Puck in South Africa

My Story

This was my first time traveling abroad alone, and I was really nervous. It didn’t feel real until I stepped onto the plane, that’s when the nerves really kicked in. After a long journey, I received a warm welcome at the airport and at the volunteer house. It instantly felt like I had already been there for years.

The first week was all about getting to know each other, which I found very educational. We also had a tour through the township, which left a big impression on me. That’s when you truly see where you’ll be teaching. That weekend, we went to Jeffrey’s Bay, which brought our group even closer together, it was such a fun time.

Then we started coaching. We coached five days a week until around 2 PM, after which we could relax. Once a week I worked in childcare, looking after the little ones. You started early but also finished earlier. At the daycare, we mostly played or did crafts with the kids.

From Tuesday to Thursday, I taught a class called Learn to Move during the first session, those were my favorite moments of the week. We played small games with toddlers, around five years old. The main coaching sessions were for Grade 6 and 7, where you could choose a sport and be assigned accordingly.

I taught hockey on Mondays and Tuesdays and really started to see some of the children improve over the weeks. On Thursdays and Fridays, I taught tennis — something I really enjoyed, even though it’s not my main sport. It challenged me to get creative with games and activities. The field we used for hockey wasn’t always ideal, but the kids were always happy and excited. Tennis isn’t a well-known sport there, so we often had smaller groups, which allowed us to build stronger connections with the kids.

After coaching, we usually hung out by the pool or worked out. Tuesday evenings were music bingo followed by karaoke, something I didn’t think I’d enjoy, but I ended up singing along every single time. If you didn’t sing, people would look at you funny! It was such a fun vibe that you couldn’t help but join in. On Wednesday evenings we had Social Soccer, which was really fun. I’m not a great football player, but I still loved it. The boys made sure the girls got to shoot and be part of the game, which made it even better. Thursday nights we went to Beeryard — a fun club where you could chill, play pool, or dance. I didn’t always go, because you had to be fresh on Friday for the kids. On Friday nights we went to Poolcity, where we played pool and danced.

Weekends were always filled with activities. We went on an incredible safari and saw almost the entire Big Five, we only missed the leopard. We even stayed overnight in the park, which was an amazing experience. We woke up with a group of buffalo right in front of our hut. Our ranger arranged for us to go on a morning walk with a baby lion, something we were incredibly lucky to experience. We also went back to Jeffrey’s Bay for a weekend that we organized ourselves, which was great. Most activities are arranged by UTS, but if the whole group wants to do something different, it’s definitely possible.

After six weeks, saying goodbye was incredibly hard, and I got on the plane with a heavy heart. I’m so thankful I got to do this and would return in a heartbeat. I’m also truly grateful for the people I met, the amazing moms who cooked delicious meals every night, Ashie who helped with everything, and Quinten and Aaron, the best coordinators ever.

This was my story!