Term 2

A long time has passed since I last wrote about my time in South Africa and a lot has happened in these past 4 months. I will start back in October when I returned to work at the Enrichment Centre after an amazing time in Swaziland. I was in the Juniors class to begin the term which was a completely different environment to that of the Life Skills class which I had been introduced to when I first began working at Mitchell House. The children in the Juniors class are all between the ages of 5 and 9 and have a lot more energy than the teens that are in Life Skills. My first week was a shock to the system as I had returned from lazy long days in the holidays to a hectic, non-stop classroom where the kids never sit still and you have to always be aware of what is going on whether its a child eating food coloring in the cupboard or another child running out the classroom to escape to the trampoline you must learn to be aware of everything! Through the week I went horse riding with the children and on the Friday i was surprised when in only my first week I was trusted to take 3 autistic children on a school trip with the grade 3 class to the University of Limpopo' science center. I was trusted to take these 3 boys with no other assistants from the Enrichment Center, luckily it turned out to be a great trip and all of the boys enjoyed it. However, I was forced to take one of the boys out of the center regularly as some of the demonstrations included fire which he was petrified off and it was very difficult to calm him down and get him to go back inside.

The next week I was in the Seniors classroom which has children from the age of 10 to 14 and is by far the most relaxed classroom out of them all. During this week it was pretty uneventful we did the usual numeracy and literacy, arts and crafts, on the Wednesday we went horse riding and on the Friday we went swimming as the weather was now hot enough for us to take the children who are more vulnerable to become ill due to the cold water. 

At the end of the month we were finally joined by Georgia who was originally meant to go to Namibia but was moved to Mitchell house after her project fell through. It had taken her so long to arrive as she had to experience the painstaking visa process from the end of August so it took a long time for her visa to arrive. The week she began working in the Junior Phase of Mitchell House which is mainstream children. I was working in the grade 00 class which is for very young children who are 4 and 5. It was a nice break from working in the Enrichment Center which is exhausting but I definitely enjoy working at the Enrichment Center a lot more. The week after we were visited by Peter our desk officer for South Africa as we were now nearing the 3 month mark. During Peters visit we were treated to dinner which was great to have a choice in what it is I was eating. Peter then held one to one interviews with us on how we are finding our time at the school and also gave us some feedback on what he thinks we can do better and what he thinks we are doing well. Peter encouraged me to apply to university to study a course a long the lines of disabilities so I took his advice and within a few weeks my UCAS application was sent off. On the Friday we went on the Enrichment Center yearly outing to the local water park Splash! The kids loved every second of it running up and down the slides. It was great to see the kids with disabilities such as cerebral palsy who were unable to go on the slides without any support having a huge smile on their face as they got to go down the slides with the support of the staff.  Afterwards we returned to the school and whilst being given h\a very hard time by the children who were not ready to leave yet. I was bitten and scratched on the bus returning to the school which was an unpleasant end to the day but is definitely part of working with some of the children.

The Friday night after splash was the staff end of year function which turned out to be a great night but had a strange twist. I found myself doing something I never would have expected; dressing up as Santa Claus at the age of 18. I had to stuff the suit with pillows to get the desired big belly effect. Instantly as I rang my bell and marched out with the sack of presents I heard many of the children saying "Hi Brodie!". I knew I was too young to be Santa Claus! The food that evening was a mix of different meats all cooked to perfection; the South Africans really do know how to cook their meats.

At the end of November we eventually had our Enrichment Center Christmas Concert. After weeks and weeks of intense practice every single day the night had arrived. The long hours of practice were necessary as for the kids at the Enrichment Center it takes a very long time for them to grasp the dances. I was placed in the Life Skills class and was given the biggest and strongest pupil at the Enrichment Center which was definitely a challenge to get him to do the moves. I held his hands to help him do the moves as it was very difficult for him to learn the dances and songs. Over all the concert was a great night with all the children doing themselves proud and the long hours of practice more than paid off!

The following week was the final week of term 2 before breaking up for the six week holiday. I was once again in the Junior Phase of the school which was not as bad as the first time round there was a lot of fun activities for the kids as we began to wind down for the festive season. On the Friday the staff from the Enrichment Center to Splash again and had some drinks and a braai. It was a great way to end the school year with some of the new friends we have made. Afterwards we said our goodbyes before splitting up for the next six weeks. We were now ready to travel and see more of South Africa.

Dressing up as Santa Claus for the children.

Arrival and the beginning of a new job

On Tuesday the 1st of September I finally left home to embark on the biggest most challenging adventure of my life so far- a year living with people who I don't know in a foreign country and environment. Despite this, all I could feel was excitement and optimism at what lay ahead. As the time came for me to begin the first leg of my journey, the all too familiar and boring A9 road to Edinburgh, it was time for me to say goodbye to my mum and my brother. I wasn't upset at saying good bye it was a strange feeling that I didn't quite realise how long a year actually is. My mum was holding back the tears using her usual way of just not speaking which was also unusual for me to see.
After the journey down to Edinburgh I went for an early bed in preparation for the next few days of travelling. Early on the Wednesday I flew to Heathrow where I was met by another bunch of eager volunteers excited at the prospect of their year ahead. A few hours later and we were on our way to South Africa, the excitement which I had felt almost immediately disappeared as I began to realise I am stuck on this plane for eight and a half hours, which was ultimately made more depressing by the fact that I could not sleep. After watching Kenya Airways movie collection we finally touched down in Nairobi where we had a quick change over for another 4 and a half hour flight!

At 11 o'clock the next morning we touched down in Johannesburg where we were met by Ian, our country representative for the next year. We were taken by African Combi to the Backpackers Ritz where we would be staying for the next two nights. African Combis are a sort of hybrid between bus and taxi, available for private hire, but mainly used by the working population they can only be described as interesting but are worth it as you can be taken almost anywhere in the city for around 6 Rand. After settling in at the backpackers we received a small briefing and were left to go and get some much needed rest after almost three days straight of travelling. The next day we received a reassuring lecture by a top professor in South Africa on the dangers of HIV, how difficult it actually is to contract, and how the country is working to eradicate the virus. After the lecture we received a final briefing from Ian on South Africa. At night we had a final goodbye party with traditional South African foods such as biltong, peri-peri and prego chicken. The next day I would be arriving at my home for the next year.

The next day we got the Greyhound bus to Polokwane from the bustling Park Station in the centre of Johannesburg. We were travelling in the middle of a thunder storm with bolts of lighting striking either side of the road getting closer and closer to the bus, I guess I was in the safest place possible! After a seven hour journey we made it to Polokwane where we had a detour around the town before we reached our stop. It was strange for us being at the front of the bus with the locals waving at us and blowing kisses at the Jess and Ella- we must have stood out like sore thumbs. When we arrived at our stop a huge Mall just 500 metres from our home. We were greeted by Renate one of the staff from the Enrichment Centre where we work. I was taken to my room by the boys in the hostel who were all welcoming and seemed excited to have a male volunteer for the first time in years. My room is small but has everything I need. We were taken to the pavilion where we eat our meals with the other borders in the hostel, the meals are filling with heavy carbs such as rice and potatoes being main features of the diet. Later on we received a knock on the door from Tiri, a maths teacher at the school who invited us out to a bar to have drinks with her and some other staff. We met two past volunteers who really made me more confident that the year ahead will be a great one.

On Monday we were thrown in to work for the first time. The Enrichment Centre is split into Juniors for the younger children, Senior for children to early teen and life skills for teens to young adults. I was placed in the life skills class where I was introduced to the kids that I would be working with for the next two weeks. There are a range of disabilities from Autism to Cerebral Palsy and I was slightly overwhelmed as I had never had any previous experience working with children who have disabilities. After the initial shock of being thrown in at the deep end with no experience I began to feel relaxed as I quickly realised that these children are eager to learn like anyone else, all that is different is the methods which are used to help the children grasp a skill. They still love to play, laugh and joke like anyone else. After a long morning we moved over to the second part of our job- after care. At after care I have to look after and play games with children from the age of five to nine. For the fist week however, I was like a new toy to them. My hair apparently is like Justin Bieber and all they would like to do is rub their hands through it for hours. The boys in South Africa love football so I regularly play with the boys at after care who are better than me! As well as at after care I play with the boys at the hostel on weekends which is great except when the temperatures reach 30C and I feel like I am going to need to cash in on my health insurance policy. I am eager now that I am a few weeks in and beginning to become more confident and comfortable in the work that I am doing to get involved with some extra curricular activities around the school such as the young kids football team.

After the first two weeks at work I couldn't be loving the work that I'm doing more than I am, the people are friendly and the majority of people who I have met have been welcoming inviting us to different social occasions. Its time for holidays now but I am looking forward already to the 12th of October when I'll be moving to the Junior class to work with the younger children, which I am sure will be another huge learning experience.

 The Hostel Where I will be living for the next 12 Months.

Training Week

After months of waiting training had finally arrived and this time I was going to make it to Coll. On  the Friday I made the beautiful yet painstaking four hour journey down the banks of Loch Ness to Oban. The journey seemed to take twice as long due to my over excitement at the thought of finding my partner and finding out more about where I will be spending my year overseas. When I arrived Oban it couldn't have looked any different than it did on selection during the horrendous winter storms that saw the ferry to Coll cancelled for the week. It was sunny and warm and bustling with travellers and tourists who flood to the scenic sea side town in summer. After getting off the bus I made my way to the backpackers where all the Project Trust volunteers seem to stay. I instantly picked out a couple of people who I knew straight away were volunteers as well. I introduced myself to a boy in my dorm who I knew must have been making the journey to Coll. The boy introduced himself as Luka and we both spoke about where it was we were going to placed in South Africa, it turned out that within two minutes of arrival I had found my partner who I will be living and working with at Project Trust for the next year. As the day passed more and more volunteers arrived at the backpackers and the atmosphere was buzzing with anticipation and excitement for the next five days that we would be spending together on Coll. Time flew past and we all seemed to pay no attention to the time which was a bad idea as getting up at six o’clock the next day for the ferry to Coll proved to be a very hard task. On the ferry the excitement was now gone as everyone went to sleep to try and make sure that we were as fresh as we could be for the first day of training.

As Coll came into sight it was clear we had not taken the sunny weather with us as the rain and wind rattled and howled through the ferry. We were met off the ferry by Nic and Peter who rushed us into the bus to get us the the Hebridean Centre- the home of Project Trust. When we arrived we were given a small amount of time to settle in to our dorms then it was time for the intense lessons to begin. Before the first lesson we were introduced to the staff who were going to be working with us all week. We were introduced to Peter who will be my desk officer for the next year and straight away it was clear how much he cared for the people he is responsible for and how passionate he is about the work that Project Trust does. As we moved from lesson to lesson I was ticking off in my head every doubt that I had in my head about South Africa and where it is that I will be volunteering. The lessons were so thorough that it would be almost impossible to not be more confident. After a very intense 8 hours of lessons the day was up and it was time for dinner. The food was home made by the kitchen staff who worked all day to prepare the meals for volunteers and the food was delicious. The first night it was a true Scottish dish of mince and tatties, the other volunteers from south of the border didn’t have a clue what it was but they ate every last bit of it. After the meal we were given time to spend getting to know each other. Everyone made their way down to the beach as the weather had cleared up and the sun was now shining, I was expecting the usual rough grey beach with sharp rocks and smelly sea weed as I know only too well living in Scotland but this beach was something else. The sand was golden and the sea was light blue as if it was something straight out of an exotic travel catalogue. After spending hours playing sports at the beach and getting to know each other better everyone went back to the centre exhausted after a very long day.

The next day everyone was woken by the kitchen staff who marched down the hallway banging pots and pans to get everyone out of their bed. After breakfast it was straight into more lessons and workshops to prepare us for our year overseas. We were given training on planning classes and using effective teaching methods. The lessons on teaching made me realise the amount of effort that goes into planning lessons and how busy a job it must be to be a full time teacher. Through the rest of the lessons throughout the week I gained a much deeper insight into where it is that I will be staying, what job it is that I’ll be doing and how to be effective in a new and very unfamiliar role. Instead of making me worried, the workshops made me more confident that I will be able to cope with the difficult task of working with children with disabilities and that nobody is brilliant at the beginning of their year; it is a long process of development. We were taught about how to stay safe in a country which is different to the UK. We were taught about the different aspects of South African culture that we should get to know and respect. At the end of the week I felt as though I was going to explode with new information but I felt a hundred times more confident that I will be able to cope overseas. We were given our leaving dates- the second of September and given our flight tickets to South Africa, the reality that I am about to embark on the biggest adventure of my life so far kicked in. I could not be more excited.

To top off an extraordinary week we all got prepared for the three course meal and ceilidh that everyone had been looking forward to all week. The meal was great with good food and an amazing atmosphere of excitement for the year that lies ahead. The ceilidh turned out to be interesting as being Scottish it was funny seeing the English, Irish and Welsh volunteers attempt the unfamiliar dances. Everyone had a great night as the dancing and singing turned out to be the most fitting farewell to an extraordinary week.

Bring on the second of September.