35 days

So...the weeks are going really fast and my big adventure is just around the corner! I'm feeling really excited now but also nervous and unprepared at times! I got my South African visa last week which made it seem so real and met up with Katie (fellow lattitude volunteer) and her family for lunch which was lovely.

I'm now going to be staying in the country for seven months, the last three weeks after my placement will hopefully be spent with my friend in Cape Town which will be amazing as I haven't seen her in 5 years! There's so many things I want to do whilst I'm out there- climb table mountain; go on safari (elephants are most important!); go to the Drakensburg mountains, travel down the east coast; go to swaziland...the list goes on!

The plan for teaching at Nansindlela was originally to be in the junior school where we would assist with classes and take those when a teacher was absent, I believe, but this has now changed... One of the teachers has left and they don't have a replacement for him yet and so he asked if we would take over his role in the high school....but there was a slight problem- it would be teaching the equivalent of A level maths and science! I didn't do either of those subjects and it would have been impossible for me, however, Katie and I still wanted to help so now we are teaching the younger grades and their teachers are going to take the older ones. So, I will be teaching grade 8 english, and grade 9 english and maths! That covers just over 20 hours a week- a full time teaching position. It's a huge challenge but I can't wait! It makes me feel that we really will be contributing something to the school and it will be so worthwhile :) Better start learning my maths again!

What I'm looking forward to...

• A new country and culture: one of the reasons I wanted to do this in the beginning was the opportunity to immerse myself in the culture of somewhere so different to where I live. England is just so boring sometimes and I can't wait to go into a colourful country and meet so many new people!



• Travelling: we are going to have so much opportunity to travel at weekends and school holidays and it's going to be amazing to just explore somewhere new!



• Wildlife: I think I mentioned elephants earlier.... There is an elephant park really near where we are staying too :D



• Teaching: I've had a little experience of this before and loved it- so although the full time position is a little daunting I know it's going to be a lot of fun! Also, I'm going to learn so much myself about the job and it's going to be great work experience if I decide I want to become a teacher after uni.



• Orientation week: We are spending 3 or 4 days in Joburg with all the volunteers from the UK, New Zealand and Canada and are going to Soweto and the apartheid museum which I'm really looking forward to. We are also doing a teaching course there.

Current concerns/worries...

• The flight!: I'm not the biggest fan of flying and we have a 7 hour flight to Abu Dhabi and then another 8 and a half hours to Johannesburg- it's going to be a long journey!



• Malaria tablets: I'm in the process of sorting out my prescription but apparently the ones I am going to take make you feel sick all the time and I am terrified of being sick. There are other brands but they all have horrible side effects so I can't really win :(



• The lack of electricity and no running water: we are staying in a house with some other teachers and it has no running water and limited electricity. I know this will make me appreciate what I have at home but I love my showers in the morning and will really miss them!



• Being homesick: I don't usually get homesick but I've never been away from home for more than a week! 6 months living in a completely different culture and adapting to a whole new way of life will take some getting used to and obviously I'm going to miss my family and friends.



• The language barrier: I don't speak Zulu. I think that kind of sums it up!



• Sunburn- lets face it, I'm quite pale and it will be quite sunny...

I wasn't sure what to write in this post but hopefully it's given a nice overview of how I'm feeling about it all. What seemed like 'just an idea' about eighteen months ago is suddenly happening! I'm looking forward to my friends coming home from uni for Christmas and seeing all my family before I go, this time is going to just fly past. Big thank you's to a few people who have supported me throughout :) xxx

10 weeks to go!

My trip to South Africa is not so far away anymore! The weeks seem to be going really fast and I can't wait to go! I have saved up all the money now which is a huge step because it was a lot to raise and I never thought I would do it with three months still left to go. On Friday I went to a pre-departure meeting in Reading and met the other volunteers and had a great day :) I found out the school I am going to which is called Nansindlela school and also the girl I am going to be with so it all seems very real now! Nansindlela is in the Kwa-Zulu Natal province of South Africa and the area is very rural and I think teaching at the school is going to be quite a challenge, which I'm looking forward to! Thanks to everyone who has helped me get this far, I really appreciate it!

Five months to go...

Update: flights have been booked; travel insurance paid for; CRB form sent off; 2 out of 3 injections done; new passport on its way and I have got a new full time job starting in less than 3 weeks! still lots more to do but I am getting there! :)

"Believe you can and you're half way there"

A year after I first started saving and fund raising for this trip I have managed to raise £1500, which is around half my total that I need to go to South Africa! I am hoping to raise the other half by writing to trusts, hopefully doing a sponsored swim and mostly through working full time. I am currently trying to find a job where I can work in the week so fingers crossed that I will find something soon (i have applied to so many places!!) Only 6 months until I leave!

18th Birthday :)

Just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who gave me money for my 18th Birthday! It is all going towards my South Africa fund and I am so lucky to have over £600 to put towards my savings for this trip!! It has really helped me out and I am nearly half way to my total, so thanks so much! I had a great birthday surrounded by family and friends, who I will miss lots when I am in South Africa this time next year :D

Update on fundraising...

Havn't posted anything in a while, but I am trying to keep fundraising in between other things :) Did another car boot sale a while back and had so many clothes to sell (big thank you to Lucy and Amy for donating their unwanted clothes) and am going to do lots more soon!

Car boot sale and setting up our stall at the May Day

I had a stall at the Bransgore May Day yesterday where I sold cakes (as usual thank you mum!) and had a game with Lollies where people paid to try and pick out lollies that had coloured ends to win them. Thank you to Mel who came and helped me all day, I really appreciate it! We didn't sell all the cakes and lollies so I sold them today at school. Thank you to everyone who helped me sell them including Lucy, Amy, Annie, Stocks, Heidi, Claire and others and everyone who bought them!! Made around £80 from the two days, so pleased with that.

I can't believe that this time next year I will be in South Africa, it doesn't even seem real. I know that these next 9 months will fly by though and soon I will be sat on that plane thinking.."oh no what have I done!"...only joking, I'm excited! ;) Big thank you to Linden who has been really supportive these past few months, and to the other's who are also going to South Africa (and Malawi for Dave ;)) next year!! xxxx

Valentine's Day Cake Sale!

Today (Valentine's Day) I held a cake sale at school :) Last night Mum and I made about a hundred cakes and heart shaped biscuits. The majority of the cakes had love hearts on and in about 12 minutes they had all gone! I expected to make £30, but made £35 all together, so I was really pleased with that!!

Thank you to everyone who helped me including Heidi, Amy, Lucy, Jenny, Caroline and any one who came and supported me! I really appreciate your help :) My fundraising is going well so far, I have raised over £1000 towards the total cost of my gap year so thanks for everyone who has supported me so far!