16 to 19 October 2004 - Almeria, Spain
We'd been thinking about working abroad for the
last couple of years when we spent a few days in Turre, southern Spain.
We were pursuing
employment opportunities in both Canada and the USA. We had also been
seriously thinking about moving to South Africa. At the beginning of
October 2004 an opportunity in Hong Kong became available and we had to
seriously consider our future plans.
At the beginning
of 2004 a friend of our friends in South Africa, Siebert, was killed.
Only a few days after we had an email from Jennie and Siebert telling us
how excited they were about being parents, he drowned in a tragic
accident. Less than three weeks later his little boy, Joshua, was born.
This was a major
factor in us deciding to do something now, focusing our minds on "Life is
too short to live the same day twice!"
Getting back to
Spain, we were in a bar where nobody spoke English, celebrating my 36th
birthday, and had decided that moving to Hong Kong wouldn't be right for
us from a lifestyle point of view. After several more beers Angela
suggested that we should just resign and going travelling! So using the
most purposeful Spanish I knew, I turned to the barman and said "dos más
cervezas por favor" and the rest is history! |