Foreword

It started with a regular pedicure session in Aug 08 and I was reading magazine to pass time. Chanced upon an article on a photographer’s trip to Sri Lanka, winning prize of a photography competition, to take pics of the post tsunami’s scenes after these years. I was reminded of my bucket list – gap year to travel/volunteer.

Travelling has been my love since young. After JC and before getting into Uni, I took on 3 jobs to earn and saved hard for my 1st backpacking trip to Europe! From then onwards, my yearly resolution is to travel at least twice a year and hopefully, cover the 6 continents in this lifetime.

The 1st few years of my working life were spent trying to identify my career path….then I met the man of my life, we bought a flat and I married him. 3-4yrs of married life went in a flash and the question of ‘to DINK’ (Dual Income, No Kids) or ‘not to DINK’ kept popping up in our conversations. It was hard to give up the freedom…hehe..

After the pedicure session, with a little inspiration from a couple who went travelling, numerous calculations of our saving plans on excel sheet, cut down our expenses (no more pedicure, facial, shopping, soccer channel for him, fine dining…), we applied for 6mths no pay leave (very thankful to our supportive organization and bosses!) and here we are counting down to our trip…YEAH!!!

Meh

I have always pondered how my life will be and where it will head.  Having grown up, received an education, experienced a few jobs, climbed a few ladders, bought my first home and married a pretty wife!

So what’s next for me? Bask in the joy of having children; watch them grow up and start their own family where the next cycle of life begins..

Guess I was hoping that life can be a little more exciting. It has been a challenging journey to bring purpose to my daily life.  Working with children and later working with voluntary welfare organizations forms part of that journey.  Therefore, when Meh brought up this 6 months break, it was a wonderful opportunity to broaden my life journey as well as break away from the cycle of ‘normal’ life. So here goes…

Hu Zi