Hi!

So this is my first post. The opening page in my journal; the launch of my blog. A momentous event.

It's Boxing Day 2006. Not sure why I chose this day to start the blog. But it's as good a day as any. Except perhaps New Year's Day, thinking about it. Hmm.

I'm still enjoying the festive period at home in the bosom of my family. You know, watching naff telly and eating far too much, catching up with old friends over lots of drinks, falling out with my brother over who gets the best chair in the living room. Good times. And yet, in the back of my mind wondering how long it will be before we stop doing the family thing at Christmas, how long before friends move away...

But in terms of the more immediate and certain future, South America looms pretty large. I'm in the process of booking my language course, but other than that everything is pretty much booked and sorted -as much as it needs to be, pre-departure. I am excited, definitely, but I'm surprisingly calm about it I think. There's lots I should be doing. I want to be up on South American history (I've got enough reading material from my brother this Christmas), I'm supposed to be getting a head start on learning Spanish with my teach yourself course, and I really ought to get familiar with the Lonely Planet, since it's going to be my bible when I'm out there. And then there's packing. How to get 6 month's worth of stuff into a rucksack? Answers on a postcard...

In fact writing all this is making me realise how little time I have left. Better get cracking on those books.