Who is this guy? (2 weeks prior to pre-dep...)

So! I'm new to EWB, and plenty of folk don't know me or anything about me, and pretty soon I'll be working with a bunch of you! En fin, this blog is largely for you! If those who know me are reading it, read on, who knows maybe you'll discover or something knew.

So it's 1:30AM in Vancouver, I just had two wisdom teeth pulled out today, I'm listening to Ravi Shankar and I have a tea bag stuffed into a corner of my mouth (apparently this helps...). And all I can really think about is starting pre-departure in Toronto with EWB.

Okay so, for the kids that don't know me so well yet, here's a super abridged version of my life story, so you have some idea of who i am, where i come from, and why i'm an overseas volunteer! ...

Mom: Indian (from New Delhi)
Dad: South African (ethnically Indian, though family's been there for several generations)
Love Connection: Dad was sent to India on a boat when he was just 10, met my mom in school, fell in love, they got hitched, my sister and i arrived, rest is history.
Interesting story: Parents had to move to Canada originally right after getting married, since due to apartheid laws you couldn't bring a non-white wife into the country from another country. parents lived in TO for 7 years in the 70s and wore bell bottoms (i wasn't born yet). Went back to SA once law was changed.

My early years: Lived in Durban, SA till I was 5 then parents decided to give Canada another try mostly since SA very dangerous. Moved back to Canada, though this time Vancouver, since weather and many other qualities, infinitely better than Ontario (sorry Ontarians, but you know its true!)

I lived in Vancity til 17, then went off to Carleton to study Aerospace Engineering (and either be an astronaut or design spaceships).
Interesting story: drove between Vancouver and Ottawa 6 times during summers. Only got stopped by cops twice. Only got suspected of being a terrorist during one of these instances, in Manitoba, by a cop who asked if i'd ever "worn" a moustache before and if i went by my first or last name. Luckily he spelt my last name WRONG and i got off from paying the ticket.
Confession: Was a star trek fan/addict, even went to several conventions, though when VERY young... whatevs i know you've all watched some star trek in your day and LIKED it...
The Turning Point: Things changed in 4th year on a year-long exchange in Madrid. Horizons opened. An al-queda bomb exploded. I started paying attention seriously to world events for the first time in my life.
Epiphany: Who cares about space travel? People are suffering around the world. What's more important than helping them? Does the US really spend half a billion on each space shuttle launch?!?!?

I still finished my program, since i was just about done, and it never hurts to be able to say you're a rocket scientist (even if not technically true...). ;-)
Graduated: April 2006
Then: Lived in Montreal for a while, worked in a deaf relay call centre (i have some funny stories, ask me sometime)
Then: Got a job offer as a change management consultant with Accenture in Toronto... took the job not knowing exactly what consulting or accenture was all about
But was HAPPY because: needed to pay massive student loans!!!

In the background, I knew that my passion was development and that eventually i wanted to change career paths. So in the meantime, I got pretty involved with Oxfam in Toronto and helped start an Oxfam Toronto Professional Chapter; great experience and learned some things about development to boot.

The next turning point: A friend sends me a link to apply for an EWB overseas position
The problem: Who am i to get an EWB position? I'm not practising rocket science and i've never been involved with EWB before!
BUT: Tis better to apply and be rejected, than never to apply at all....
THEN: The stars aligned, the rockets fired, I got accepted as an OVS (who knew!!!). There was a definite beginning to the first path on my dream of being a development worker (kazaam! )

I transferred back home to Vancouver last spring and here I am, awaiting my imminent departure to my new beginning.
How do i feel?: Honored, privelaged, extremly happy, and excited!
What now??? Keep counting the days until pre-dep... and possibly get another tea bag!

Also, really looking forward to meeting all of you that I'll be working with soon. Ciao for now :-).