Arrival in South Africa

After an emotional goodbye at the departure gate last Tuesday, I was finally on my way to South Africa. Even though months of preparation had led me to this moment I still found myself crying all the way through customs until I came across some other emotional Project Trust Volunteers. I won't bore you with the travelling details, but I did spend two hours sleeping on the floor in Doha airport. The tiring experience however was made much easier by my newly purchased cuddly toy lion (Winston), that I had bought earlier that evening. Every traveller needs a comforting companion.

We arrived in Johannesburg on Wednesday afternoon and after collecting our bags, we were taken to Backpackers Ritz - a youth hostel on the outskirts of the city. We have been staying in the Ritz since arrival just to get some extra days of training in before Monday, when we all set off to our individual projects.

As part of the training we volunteered in the Johannesburg Children's Memorial Hospital on Thursday and Friday, helping out with various tasks. Myself and three other volunteers were placed in an architectural project in the hospital and we had to construct an emergency exit plan. Quite a responsibility! But it was good fun and by the end of the two days we handed in our finished sketches. Even though we were only working in the hospital for two days, it was a really good way to slowly introduce us to the difference between British and South African culture. One of the things I noticed was how outgoing all the children were. Our project didn't deal directly with the children, but if we passed any of them in the hospital corridors they would run up to us and hold our hands, smiling. I have also discovered that South African weather is not what I expected. On Friday it was two degrees... I think that's the only time Scotland has ever been warmer than South Africa.

Spending five days in Johannesburg has been an eye opener for what's ahead. The experience of working in the Children's Hospital has made me even more excited for working with the children in Mitchelle House, Polokwane. There have been times over the last few days however when I just wish we could get to Polokwane straight away, mainly so I can unpack. At the moment my suitcase is beside my bed and looks like a bomb has gone off inside it. I'm dreading having to repack.

But at 9am on Monday a bus will be taking us to our new home. The next blog post will be after my first week of work. Can't wait!

Winston the lion

My first South African Sunset

The SA Group in Johannesburg

Training

Having just returned from an intensive four day training course on Coll, I now truly know what I'm letting myself into...  In this post I will attempt to include all the interesting information we were given during training. Hopefully that will then give you a better idea as to what I'm doing next year regarding work, day to day life and travel.

Starting in August I will be living in a dorm attached to the secondary school of Mitchell House, Polokwane. Myself and my three partners (I emphasise three because I originally thought I only had one partner) will be on a rotational work plan, divided between working with disabled children in the Enrichment Centre and teaching in the Primary school. Our desk officer, Peter, also warned us that we will occasionally have night shifts when we watch over the younger children from 7.30pm - 7.30am. The night shifts are on weekly rounds so by the end of the week 'The Night Shifter' will probably be more zombie than human.

I know that next year is going to be tough. Especially after having multiple sessions on how to handle  being mugged and various diseases. But that fear can't outweigh the total excitement I have for this experience. I'm also so lucky to have such great partners who will no doubt become some of my closest friends by the end of the year. The four of us (Zoe, Michelle, Kathryn and I) can't wait to get involved with the children at Mitchell House and hopefully make a positive difference in their lives. During training we also couldn't help talking about travelling. We get 14 weeks holiday, which is a huge amount compared to some of the other projects! During this time we hope to travel to Swaziland, Namibia and Cape Town for Christmas. It is tradition that all 34 of the South Africa volunteers meet in Cape Town over the Christmas holidays. It is here that I also plan to cage dive with sharks... Sorry mum but it's at the top of my bucket list!

So as you can probably all tell, the week on Coll has really opened my eyes as to what's ahead. Every day we had nine hours of sessions teaching us how to look after ourselves. At some points this was absolutely terrifying but at others it was hilarious. Especially when the Project Trust staff shared some of their own experiences. One of the funniest stories was related to the session on 'how to handle being mugged' when Peter was telling us of a time he went to Cape Town to check up on the volunteers. While he was walking along the beach a man came up to him and demanded for him to hand over his wallet. (Project Trust staff tell us to carry a fake wallet around with us with very little money it so that if someone asks for your wallet, you can hand over the fake one and not lose very much money.) Peter used this technique and willingly handed the man his wallet. The man then took it, looked inside and said: "Take it back mate, you're poorer than I am."

With all this new information I feel like I am prepared for the year ahead. I'm still terrified but who wouldn't be? If you'd asked me this time last year what I'd be doing, I never would have guessed I'd be living in South Africa for a year. I really am stepping into the unknown, but I'm excited to do so.

From the left: Michelle. Zoe, Myself and Kathryn.

The beautiful beach just along the road from the Training Centre.

Not Long Now...

Hello Everyone,

It is now only two months until I leave to spend my gap year in South Africa and things are finally coming together! In the next couple of weeks I have my last round of injections and on Tuesday I will be catching the train up to Oban for the training week. It will be great to finally meet everyone who'll be travelling with me to South Africa and reunite with the friends I made during the Selection week back in November. Hopefully the weather will stay nice and sunny so we get a chance to appreciate the beach - as you can imagine, we didn't pay much attention to the beach in November...

In regards to my fundraising I have almost reached my target (only £300 to go!) and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has helped me get here. It seemed an impossible task back in November to raise £5,600 as well as tackling exam season, but thanks to your generosity I'm nearly there!

The fundraising part of my gap year actually got me involved in a lot of fun activities... The ceilidh we organised in April raised about £1000 and the Edinburgh Half Marathon was fantastic. If you'd asked me during the race however, my response probably would have been different. Along with these events there were the brownie and jewellery sales that brought in small bursts of income. I have to say that although the fundraising side to this experience has been daunting, it really makes you appreciate the gap year a lot more. It feels like you've earned it - literally!

I hope to post a couple more updates before I leave but after that I'll be blogging from Polokwane, South Africa. A scary thought. Thanks again for all your support and please keep checking up on my blog!

The Fundraiser Ceilidh in April

After finishing the Edinburgh Half Marathon

Showing off our Edinburgh Half Marathon medals!