no matter how small, that would remain after I was gone.

I have always felt underqualified. I am just a nurse. Sure, I have travelled and experienced many different aspects of nursing but I have never specialised in any area or gone into management. Jack of all trades, master of none. The volunteer environment is a competitive field, it is not as easy as just rocking up, rolling up your sleeves and diving in. They are looking for people who can build capacity, run hospitals, train staff. However, if you’re not looking, you will not see. I always kept my eye out for that one chance. 

Then I saw this job in the Solomon Islands. I knew I did not have the qualifications or the experience but as I always tell my friends: that is for them to decide, not you. If you don’t apply, how will they know about you? So, I applied, without hope or agenda. The rest, as they say, is history.

Just after the famous Kimberly Moon Festival, I packed up my life again and set off on the long drive down to Melbourne. It was a fabulous drive that began with nights under the stars in the top end heat and ended with woolly pullies and winter blankets as I headed through South Australia in the depth of winter.

 I had the chance to discover the gorges and fabulous waterfalls of Katherine, swim in the hot waters of Mataranka springs, spend time reminiscing in Alice Springs, the place that set me off on the adventure that is my life today, check out the weird underground world of Coober Pedy, catch up with friends in the Barossa and finally, a week later, landed with my surrogate family in Melbourne to kids and chaos. Home at last.

After a quick trip back to the UK to get a new passport and say goodbye to the family (it will be over 18 months before I see many of them again), I was boarding a plane to the pacific and heading into a life unknown. 

The rest is chronicled in this blog. Any regrets? Not a bean.
I have had a fabulous Christmas with my cousin Sue and her husband Laurie in Cairns. It has been so indulgent that I have not had time to even consider culture shock. It is boxing day and I am sat sipping a cold sauvignon blanc, looking out over the ocean in Palm Cove. It is the third time I have heard Mariah Careys “all I want for christmas”. I am alone amongst couples and families all spending the Christmas holidays together and I am cosseting a little bit of melancholy. It is probably the wine (Que Bridget Jones “All by myself”). I wonder if this year, the same as I wonder every year, will be the year that I find someone to love me. Is it not what everyone wants? To be loved, to stop looking, to start a family?  I have been single for as long as I have truly known myself. Who knows why? I am quite sure everyone has a theory. As I sit and ponder this thought the loneliness expands inside me like a huge empty canyon and the tears well in my eyes. Sometimes, I find it good to indulge in a little sadness to help you to realise how lucky you are. I have a word. I am ok. I swallow my tears and I squeeze the hole shut as I think about my life. I get to see and do so many amazing things, I have lots of love and I am happy. I will not end this year disappointed. This is enough for me. I don’t know what next year will hold, but I am excited about it. 
I will be returning to Auki to start a new chapter in this great adventure. Before I left, I packed up my room in the guest house, the room that had been both my cell and my sanctuary for the last 6 months. My life, yet again, reduced to two boxes and a suitcase. I will be moving to a new house. My own house. Warm drinks, rotten veg, bucket showers, scrubbing clothes, hard beds and sleepless nights will be a thing of the past. I look forward to a life where I can make breakfast in my nightclothes, I can sip cold drinks straight from the fridge, with ice, I can swing from my hammock on the balcony, wearing shorts, watching the sunset over the ocean, I can bake bread, roast veggies and take hot showers. Part of me feels a little sad. For those of you who know me, know I love to play the martyr. What will I complain about when I have all of life’s luxuries at my fingertips? You can rest assured that I will probably find something.
But until then, as is tradition, I am off to see the new year in with my sister. This year it will be Hong Kong and Southern China. So, please, come along. I’m not promising sunshine and roses but if 2017 is anything like last year, it is going to be a great adventure. 
I Hope you all had a great Christmas and wish you a happy, healthy, fun-packed new year.