Pommi in South Africa

My story

So for my gap year I’d chosen to go to South Africa. I found it really nerve-racking to go on such a big trip on my own. Especially because at first I was actually going to go with a friend, but sadly she failed her exams so she couldn’t come anymore.

The flight to South Africa went smoothly, apart from the fact that I was just really nervous. When I arrived at the airport in Port Elizabeth I immediately saw someone standing with a sign saying “United Trough Sport”, which was a relief, as one of my fears was that nobody would be at the airport to pick me up… At the airport I immediately met a few other volunteers who had also just arrived, like me. When we arrived at the accommodation everything is of course a bit nerve-racking, because that’s when you meet your roommate/roommates.

It was so impressive to see all those schools and all those children.

For the first few days we had an introduction programme. You get to know everyone a bit, and they also show you straight away how the coaching at the schools works. I was really shy myself for the first week and a half. I was very homesick and actually just wanted to go straight back home. I didn’t dare to talk because I was really afraid my English wasn’t good enough. But after the first week you go away for a weekend to Sardinia bay with everyone. That weekend really made me start enjoying it more. You got to know everyone much better, and I dared to talk more and more because the other volunteers genuinely tried to include you. After two weeks my homesickness was almost gone. You could also just tell that a rhythm was forming with the coaching and how the days went, which I really liked. At the start the coaching didn’t go that well for me because I was so shy. I didn’t really dare to talk to the children because I was just scared about my English. But luckily in the end the coaching went much better too, I got to know the children better and better and we did lots of fun things during the lessons. It was so impressive to see all those schools and all those children. It’s such a big difference compared to Holland. The children are unbelievably sweet and absolutely love sport, which is lovely to see. And when they also make drawings and letters especially for you, you really know how much you mean to the kids, which I thought was just the best. Sometimes coaching was a bit tough, because you’d just be having an off day. But luckily you didn’t coach alone, so you could always fall back on another volunteer.

I really bonded with some people. So much so that in the last days of my stay I booked some extra days to rent a house with other volunteers.

At the weekends you could always decide for yourself what you wanted to do. A weekend away or a safari, it was all up to you. You have lots of freedom in that, which I thought was really cool. They also very often had activities at the weekend you could sign up for, like a skydive or bungee jumping, which is really awesome. I did the skydive myself and it was just amazing. So the weeks went by faster and faster because I was enjoying myself. I really bonded with some people. So much so that in the last days of my stay I booked some extra days to rent a house with other volunteers. The South Africa experience was the best of all. Thanks to it I saw so much more of South Africa and also had a brilliant time in Cape Town. After the South-Africa experience I stayed in Cape Town with a few others from the group. We’d rented a really beautiful villa and spent the last 1.5 weeks playing tourist. It was really great fun with everyone, but the trip was nearly over, which I found a real shame. None of my friends or family had expected me to last that long because I was so homesick. But I’ve never been so glad that I just kept going and made the most of it. Saying goodbye to everyone was really hard, but I’m still in touch with people and we’ve even arranged a few reunions already. In the end these were truly the best three months ever and I’d love to go straight back.

None of my friends or family had expected me to last that long because I was so homesick.