Changes ahoy!

I started this post some time ago, but have refrained from posting it until I had told people at work that I am leaving.

I am leaving. I’ve been looking into the possibilities to do so for some time now, namely to join an ”apprenticeship course” (praktikantkurs in Swedish) that involves going to India.

Anyone that knows me know that my passions in life includes the environment, food and food production. Although I have appreciated working with organic food and have during my two-and-a-bit years learned absolutely loads and developed my own views, I now find myself at a crossroad, trying to work out how to best pursue my passion. I have considered moving back into journalism, reporting the world out of food poverty. I have fingered on Agronomy, draining and refertilising the way out of food poverty. But I find myself too inexperienced, too unaware, to make any kind of decisions. I have now found a not strictly academic way to return to studies and experience first hand how food production shapes itself for some of the poorest people in the world, for some of the people most in striking distance of Climate Change. This in one of the most inspiring cultures of the world, in my opinion.

Without going into too much depth on how the Swedish education system works, I will at the beginning of August be located in the north of Sweden to do a course in aid work with Framtidsjorden, Future Earth. After that it’s back southwards again, to Biskops-Arnö just north of Stockholm for about 6 weeks of studies of things like globalisation, organic farming, the language Tamil, etc. I’m not too sure exactly what to be honest. It’s all going to be great though!

At some point in October me and my 7 course mates will be heading to Tamil Nadu in the south of India and to one of a couple of organisations that Future Earth are working with. They are very rural and very basic and they don’t have much in place in terms of websites, but they are CIRHEP and Kudumbam. I don’t know which one I’ll be sent to yet. But I know I’ll remain there for about six months, and then it’s back to Sweden to finalise the course, which comes to an end in May 2010.

This is about as much information I can cram into one post. I am absolutely delighted, excited, inspired and all that. I am also terrified, petrified and heartbroken to be leaving London and the life I’ve lead for so long. I never thought it would be easy, but is sure is time for a change.

More details, thoughts and regrets to follow… but I am so excited my fingertips are tingling!