Today I saw our English teaching volunteer Emily in action for the first time, and it was just too exciting! Emily, a 17 year-old from Perth, has been working with Jan in the English lab atUkhanyo Primary School in Masiphumelele.

The lab does fantastic work improving literacy rates in a school that has been struggling with reading and writing for a while. The lab classes are fantastically well run and enjoyable: the kids start off with a little dance warm-up, and then move on to the alphabet, words or sentences, depending on their grade.

Jan, Emily and the class teacher – who takes part in the teaching – use games, posters and fun exercises to make the lesson as memorable as possible for the children.

The kids are unbelievably cute and seem to bloom under the praise and attention they get in the lab; in their usual classes, one teacher is responsible for roughly 40 children, making it very difficult for all of them to get the focus they deserve. The value of a little praise and enthusiasm is reflected in their attitude; at the end of one lesson, Emily was swamped by her adoring (and adorable) fans, each demanding a hug and/or a high five.

The girls who have taken it upon themselves to educate me in all things Masi and isiXhosa (in exchange for help with Geogs, English and basic maths) are each incredibly beautiful, in ways that are very hard to describe without sounding like a cliché anthropologist from the 1800s. Let me just say that from the minute I enter Masi Library I feel like the palest most flimsy excuse for a female! I know now in my heart of hearts that true beauty is curvaceous, bold, and confident. They each have very different hairstyles; Miranda has about a million braids (not her own) hanging from her head, while Phelokazi’s hair has been relaxed and Nosi’s hair is actually a weave that’s been sewn into her own hair. They point out and eagerly discuss each of the hairstyles around the room, and know every process possible: that one has recently poured boiling hot water all over her braids, while that one has a “grand” weave but that one…yoh. Akafratsi. As someone who had to cut the brush out last time I brushed my hair because it got stuck, and who considers three washes a week a good effort, the amount of time, money and energy that these girls put into their inwele is mind-blowing.

The hair talk turns to the usual difficulties of the life of teenage girls: boyfriends (or lack thereof), outfits for the upcoming Valentine’s dance, the stupid comment a teacher made at school and the harshness of girl-on-girl judgement. As I listen to them prattle on, maths homework discarded in favour of a good gossip, I realise how similar the topics and flow of the conversations are to the chats me and my girlfriends have at home. The beauty of working with GYSA in Masi is that you quickly get over the notion of “us helping them”; barriers and disillusioned ideas of differences dissolve with one universal moan about a recent soccer match result, or a love for chocolate cake. While it is important to keep sight of the important work there is to be done, and the harsh realities of their lives, it is just as important to remember that we as volunteers are not so different from those we are working for – and to try break down as many barriers as possible.

There are a few ways up to get to the top of Table Mountain. The first is, obviously, the cable car: a gentle 10 minute ascent which only requires that you enjoy the view and don’t lean against the glass. We decided that’s for pansies though, and instead chose the harder (if not quite hardcore) walk up Platteklip Gorge. This hike is not too strenuous, and according to Will takes two hours if you’re relatively fit and two and a half hours if you’re not so fit (I carefully didn’t time myself).

From my previous trips I knew that the view of the sun setting over the Atlantic Ocean 1,085m below you is incredible awesome. Keeping this is mind, we planned our hike in the relative cool of the afternoon, and then stayed on Table Mountain to watch sunset and the city lights come on. And what an epic view it was! Even the girls who moaned about the heat, their poor thighs and the distance all the way up the mountain, had to admit that the scenery was worth it.

The GYSA team

TIPS FOR FUTURE GYSA HIKERS

• Go in the afternoon or early morning if it’s summer, to avoid the heat
• Take lots of water, and money for snacks on top if you don’t want to carry food
• Wear a hat and suncream
• If you’re staying up top in the evening, take a jersey, no matter how hot it is in the day!
• Don’t only rely on weather forecasts from the days before; call the weather centre on the day you plan to go, as Cape Town weather changes fast
• Charge your camera so you can make the most of the beautiful views and find your inner master-photographer!

Now times those feelings by nine.

Herbert Nitsch, the “deepest man on earth”, can hold his breath for nine minutes and four seconds. He is the world free-diving champion, having reached a depth of 214 metres in 2007, off the Greek island of Spetses. He plans to attempt 230 metres in June this year, but that’s not even the craziest part: his main goal is to free-dive to the insane depth of 300 metres (that’s roughly 1000 foot) in a single breath. And our lucky marine crew – Bobby, Emma and Ryan – were lucky enough to dive off Hout Bay with him this week. “He was just absolutely mind-blowing”, said Ryan. “It was super exciting to get to dive with such a professional, who’s so chilled and awesome too.”

Nitsch is a self-taught free-diver, who first discovered his passion (and flair) for free- diving by mistake: on a scuba dive safari his equipment was lost, and Nitsch had to snorkel instead of scuba. He found himself fascinated by the concept of free-diving, and within two brief weeks he was only two metres away from Austrian National record.

While mind-blowing people like Nitsch free-dive for fun, the earliest evidence of free-diving suggests the sport (which has been around since the 5th century BCE) was initially a profit-driven activity; the haenyeo, from Korea, dove for shells and sponges to sell, while the Ama divers from Japan began to dive for pearls as early as 2,000 years ago. Spear-fishing in the Mediterranean was also a historical precursor to the sport – something our marine-crew is learning in dive-instructor Steve’s pool! Although shooting at a polystyrene cut-out doesn’t seem quite the same.

Nitsch, who trains intensely, is also very interested in the physiological effects of free-diving. The mammalian diving reflex allows for the human body to survive conditions which would normally severely damage it. The body can adapt to a lack of oxygen and extreme depths by Reflex bradycardia, which is a drop in the heart rate; Vasoconstriction, which shrinks your blood vessels and directs the blood stream away from the limbs for the benefit of heart, lungs and brain; Splenic contraction, which releases red blood cells carrying oxygen; and “Blood shift”, during which blood plasma fills up the blood vessels in the lungs and reduces residual volume. Without this last adaptation, the human lung would shrink and wrap into its walls, causing permanent damage, at depths greater than 30 metres.

With people like Herbert Nitsch to inspire and motivate the crew, I think this Gap Year will be one they’ll never forget!

Gap Year South Africa volunteers stay in dormitory style accommodation with communal bathrooms.

The house facilities include satellite television, broadband internet access and a swimming pool.

The houses in Cape Town are located a short distance from the golden beaches of the magnificent Indian Ocean and conveniently situated within walking distance to a wide range of amenities for all your additional needs.

My name is Rob, I’m the guy who designed and built the Gap Year South Africa website over the past few months. If you have any questions regarding the website or see anything you feel looks out of place, please feel free to drop me a mail on rob@hitdelete.com.

What to look forward to in the blog section

We are super excited to bring you the Volunteer Diary category in the near future. This will feature blogs written by the actual volunteers with stories and photos on their work experiences. Once this category fills up, you’ll be able to browse blogs & volunteer photos by project, eg. Scuba Diving, Sports Coaching etc.

The blog section will also include major website updates and articles like ‘Safe Travel Tips’ etc.

Other upcoming website updates

Our monthly newsletter which feature current fun projects and random volunteer profiles. Also links to articles mentioned above posted in that month.

Looking forward to the new year, let us know what else you’d like to see on the Gap Year South Africa website:)

All the best,
Rob