It has been over six months since plans begun. Five since the plane tickets bought. We come to the last three weeks and what I have ended up thinking about are the minute things.

No longer are we dealing in the hundreds or thousands of pounds of cost, now I have the malaria tablets, pens, books, and clothes to worry about. Now is also the time to wind down my current life and begin preparing mentally for the shift of culture and lifestyle. Beyond all that, I need some time, as Fiona told me, to get excited.

I remember the thrill of spending so much money on the plane ticket. After that, we could not back out. It was set in stone. Since then, that initial drive has somewhat petered out. With the focus in-between so heavily being to make money, I have not had time to realise the closeness of the leaving date.

Entering the last few days of February, we have only March between us and Bangladesh. A similar phenomenon happened, I remember, before Peru in 2010. The due date pounced upon me, hidden behind what were the last weeks of school.

Even the day before departure seemed packed with too much to do; a last minute kit-check, my birthday celebrations, watching Toy Story 3 as some kind of team bonding exercise, and finalising arrangements for transport to the airport the next morning.

Our five o’clock start had me stood out the front of my home, bags at my feet, awaiting Ben for a lift to Heathrow. The buzz of waking early tingled across my skin and mixed with the excitement and anticipation. I shivered even though I was wrapped up warm in many layers; an attempt to save space in my luggage by wearing as many of my clothes as possible.

The absence of time to sit and relax in the week before leaving served as a precursor to the month ahead. It would be three weeks of non-stop roll call, hurrying from one town to the next and rushing into each new experience like a fearless bull. It was only during the project stage, in the last week of our trip, that we really had the time to relax and do nothing—though even then, we soon jumped back into action, helping out at the kindergarten and then heading back up to Lima.

But that’s another story.

For Bangladesh, there would be another early start and a long flight before arrival, and with five months’ travelling before us, I feel as though there should be more to prepare.