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