Climbing the mountain of Red Tape
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Sanne
14 December 2012 | Nederland, Wageningen
Dear friends and family,
After a long radio silence on this blog, I'm happy to be able to announce my next adventure. It has been a while since I last commenced on a trip lasting for more than two to three weeks. It has also been a while since I last travelled to unfamiliar places, with unfamiliar cultures or with a weather pattern different from the temporate Western European climate. I must admit, the travel virus has been haunting me for quite a while now, and I have at times been getting annoyed by the ways and mindset of the Dutch full agendas and the drive for achievement on grounds of not fitting in if you don't. It is time for a new journey and a fresh perspective on life!
So... where am I going this time?
My destination is Saba, a small (13 sq. km) island in the Caribbean. This former Netherlands Antilles island became a 'special Dutch municipality' on 10/10/'10. So the weird thing about my trip is that I'm not actually going abroad, although of course it does feel that way!
When?
I'm leaving in the first or second week of february and staying for 3-4 months.
To do what?
Officially: to do the field work for my thesis research with the Aquaculture and Fisheries chair group for my master Aquaculture and Marine Resource Management at Wageningen University. But secretly, my true motivation for doing this research is to exchange the Dutch February weather for .... a different Dutch February weather, to exchange the Dutch mindset for ... well, a different Dutch mindset and to get out of the Netherlands to go to... oops, the Netherlands.
Although apparently I am going no place different than where I already am right now, I do hope that being somewhere else physically will help me go somewhere else mentally too and get my out of my (slack) daily routine. I am really looking forward to my new adventure! However, first there is a lot of stuff that needs to be done. Having travelled before, I know how truly and thoroughly the actual journey will make all the preceding paperwork and organising worthwhile. But my mind just turns the list of things that I have to arrange into a huge mountain that I have to climb. I know the view from the top will be fabulous and I know that once I start ascending it and get into a rhythm I will be at that top in no time. But right now I just can't make myself stop lingering at the foot of that mountain. I need a friendly hand reaching out to me that says 'come, I'll walk with you for a bit', or at least a kick in the butt that gets me started.
The surest way to get the support I need, I know from experience, is to make my travel plans public. Not because that enables me to directly ask for that support, but simply because of the reactions that it will generate anyway. Even though they can mostly be categorized in either 'Like!', 'Have fun', 'I'm jealous', 'send me a postcard', or 'looking forward to your stories', every one of them is like that friendly hand reaching out to say 'I'm with you and thinking of you'. :-)
So here they are, the travel plans for my next adventure...
I'll keep you posted and am looking forward to your replies! :-)
Love, Sanne
After a long radio silence on this blog, I'm happy to be able to announce my next adventure. It has been a while since I last commenced on a trip lasting for more than two to three weeks. It has also been a while since I last travelled to unfamiliar places, with unfamiliar cultures or with a weather pattern different from the temporate Western European climate. I must admit, the travel virus has been haunting me for quite a while now, and I have at times been getting annoyed by the ways and mindset of the Dutch full agendas and the drive for achievement on grounds of not fitting in if you don't. It is time for a new journey and a fresh perspective on life!
So... where am I going this time?
My destination is Saba, a small (13 sq. km) island in the Caribbean. This former Netherlands Antilles island became a 'special Dutch municipality' on 10/10/'10. So the weird thing about my trip is that I'm not actually going abroad, although of course it does feel that way!
When?
I'm leaving in the first or second week of february and staying for 3-4 months.
To do what?
Officially: to do the field work for my thesis research with the Aquaculture and Fisheries chair group for my master Aquaculture and Marine Resource Management at Wageningen University. But secretly, my true motivation for doing this research is to exchange the Dutch February weather for .... a different Dutch February weather, to exchange the Dutch mindset for ... well, a different Dutch mindset and to get out of the Netherlands to go to... oops, the Netherlands.
Although apparently I am going no place different than where I already am right now, I do hope that being somewhere else physically will help me go somewhere else mentally too and get my out of my (slack) daily routine. I am really looking forward to my new adventure! However, first there is a lot of stuff that needs to be done. Having travelled before, I know how truly and thoroughly the actual journey will make all the preceding paperwork and organising worthwhile. But my mind just turns the list of things that I have to arrange into a huge mountain that I have to climb. I know the view from the top will be fabulous and I know that once I start ascending it and get into a rhythm I will be at that top in no time. But right now I just can't make myself stop lingering at the foot of that mountain. I need a friendly hand reaching out to me that says 'come, I'll walk with you for a bit', or at least a kick in the butt that gets me started.
The surest way to get the support I need, I know from experience, is to make my travel plans public. Not because that enables me to directly ask for that support, but simply because of the reactions that it will generate anyway. Even though they can mostly be categorized in either 'Like!', 'Have fun', 'I'm jealous', 'send me a postcard', or 'looking forward to your stories', every one of them is like that friendly hand reaching out to say 'I'm with you and thinking of you'. :-)
So here they are, the travel plans for my next adventure...
I'll keep you posted and am looking forward to your replies! :-)
Love, Sanne
-
14 December 2012 - 13:59
Marloes:
Ha lieve Sanne,
Geweldig! Vooral om je laatste opmerkingen moest ik erg lachen! And yes I like, I am jealious and I am looking forward to hear your stories and receive postcards.
Liefs!
-
14 December 2012 - 17:56
Marieke:
zozo, spannend Sanne...!
Ik wens je al het geluk en veel plezier vooral tijdens je reis.
Dat je maar weer veilig terug mag komen na afloop!
Zal je updates blijven lezen als ze straks komen.
xxx -
14 December 2012 - 23:16
Hetty:
Go Sanne! Klim die berg op! Ik sta ook nog steeds onderaan :p
-
15 December 2012 - 04:16
Tania Timmer:
Hey Sanne,
Goed bezig! Ik weet zeker dat het uiteindelijk allemaal goed gaat komen voor jou. Ik ben zonder veel voorbereiding naar Statia gegaan en (uiteindelijk) loopt het onderzoek op rolletjes. Vergeet vooral niet om een warme trui mee te nemen, ik heb namelijk gehoord dat het erg koud kan worden daar boven op die berg. En daarbij: vergeet ook je duikspullen niet. Saba is een goede plaats om haaien te spotten :). Succes met de voorbereidingen! -
17 Januari 2013 - 22:10
Jantien:
Ha lieve Sanne,
Pas nu tijd om alle mailtjes door te worstelen na onze vakantie en wat gaaf, dat je naar Saba gaat!! Echt een super gebied. En laat maar weten wanneer ik je die schop voor je kont moet komen verkopen!
liefs van ons
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