Travelers never think that they are the foreigners. ~Mason Cooley

Well, that sure took long enough. Didn't it? But here I am, after two very frustrating trips to them embassy where words like 'too vague' and 'not government authorised' were thrown around a lot. I cried a little, and I think that must haven softened this guy up, so when I went in the final time, and he had all the papers that anyone could ever have imagined existed about one person (including photocopies of my diary...but that's a different story), it took all of 3 minutes, and now I should be holding my visa in a couple of days. Which lead to my new favourite person Jonathan King, booking my flights and sorting my finances out, so that I shall be on a plane on Thursday 25.2 (God Willing).

Slowly, I am getting a little more excited. As of yet it doesn't feel so different. I am sat at work, I have to get up tomorrow morning to go to work, so that doesn't feel different. I have to bury my mothers mother on Saturday morning and to get through 2 nights of leaving affairs (which I'm very excited about). Yesterday the girls got some of their summer clothes together and donated them to me when I realised that all I had was longjohns and work clothes from this winter. Winter. Helsinki is covered in Snow, and I love it. I like the -5 to -10 degree weather. What I don't like is the constant snowing, and the constant -12 to -20 weather. I don't care if 'winter' is coming to Recife, it's never going to look anything like this. Thankfully.

I know already, that once I get to Recife I will have brought completely inappropriate things with me. Anyone who knows me can guess that my bags are probably going to be filled with irrelevant books and very little of the useful important stuff, ach well. who needs stuff anyway.

Next time I write I shall have already started my travels.
I hope that you are all well, and I want to thank you for your prayers and crossed fingers. It means a lot to me know how great my support network is.

God Bless
Love
Emma

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