It’s been a tense few days. We emailed the head of the Education Programme in the VSO office in Addis with our concerns about how our proposed transfer to Gondar is being handled. His response was swift and much more understanding than recent communications with our programme manager have been. He has contacted the college of teacher education (CTE) in Gondar and they responded by saying that if we couldn’t arrive by 8^th Nov they would cancel the placement and try again next academic year. This response is absolutely amazing! The CTE are saying they would rather have no support at all, for a programme that definitely needs VSO vol support, for a whole year than accept support starting two weeks later than planned. We think we might need up to 17^th Nov to finish at Debub Ethiopia College, so our Gondar placements are in jeopardy. This would mean that VSO would have to find new placements which is not easy. The doomsday scenario is that VSO cannot find any suitable placements at short notice and we have to go home. When I contemplate this last option I feel anxious and know that I would feel bitterly disappointed. We came here prepared to do two years, and more importantly we want to stay here. We are quite clear that we do not want to go home, it’s too soon. The VSO country director is now involved and maybe everything will work out as planned. If any good has come out of the last few days it has been the clear realization of how I feel about being here. There are low moments, frustrations, boredom and things I miss about home, but I feel committed and motivated about being here and being part of what VSO is all about.