The big plan

Pictures:
Visitors from The Netherlands:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=67022&l=4d614&id=523210814

Diving with my buddies:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=67221&l=133a8&id=523210814

Nightdiving:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=67388&l=e7749&id=523210814

Out & About:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=68263&l=e3309&id=523210814

To those who don’t know El Gouna, it might seem a rather drastic change compared to where I used to live... Diving every day, talking about diving every day, eating in the Clubhouse at least 4 times a week, seeing the same people every day, living in this Disneyland type of resort, desert all around...

Well, come to think of it, it used to be pretty much the same before: going to the office every day, talking about banking every day, eating at Lau Pa Sat at least 4 times af week, seeing the same people every day, living in this Disneyland type of condominium, high rise buildings all around...

Some of you may think, how long can she survive in a desert hole, this ultra urban girl who likes eating out in fancy restaurants, staying in 5 star hotel when traveling for business, taking out sushi 3 times a week, randomly jumping in a taxi when she is yet again late for work...

Well nowadays, this dive chick is eating the best home made Italian pasta, living in a house by the lagoon, savouring salami, coppa, herring and rookworst brought from Europe and randomly jumping in friend’s cars who are driving by when she is yet again late for work.

So, what’s the real difference you may ask? As far as I have concluded, it’s a question of living rather than being lived. Of looking at the stars every night and breathing life. Of simply enjoying everything I do, because it is new to start with, later because it’s fun and finally because it suits me and I’m passionate about it. Not that I did not enjoy my corporate days, on the contrary, but here, I just feel so carefree..

I’ve not had a single sleepless night since I got here. Well, ehm..., no sleepless nights related to work stress to be exact :-). I haven’t gone to bed one single night thinking “Shit, tomorrow I shouldn’t forget this or else...”, or “Oh my god, tomorrow is the deadline, I’m never going to make it...”, or “Damn, tomorrow is this horrible meeting during which I have to pretend the project is going great whilst it’s not...”.

Of course the downside is that since I’ve arrived here, I’ve also never woken up to discover that a monthly small fortune was deposited on my current account by my employer. Here, I get my salary cash in euro’s, not even in an envelope and the only amounts I see on my account are on the debit side. Diligently, I go to the bank once a week to exchange a moderate amount of euro’s into Egyptian pounds. And this for a banker who worked for a good 4 years on projects to get cash exterminated and replaced by electronic payments. Ha, life is full of surprises... And I love them all.

So here’s the plan.

I still don’t know and don’t WANT to know where life is going to take me after I get bored (if I ever get bored here). But I do know already that I will be here for quite a while. There are a few things I’m not done with yet, therefore I’ve decided to stay at least until the end of 2009 and then see where wind, sea & love will take me.

What am I staying for?

I’m staying for the diving. Next year March, after my super winter travels, I will come back to El Gouna and start my IDC (Instructor Development Course, yes, it’s not only in the banking industry that they use acronyms). It’s the next logical step in the diving business and since my divemaster salary is about 14 times less than my last pay in Singapore, I need to become an instructor for financial reasons. Also, if I ever want to work elsewhere in the diving business, I’ll have more opportunities as an instructor. Besides, teaching people how to dive is a lot of fun (except for those long hours in the pool in winter, but malesh, every job has its downside) and I don’t think I would do a bad job. Never say never, but I don’t think I’ll ever get bored of diving, in fact, the more I dive, the more I want to keep doing it. And not only in the Red Sea. Living in this diving community opened my eyes to all the amazing dive sites in the world and I really want to explore as many as I can.

I’m also staying for the people. Over the course of my life, I’ve learned that moving around is great, because you get to know new people and make new friends. But 10 months is not enough to build lasting relationships. And since I’ve met many interesting friends since I got here, I would really regret leaving them so soon. Additionally, even though the winter is starting, I have a little spring flower blossoming in my heart so I intend to hang around, water it and hopefully see it fully bloom next summer... :-)

So that’s the plan. I’m stuck on El Gouna and its people.

But now, do you want to know my plan for the winter months? If not, stop reading here and get back to work. Otherwise, get ready for a mouthwatering itinerary... It’s shameless, and I love it.

It will all start on Jan 7th, when I’ll jump on a plane to Thailand to do 10 days of diving on the safari boat where Stefano works. 10 days of (diving) bliss, believe me. Then, since it’s around the corner, I’m off to Singapore with Stefano to gorge on Chinese, Indian & Malay delicacies and of course, to say hello to all my friends out there, especially Timmo, whom I really look forward to seeing again. Next, I fly back West to Mozambique for some awesome diving (whale sharks, sharks, manta’s, just to name a few) with Darja & Ivan. Then, Mirjam coincidentally happened to plan a sabbatical too and her first destination is Antartica. She said “Would you like to... “ and I said “YES!”. And I believe Siobhan is in for the game too... The more the merrier! Also, since the port of departure for the Antartica Cruise is Ushuaia (Argentina) and Buenos Aires is just around the corner, I thought why not stay the city for a few days and say hi to people I haven’t seen in 20 years! Thanks to Facebook I’m back in touch with several old schoolmates and I can’t wait to see how they are doing. Subsequently, I touchdown in Holland, to fuel up on herring, paling, kroket & frikadellen, to catch up with everybody in my home country and to see many many baby’s that have or are expected to pop out soon. As a cherry on the cake, my final destination is China, first to Guangzhou where my little brother (whom I’m so proud off, check out ywnio.waarbenjij.nu), has just moved for a job. And I hope to do quick hop-over to Hong Kong with him, since it’s just around the corner. Last but not least, I want to go to Beijing where a dear colleague has recently moved and since I have the visa for China anyway, I might as well include that in my trip...

I thought my Caribbean trip in June was cool, but now I think I’ve definitely outdone myself... About 139 flights, 87 time zones crossings and 75 days after leaving Egypt, I should be back in El Gouna just in time for my 34th birthday end of March. I think my 33rd year will be one of the most memorable ones of my life...

So people planning to come and visit me here, you now know when to come (if you want to see me, that is... :-). November and December are already fully booked with visitors, so April is your next chance!

I love it when a plan comes together...

Have a wonderful working week,

xYx