Meal ticket to Spain

I have been given another opportunity to present a paper of mine, this time at a conference in Spain (2nd International Workshop on Metaphor and Discourse). Elation would be the customary emotion to feel, but had it not been for the timely succour of financial aid from my mum and sis, I would be facing yet another disappointment instead. Even as I prepare to pack my bags for another long trip (nearer than Brazil though), at the back of my head is the insidious fear that the ocean of gratitude and debt will drown me entirely, sooner rather than later. Will the journey be worth their uninhibited investment? Will the lonesome promenade down some alley in Barcelona be as spiritually nourishing as the morning stroll through Rio De Janiero? Emptied of all excesses, how could I dig deep and empty my lot any further? But the pursuit of knowledge, the salvaging of lost esteem, the bitter-sweet burden of expectation on my tired shoulders, the temporary intoxication that drowns my deepest sorrows, albeit for a mere couple of days...I abruptly realise that I must go.