GUESS WHAT

Guess what..
It's been ages since I posted a blog, that's what!

What's been happening?
Well, I've completed my "luxury free for three"
The second week involved me living below the line, on less than £1 a day on food and drink.
Now, I love me some cake and some beer so I knew beforehand that I'd find this difficult. However, to my surprise, I wasn't actually that hungry in the week.

I managed to get two tins of chopped tomatoes, a tin of mushy peas, a bag of frozen vegetables, a bag of rice, a packet of custard creams, a bag of porridge, a jar of (unsure how it'd be) curry sauce and one of value jam, a bag of pasta and 6 patronizingly small apples. The total spent came to £4.99 - one whole penny clear of my £5 limit!
To make the week easier for myself, I measured my purchases out equally beforehand and planned out my meals. Now, for a fiver, there's no way anybody could expect a medieval banquet. Each day began with porridge made with water, followed by pasta with chopped tomatoes for lunch (on Wednesday, I allowed myself curry sauce instead of tomato - thrilling stuff!) and an apple to snack. Dinner consisted of rice and mixed veg with curry sauce, and exactly 7 custard creams for dessert.
I have to admit, aside from feeling very lethargic by the end of the week due to my lack of any real nutrition, I found myself enjoying the taste of plain foods. I have, however, very much enjoyed being back on my normal diet and surprisingly, I do appreciate the foods I have a lot more, even after only a week.

 

The third and final week was dedicated to me sacrificing my bed. The intention was for me to camp outside, however at the beginning of the week there may or may not have been hurricane force winds - camping got scrapped! Instead, I took to the living room floor. I can't say I found this one particularly challenging, but I did learn that roll-out sleeping mats are extremely thin and nothing beats my comfortable, pillow-soaked bed. Three months in rural India will be fun then...

Things are starting to come together with preparation for the trip, I'm amassing kit (with donations from my cousin), I'm studying Indian customs & culture and I'm slowly coming to terms with being without a hair straightener or eyebrow pencil for 1/4 of the year. I'm still finding it a bit weird that I'm actually going, I'm so excited for it but, as I'm sure everyone is, I'm nervous about quite how extreme it'll be. It's a completely different world within those small communities and our experiences will be life-altering. I've been reading on the Raleigh India blog that the latest teams to arrive have been given their placement villages and are settling in. How bizarre that the next group going out will include little ol' me!

The most astonishing news in the last week is that I'm now over £700 on my JustGiving page, which means I've got less than £100 to go until I've hit the goal! Thank you everyone who has donated! What's even more special, is that this is before I've even had my main fundraising event, which isn't until next Friday. Organisation for That Friday Feeling is going well and it's looking like it's going to be a great night!

 

What's coming up? Well, before TFF next weekend, I've got my pre-departure training in Dulwich this weekend. I have absolutely no idea what this'll involve, but I'm guessing it's learning the basics and participating in team-building exercises. I'm looking forward to gaining a bit more knowledge of the specifics of the programme and discovering what to expect of India in a bit more detail...

Anyway, I must run! Thanks for donating, thanks for reading my quick blog post and there'll be more soon - x