THE FLIP FLOP LIFE

Some weeks before we jumped in the plane towards Costa Rica and when I was drown in the correction of the exams, wrapping up papers and writing project applications, Frank said “we needed to talk”.

And after what seemed to me a very long silence he added: about blogging, how we were going to do it, how often, about what, etc. He went on about the importance of having a “schedule” and “regular writing”.

At that point in time, buried as I was in work 1) having to do something while on sabbatical and 2) having to WRITE something during the sabbatical seemed like the WORST idea ever.

I (or better said, Witchtina) barked back that it was not possible for me at all to think about having any obligations during my sabbatical. Punto.

After the long frustrations of bringing articles to publication, I couldn’t possibly imagine myself writing on my free time.

My, was I wrong…

Blogging has a special thrill that sets it apart from writing scientific articles for journals. There are no reviewers, no censorship, and no delay. You write what you feel like putting on black and white and press the publish button. And…voilá, it is published on the spot, exactly as you meant it to be.

Family and friends are happy to get to know what is happening. And hopefully our adventures might be useful for other people as well. To other sabbaticals, conservation volunteers, people considering a career switch or simply thinking about moving temporarily to Costa Rica. Funnily enough, we are also getting responses from people interested in food, healthy lifestyles or nature photography.

And this is the second reward about blogging. It is not only that posts are published immediately but also that one can see almost instantly the impact in terms of views, viewers and reactions in the form of comments. It is thrilling to see how the statistics develop over time. In fact, it has become one of Franks’ favourite daily activities. And the stats have been growing in the past two months a lot. So, let me/us take the opportunity to send a big and loud “thank you” to all of you for taking the interest and time to follow our sabbatical adventures.

Beyond the immediate rewards, blogging also helps us structuring thoughts and has become a way of processing what we are experiencing here. Which is a lot. And very varied. So, I can already foresee how it will be wonderful to go through the different blogs some time from now. It feels as if through blogging we are able to freeze memories, anecdotes, images and even mental processes and feelings.

And last, it gives me “sparks of joy” all the way from the idea inception to the moment when I press publish! Like….now!

Taraaaaa! Done! 🙂