It is late Saturday afternoon and there are only two more sleeps till I get on the plane and jet off to start a new chapter of my life. It hasn’t really sunk in yet. I guess it will at some stage during the 40 hours of traveling that I have to do. I received some help from a local travel agent “Cousins Tours and Travel” with the price of the flight, and we booked quite late so it means I have to take several flights with a few stop offs. I’m actually looking forward to some self-time on the flight. It will be a good opportunity to do some planning.

I am still riding on the wave of euphoria from the launch event and the amount of support and encouragement we have been getting from everybody over the last few months. Personally, it has given me a big boost and stocked me up with confidence for the journey ahead. I’ll be looking to hit the ground running and get stuck in to setting up the venue and making it fit for fifty daily kids. I am also aware that things happen slightly slower over there so I have to prepare myself for unexpected delays. I’m hoping that we don’t have to wait too long for items such as tables, chairs and cooking equipment which we may have to order in.

So it’s almost game time. This is what the SOG team has been working towards and it’s time to put our money where are mouths are. Valeria has been running around like a maniac organising meetings with MTD, nutritionists, the lady that currently controls the “Food for Thought” venue, and our good friend Rolo who has been offering us guidance. Rolo works for an organisation supporting the youth of Argentina, Fundacion SES. Here is a link to see what he is involved in http://fundses.org.ar/archi/pres_ingles.pdf He is looking to get volunteers from Australia to travel over and help out. He has been a great help in our negotiations with the locals. I’m looking forward to getting the low down from Valeria on what has been happening on the ground in Buenos Aires. The meeting will be happening face to face in a couple of days.

The next time I post, I will be writing from Latin America. I can’t wait to get going. Good bye Melbourne. I will miss this city that has given me so much. But I will be back, and I will have tales of the slums of Buenos Aires. Stay tuned…