Monday 13 August 2012

Nearly Time to Go

      Right, it's nearly time to go. As I am writing this it is about 298 hours and 30 minutes till I board the plane at Gatwick. I just can't get it straight in my head, I am leaving for a YEAR, the full monty, 12 months!

     This isn't a nice wee holiday where I go to an exotic destination and relax, do a bit of sight seeing and drink a lot. This is me going to teach for a year. When I'm explaining what I'm doing to people they always think that I'm going to be an assistant or something, I have to clarify that I am the teacher. I will be fully responsible for the children's education. No biggee ehh?

    A common question I've been asked is what makes me qualified to be a teacher? Well, in all honesty me having (hopefully) A-levels makes me more qualified the the Head-Mistress at Chenapou primary school, let alone all the teachers! (I get my A-level results on thursday! AHHHH!!) I am a wee bit scared of the teaching, I am sure that by the end of the year I will have relaxed and be a lot better. At the start of the year, however, I'll be sweating like crazy (well, I'll be sweating anyways from the hot, humid weather). I have had a weeks training to try and prepare me a bit! I spent a week on the Isle of Coll where Project Trust's centre is based. During the week I: got to know my fellow 22 Guyanese volunteers and most importantly my partner in crime for the year, Ben (ho's a good lad to my relief!); learnt a lot more about the Guyanese culture; had a few mock lessons and finally partied a lot!

    Incase you haven't read any of my other blogs, or have forgotten I'll do a quick wee recap. I am going to Guyana, South America (not Ghana) for a year to teach in a remote Primary School. I am going with the organisation 'Project Trust', who send around 240 gap year volunteers abroad every year to do everything from teach, running an outdoor pursuit centre to carer projects. If anyone reading this is thinking of a gap year, and fancies doing something more than just traveling or working give Project Trust a google!

     I am teaching in Chenapou (or Chenapowu) primary school, with fellow Project Trust volunteer Ben Cooper from the Midlands in England. Chenapou is a remote village of roughly 500 inhabitants in the middle of the Guyanese rainforest. It has no internet, no roads, no phone lines, no postal service, irregular electricity, and very little outside communication. Basically everything viewed as a necessity for western life is missing. The nearest village, Paramakatoi is a hard, two day trek through the rainforest. To get there I have to take one of those small, rickety planes from Georgetown (capitol of Guyana) to Kaiteur falls, then a 3 hour boat journey up the Potora river.

       Anyways I've rambled on, I only meant this to be a short one or two paragraph post basically to say that it will be near impossible for me to make any sort of posts during the year. As I have no internet to do it myself, no postal service to send it to mum to type it and can think of no other way to keep you guys update it! Expect maybe a post during Christmas, Easter and Summer holidays when I have time off school and get to travel a bit!

    I may post something in the next couple of days before I leave or a week or so after when I'll be based in Georgetown (capitol of Guyana) for a wee bit. This, however, is probably it for a while! Good luck to all my mates on Thursday! Enjoy Uni! Bye everyone else! Will miss a lot of you guys! I'm in for a sad week or so.

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