Two weeks from now, I'm flying to Johannesburg. Two day later, I'm in the African Lowveld.
Of course, I tried to prepare as much as possible. Doing regular EMS training, walking a lot more, reading a lot about topics like wildlife conservation and usage of natural resources.
But somehow, it didn't quite work out the way I hoped it would. There are thousands of different topics that kept me distracted from concentrating just on my Field Guide training material (especially studying birds). And physically, I've had to interrupt my training for a number of weeks, first due to corona measures and in the last couple of weeks due to problems with a lumbago I suffered from. Also, I've had pain in my knees when squatting for a couple of years now, and have been worried about how that is going to effect me in an environment where trails can only be found on the ground and where toilets are not exactly what we are used to here in Western Europe.
I've had a complete physical check-up two weeks ago, and the doctor confirmed that I am topfit and good to go to Africa. But still, these little handicaps have kept me thinking quite a bit.
And then this morning, I woke up with a severe headache. Now I'm known to have a very slight form of migraine and react to weather changes every now and again. But still. It was bad enough for me to not feel well at all and so I decided to take and aspirin and go back to bed. I slept for another 2,5 hours and when I woke up felt a whole lot better.
And then in the cause of the day, it began to occur to me that all those little problems I've been struggling with lately, are almost certainly just signs from my body to cool down and relax. It's my body saying to me "take it easy. Don't worry. You're fine. Just stop trying to do even more things in parallel than you've been doing for so many years, only because you soon travel to Africa, and take it easy, because it will all be just fine."
So am I fit for Africa?
You bet I am!!
As fit as I'll ever be, looking forward to whatever comes to me.
If I don't get everything I wanted to do done before I leave, that's fine. I'll do them when I get back. Or maybe find there was no real need for them anyway.
If I don't know 30 or 40 birds by heart before I go? So what. Other people have started this adventure without knowing any birds and did well in the end. So can I. And I know I am not really very good at learning by heart (more of a logical thinker), but I'll have my full focus on it when in Africa, so I'll manage.
I am ready, I'm looking forward to it and I'll enjoy it every minute.
My body thinks so. So why would I question it?

A little over a week ago was Earth Day. And I didn't post anything to commemorate that day. Did I miss it?

Of course not. I knew it was Earth Day and I find it a good and necessary thing to think about the importance of our environment on that day.
But Earth Day to me is a bit like Christmas. 
Christmas is that highlight of the year, where everybody is preaching love and peace for everyone. Usually, it starts with the most hectic time of year. Finishing all that work that needs to be done before everyone is on holiday and can not be reached anymore, elbowing your way through the masses to find presents for your loved-ones, racing around frantically to find the last beautiful tree at the last moment, putting up all those lights and decorations, cooking, baking, writing (e-)cards.....!  Jeez, by the time Christmas Eve comes, you really want to lie flat on your back on the beach of a tropical island with a cocktail and far, far away from family and friends and traffic jams and shopping malls and all this chaos!
But then, finally, it's Christmas. Everybody is happy. Everybody loves each other. The guy you wanted to strangle yesterday because he snatched the last beautiful tree, the one you wanted to buy, now gets a big friendly smile and a heartfelt "Merry Christmas!".
Until a couple of days later. When everything is over. We return to "normal", want to kick that guy, that just squeezed into the full bus and is pushing his rucksack in your back, in the nuts if only we could move between all those horrible people that are in a hurry to go to work. Friendly smiles and love and peace? Yeah, sure. Maybe next Christmas.
I often wondered around Christmas time what is so good about celebrating love and peace for only two days a year.

And I don't want Earth Day to become the Christmas of nature conservation. I don't want people to think about nature, donate for conservation and cherish the world around them for only one day a year. It is something we MUST do every day in our lives (okay, the donation part we can do a little less frequent). People must live Earth Day 365 days a year. Because the human race is not in danger when we preach love and peace only once a year. But it is certainly in danger when we limit our awareness of the environment and its needs to only one day a year.

And that's why there was no post from me dedicated to Earth Day. There were loads and loads of posts for Earth day on all social media and the world didn't need an extra post from me. I will stick to posts and hopefully creating some awareness throughout the rest of the year.