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For anyone who's still wondering what on earth I'm doing, here are some answers to the questions I've been asked a lot over the past few months.
What will I be doing?
I'm spending the first leg of my trip in South Africa, staying with my friend Sandy. We met through work when she was over here a few years ago - we were both teaching in a school in north London. She runs a language school now in Johannesburg. Sandy's promised to keep me busy with both work and play, so I'm hoping to spend some time meeting her staff and students, learning a bit about South Africa and also having a little rest and relaxation before heading for Uganda.
In Uganda I'll be working for a British charity called Soft Power Education, based near Jinja, a town in the eastern part of the country. SPE was set up to help renovate government schools and support teaching staff by providing volunteers to help in the classroom and run extra-curricular activities including sport, drama, and health education. They have also built a community education centre where both adults and children from the local community can attend classes in a range of subjects including ICT and agriculture. Amongst other things they have asked me to help develop new activities for the children to do in the computer suite. While I hope I will be of some use to the organisation and the local communities, I fully expect to learn more from them than they from me on this initial visit!
I'm also planning to work on some research which will hopefully form the basis of my Master's dissertation when I get back. Yes, I think I'll be reasonably busy.
Why am I going?
I've been longing to travel in Africa for years. Many things fascinate me about the continent, amongst them its diversity (people, landscapes, cultures, wildlife), its history and its "differentness" - I expect it to be nothing like the UK, that's for sure. I'm also really interested in how the job I do now, creating online learning resources, might be relevant in such a different context. I'm hoping to find out.
I want to broaden my horizons, too. Perhaps it's an early mid-life crisis, but I decided it was time to cracking with the stuff I want to do before I get too comfortable!
What am I going to miss?
Well, obviously people are the top of the list - that goes without saying. I enjoy meeting new people, but I know it will be difficult and tiring at first to have no familiar faces around. I'll miss my lovely home (see pic - I haven't worked out how to caption yet), and I guess I'm nervous about whether or not I'm up to the work I've taken on, too.
As for "things", it's banal, but I have a suspicion that tap water will be one thing I really miss - and I must confess all the dire warnings from well-travelled friends about security (in SA), food and water hygiene (in Uganda) have me a little scared. I've never travelled in the tropics before and the prospect of the wildlife (the six-to-eight-legged variety; not the lions and chimps!) also alarms me more than a bit. The mozzies are my worst fear as I get eaten alive even in the UK, but I also have a recurring waking nightmare about waking in the middle of the night, staggering off to the loo with my torch and discovering massive spider hanging right over my head. Pathetic, eh?
I've been told that in Uganda I'll miss the variety of food we can eat in the UK, too. And I'm definitely going to miss having hot and cold running internet at my fingertips. I'm writing this first entry already knowing that in a few weeks I'll look back and laugh (or cry) at my own naivety - no doubt the things I'm worrying about will turn out fine.
I'm starting to talk myself into thinking it's all a terrible idea, so it's definitely time to stop. But in case you're interested in reading more, SPE have sent me a great summary of the work they do, so check out the next entry to read about them in their own words.
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Abi Pomerantz
non-member comment
You can always come home!
It's always worth remembering that at any time if it's all too much there is no shame in coming back to your beautiful home!