Last year I convinced Steve that the time had come - our children were old enough to be left, finances allowed it and I was desperate to do what I had always thought I should do. So we started looking for ways to take our skills (teaching & agronomy) to another part of the world less privileged than Australia.

A trip to southern Africa in 2006 confirmed a love affair begun with reading Alexander McCall Smith's delightful works about Botswana, Precious Ramotswe and the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency.

If you asked me what fascinated me most about southern Africa I would truthfully answer "the windows". Everywhere we went I found my kitchen window - a standard issue 1950s steel framed article with brass handle. This one was in a road house in Nata, Botswana.

Nelson Mandela's house in Soweto had windows just the same.

So southern Africa was where I wanted to go! How could I get there?

Now I wanted Africa - Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Swaziland or Lesotho - to want me!

Australian Volunteers International (AVI) advertised for volunteers and we applied. I applied for an Education Manager post through the UK organisation Volunteers Serving Overseas (VSO). I discovered I would have to broaden my outlook.

After the interviews and reference checks we are looking at being offered a posting in Namibia, Ghana, The Gambia, Rwanda or Ethiopia on the African continent but also Nepal in Asia or Guyana in South America. When options for Steve working as an agricultural consultant are added the possibilities are increasing.

So it may yet not be a Year in Africa but I'm determined it will be a year somewhere. Maybe somewhere with a kitchen window just like mine.

I'll let you know what happens next!

Jenny