Addison's Adventures

Drafted this when I first got here so it is a bit behind but worth a read.

Well, I have been in Cape Town for 5 days now and although it is damn cold and very wintery I don't think I'd be this content during a winter at home. Yes, I miss my family and friends and if I could pick them all up and teleport them to South Africa I would but there is just something about this city, this country and that makes me happy and cold all at the same time. 

I had my first day at the office on Thursday and left the backpackers at 7.15am to catch the train. It's still fairly dark at the time of the day but there are plenty of people around so it's safe to walk around by yourself. I got the to the train station and purchased a single ticket for R12.50 (80p), as the train pulled up I was unsure of what I had got myself into, it was covered in graffiti and it was really like an extremely run down tube train. As I got onto the train it felt exactly like rush hour in London, their were seats on the sides and then everyone just stood up in the middle and I have to say I did get some odd looks as I got onto the train, probably because I was one of the only two white people in that carriage. The train from Observatory to Fish Hoek takes around 50 minutes and that is partly because there are around 20 stops to the train stops every 2 minutes. Apart from the appearance of the train and the dirty walls with just head shaped clean bits where people would lean their heads, there were no tanoy announcements as to which stop we were at which was quite off putting on my first journey. A massive upside to this journey was the stunning views, even in the slightly foggy drizzle the mountains on one side and the ocean on the other.  It might be a dodgy train but it certainly makes up for it in viewing potential.

It was great to finally meet everyone that I have worked with since last July and everyone in the office are really great. As soon as I arrived I got given a long list of work to do, from finding new fonts for branding and finding photos and statistics for the annual report and board meeting to updating the group fundraising brochure.

I've been a bit quiet the last couple of weeks because a few things have changed since my last post.

1. I've applied for university!!!! (shocker I know)

2. I've left Zanzibar early and am now sitting in the backpackers in Cape Town

So to explain this randomness I'm going to start at 7am one morning as I sat and ate my breakfast with the other volunteers. We were just casually talking about university and I just happened to mention about a new course that was starting in September, an undergraduate BA (Hons) in Charity Development at the University of Chichester. We were all talking about university and everyone said it would be a great thing to do and now that I have work experience it would really help me and would really aid me in my search for work. So after more researching I decided to apply, I had nothing to lose and I knew that I would be the best next step for me. I had been thinking for a while about where I would actually go after completing my internship and that scared me, possibly going back to the UK with no job and getting stuck back at square one, having to do a job that I didn't really enjoy. My application went through last week and I now waiting to hear back to arrange an interview over Skype. I actually had a quick call with one of the lecturers who has raised an incredible amount of money throughout her career and has been developing the course for the last 2 years with the university. And I actually got very excited speaking to her about the course and even more excited when I saw the modules that I could do throughout the three year degree. So hopefully my interview will go well and I will be able to start in University and spend the next 3 years living in good old sea side town, Bognor Regis.

This I already know will be a bitter sweet feeling as I have become very attached to South Africa and leaving here so soon will be difficult yet again. However, to make the most of my internship I decided to leave Zanzibar early so that I could complete at least 2 months in Head Office in Noordhoek. Zanzibar had been relevantly quiet due to the world cup and the start of Ramadan, it was also still low season on the island. I also knew that I would regret it if I didn't come to Cape Town and as my tickets were already paid for it seemed really silly not to come to the Mother City. 

I managed to get away without having to pay to leave Zanzibar which was a bonus and I was quite sad to leave, not really how attached I had come to everything. I sent my last lot of shilling by buying one last gift for my parents and some chocolate for myself. It was then time to fly to Johannesburg, and the best and saddest part of my flight was my excitement of getting peas, yellow and red peppers with my chicken and rice. There was a green pepper in there also but in protest I left that in the tinfoil container. I've been eating green peppers, courgette and carrots every night for the last 3 months so I as ecstatic about eating some different vegetables and the brown bread roll was the icing on the cake!! I got to Joburg and got let straight in which was a worry with all of the new visa regulations taking hold. And then it was a quick food and drink stop before my final flight of the day, ager 13 hours of travelling and collecting my luggage 4 times, I had arrived in the amazing but very cold and wet Cape Town. As you can see from the photo above even in fog, Table Mountain is an incredible sight!

It was so nice being able to snuggle in a duvet last night and then wake up and be able to enjoy a HOT shower! A serious luxury after having COLD showers for so long. I decided to go and explore Cape Town today so headed out and used one of the local mini buses, a cost of R6 (40p) to get into the city centre. Although it was cheap they drive like lunatics so it's a good job I'm getting the train to work in the morning. My first stop was food, as I hadn't eaten since the afternoon before and I found this really awesome food market cafe that offered so many different types of food, all freshly made there and then. Afterwards a made a quick stop at Mr Price, a mix between Matalan and H&M. I had to find some boots because my feet will freeze if I wear flip-flops for the rest of my stay. After purchasing some nice boots for £18 and a long pair of pj bottoms it was time to get some supplies for breakfast. MILK AND CEREAL!!!!!!!! Another luxury, real cold milk and crunchy cereal, mmmmmm delicious!

So that is all for now, the backpackers is really cool and the people seem very nice, with a lot of them either interning or working, most people are getting up early and heading to work. I am now going to finish this blog post because I really need to eat and I have left over pasta in the fridge waiting for me! 

So this week has yet again gone very quickly. I've been working on new fundraising event ideas and just trying to get some admin things done for head office. I now only have 5 weeks left in Zanzibar which seems crazy as I don't feel like I got here nearly 3 months ago. The weekend has been mildly eventful and we had planned to go to the Film Festival on Saturday.

Friday was the opening of the world cup which meant we headed down the beach after dinner to go and watch. We caught the last half of the Mexico and Cameroon game but the game that we really wanted to see was Spain vs Netherlands. We left kimte which is a small rasta bar where we held Quiz Night and headed up to Coral Rock where they have a big projector screen set up on the beach. It was a really nice atmosphere as they had made it public so that the locals could also join and watch the game. As the game started it looked as though Spain were in for a good chance as the Netherlands weren't really getting much play of the ball. But then out of nowhere Van Persie scored an incredible goal by just launching and heading the ball!! We couldn't believe our eyes and everyone was cheering and clapping. By the end of the game and sitting through the Netherlands giving Spain a 5-1 beating the locals were on their feet, cheering and clapping. They were all cheering for the Netherlands because of Van Persie, and rightly so, he played an awesome game.

The picture below is of me and the volunteers at the football game. 2 Americans, 1 Aussie, 2 Brits and 1 Frenchie.

After a late night watching football a lot of the volunteers were headed to Kendwa to the Full Moon party, so we all got up for breakfast and then the four of us that were left went back to bed as we had to get up at 7.30am! I got ready and headed down for lunch, as i sat down the volunteers said that there had been a bombing in Stone Town, the venue for the Film Festival!

I was shocked and wasn't quite sure what to make of it all, I went straight online to try and look for some more information. The Telegraph had already got hold of the news which meant it could soon reach the UK, it said that a bomb had gone off outside a mosque during evening prayers around 8pm. One person was believed to be dead with several others injured, it was quite scary as although Stone Town is an hour away from Jambiani it's not so far and is the only main town on the island. As a group we decided it was too risky and we would rather not go to the Film Festival, if you think about it with this event and the well timed gathering of muslims from Eastern Africa it was a perfect time to set off more bombs as Stone Town would be full of Muslims, Christians and tourists. We all knew we would just worry so we called Toni to tell her about it and cancel our taxi. We spoke to Dulla when he arrived and he called his family who live in town, apparently it was aimed at a group of Kenyan muslims who had arrived on the island for the gathering. As I'm sure you all know there has been a lot of terrorist threats in Kenya of late, but as far as we know at the moment this was isolated and no other bombs have been detonated in Stone Town over the weekend. We also heard it was a home made bomb that was thrown out of a window, so it sounds pretty harmless for now.

For all of you reading this I am perfectly safe, and I called my parents as soon as I knew the details to explain it all to them so that they didn't worry. I will be keeping an eye on the UK travel website and if anything else happens on the island and things become really unsafe then I will leave early and head to Cape Town, so please don't panic!!! 

Rather than going to the Film Festival we went and chilled out at Coral Rock and sunbathed, we then bought the film festival to us and had our own movie night. I set up my laptop and speakers and the four of us sat and watched The Hangover, it gets better every time I see this film. 

Today has been spent chilling out after being woken up at 7am, yes 7am for breakfast on a SUNDAY!!! I have spent the afternoon at a resort just down the road from us called Spice Island. It has a beautiful pool, free towels, a lovely indoor seating area with beds and cushions, and then an awesome Jetty Bar where we enjoyed a couple of cold Malibu and coke. 

I really can't worry when I have a view like that to look at on a Sunday afternoon while multiplying my freckles!!

This is one of African Impact's most popular projects and is based in the vibrant tourist town of St Lucia on the East coast of South Africa. Volunteers on t...

Some of you may have wondered what I was actually doing when I was volunteering in South Africa in May last year. Take a look at this video and see the inspirational work that is being done everyday, the work that I can proudly say I was a part of!!!

Another very busy week was ahead of me this week as I had a meeting with the Zanzibar Rotary Club and our first ever Quiz Night. At the moment I am putting some flyers together that will hopefully be able to go to local restaurants and hotels along with Focal Project sheets that will hopefully go in their menus, just another way to hopefully raise some money for the brilliant focal projects we have here in Jambiani.

On Monday we had our biggest group of volunteers arrive since I’ve been here which means that Peak Season is soon apon us. They all seem like a great bunch and are from multiple places such as America, France, Germany and England. It’s nice to have some English volunteers as they understand when I say dodgy or some other random saying which none else ever really gets what I am on about. 

Tuesday and Wednesday were busy days in the ‘office’ as I was getting Quiz Night prep done and also a presentation ready for our meeting with the Rotary Club on Thursday night. Tena and I were going to head to a meeting in Stone Town with the organisation to discuss potential joint fund-raising efforts. Although I did get the opportunity to go to the Post Office and pick up an awesome little parcel that my mum sent me with a couple of presents from my parents recent holiday to America, the meeting didn’t quite go to plan. When we got there it was just a casual meeting where most of the members are from the UK, one of which used to work in Harleston, small world. So unfortunately the presentation I had spent most of Wednesday on wasn’t used, but hey what can you do. It was still nice to get out of the volunteer house and have a nice dinner at a place called 6 degrees. I had the most English thing on the menu, pate on toast!! YUMMY!

Friday I was busy doing accounts so I could get them sent to head office in Cape Town, not my best idea for a Friday. It took me a little while to figure it out but all got sorted in the end and then I was able to do a merchandise sale for AI and THAF. We now have THAF magnets and postcards which went down well with the new volunteers and I was also able to sell a few t-shirts. All of this money goes back into The Happy Africa Foundation so it all goes to a great cause. Being on a strict budget until I get to Cape Town meant that I stayed in on Friday night and just watched The Big Bang Theory.

The big day had finally arrived. We held our first ever Quiz Night last night at Kimte which is an awesome rasta bar right on the beach. I was initially a bit worried when I was preparing everything yesterday afternoon as I was unsure how many people would make it. However, it was a great success, when I arrived at Kimte they had set up a bonfire and their were candles on the tables, it looked great and an epic and cosy little venue for a fundraiser. As I am in Africa no one was really on time so we did end up starting nearly an hour late however everyone had a really great time and seemed to be really enjoying the quiz rounds. It was actually quite strange not to get heckled from certain members of the quiz teams. The winners were the ‘Gay Sharks’ who won a jug of 'Brain Box' cocktail which had been especially created for the Quiz Night. We made around $65 which is 106,400TZS which will go towards the Jambiani Educational Community Centre. 

After the Quiz everyone stayed for another drink before heading to the party at Coral Rock which is a nice bar just along the beach from Kimte. It was pretty busy and I ended up staying until around 2am just dancing and having fun with the volunteers and being slightly harassed by a rasta. But hey as a mzungu (white person) it’s just what happens here. All in all a great and very successful night was had.

This morning however I did wake up with a slight hangover (sorry granddad I know I told you I would behave, but I had to celebrate). Also in my defence everyone was feeling a bit worse for wear this morning, I blame it on the 'Brain Box' cocktails. Today was mostly spent chilling out ,watching more of The Big Bang Theory and watching movies as it as rained for most of the day. All of the volunteers were out all day so it was lovely and quiet here and Mish and I had a whole lasagne to eat for lunch, we failed miserably. At dinner this evening Tena made a toast to me to say well done for organising the Quiz Night as everyone had an awesome time last night. So overall a pretty successful week! The next 6 weeks will hopefully bring more fundraising, laughs, memories and success.

The last few weeks have been pretty crazy as we’ve been low on staff and high in volunteer numbers. In those weeks I offered to help out with the volunteers by selling internet vouchers, getting them to projects on time, giving them advice, collecting volunteer data and doing all of the social media. It’s been great to have been given a chance to get more involved on the projects side of things as it has not only given me more experience and helped me gain new skills but it has also helped the team here in Jambiani. 

One of the main things that I have been helping with is updating the Facebook page which I love doing. Social media is such a great way to get your word out there to a lot of people for free and it allows past, present and future volunteers to see what we do here on this beautiful island. Unfortunately as important as it is, it’s sometimes put on the back burner as there is always so many other very important things going on with admin, volunteers and projects, and this is where I came in. As odd as it may seem to some people I actually really enjoy doing social media and I got straight into updating the page once a day, sharing other African Impact project’s posts and updating and adding new photo albums. It’s great for all volunteers who follow us to see the progress that is being achieved and to show them exactly what volunteers get up to on a day to day basis. We are now very close to 1000 likes and there is a healthy competition going between us and the Dolphin & Marine Conservation Project.

My workload has been hectic but as my Granddad would be happy to know, it’s keeping me out of trouble. The only downside is that the weeks are flying by and I now only have 7 weeks left here before my next placement starts in the Mother City of Cape Town. This last week has probably been my lowest week so far and I have been a bit of an emotional wreck. 

My internship here in Zanzibar has cost me a lot more than I expected due to the $400 visa and just the general living costs as everything is around the same price as at home. For example for £1 you get 2200TZS which will buy you a bottle of coke in a bar. That has meant I have eaten away at my bank balance more than I expected and so I have been really worried about not being able to go to Cape Town. Also, I haven’t been feeling very well and was worrying about that, but after going to the private clinic in Stone Town I was told that I was perfectly healthy but just anxious and stressed which isn’t surprising. I also did a malaria test just to be sure and that came back negative, yay! My week only got worse when the boss of the East African projects bought me to the office and asked if everything was ok and I just burst into tears, awkward to say the least. However, after talking to my manager in Cape Town and other colleagues and my parents I am still going to Cape Town and just being very cautious with my money here! I really would have been devastated if I was unable to go back to South Africa and no offence to anyone back home but I’m really not ready to come back yet! Sorry.

So after a stressed out week I’m feeling so much better! We have a new volunteer coordinator who is great and has loads of new ideas for the projects and now that I’ve been told I’m healthy and my money problems are fixable I can stress a lot less than I was and just immerse myself back into my work and my surroundings!

On Saturday I headed to Stone Town with all of the volunteers and I got my last presents, I know what you’re thinking, I’ve just been complaining about money but these presents are actually Christmas parents for my parents and little sister so I think my spending is justified. I also tried my first Ethiopian meal which was interesting to say the least. A large pancake like sour dough is used as the plate and then different dishes are added on top. You then use more of the sour dough to pick up the different dishes rather than using cutlery. It was actually very nice, but as you can see from the photo is doesn’t look that appetising.

Saturday evening I just chilled out and watched a film with one of the volunteers before enjoying a very nice day at Upendo today. I wasn’t planning on going as I had spent a lot in Stone Town but I was sponsored to go. I got 6000TZS from one of the volunteers and my business manager Tena matched it and then the big boss Mark paid for my taxi. I not only work for a charity, I now am one. I couldn’t say no and I’m so glad I went as it really is a beautiful setting to enjoy a very chilled out Sunday.

So the week ahead is looking exciting, with 11 new volunteers arriving we are heading into peak season which means lots more fundraising can commence. And I’m hosting my first big fundraiser on Saturday night at a local bar called Kimte where I get to be Quiz Master again which will be awesome. 

I am now halfway through my internship here in Zanzibar and I can’t quite believe how quickly time has flown by on this beautiful island. Having already completed one internship with THAF I was really excited to see how this would differ from my time in St Lucia. To say that I had fallen in love with the place, the culture and the people was probably an understatement and Zanzibar had a lot to live up to. 

This internship has been very different and has bought up some fresh new challenges. Being the first intern at the Jambiani projects means I have been able to set up The Happy Africa Foundation and educate the volunteers on how the partnership between THAF and African Impact works. Doing this was probably one of my biggest challenges and getting the volunteers involved and excited about fundraising and donating has been a slow process but we are definitely getting the excitement through camp. Some volunteers are organising events after they leave, like climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and helping us to get corporate donations.

I have also been able to set up business meetings with a local bar and have organised some new fundraising events. We will be holding our first ever Quiz Night next week and will also be piloting a movie night later on this week. I am very happy that I have been a part of the initial set up of these partnerships and hope that they continue long into the future so that more people hear of the amazing things that we are doing in this community. As an island that is hugely dependant on tourism it is so important that holidaymakers see that there is much more to this island than the white beaches, turquoise waters and beautiful sunsets.

Community spirit here is very high and there is a lot of respect from the elders of the village for what we do for the local people. Our focal projects have grown in just the two months that I have been here and I am very privileged to say that I have been a part of that. The Jambiani Educational Community Centre has bought who whole community together with volunteers working alongside local volunteers and builders and its been incredible to see the journey from the overgrown land to a piece of land that is now ready to have foundations built once we have the money available. I have also been able to bring in new ideas on how to make Nursery, Nutrition and Health (previously the Nursery School Feeding Program) more sustainable by building a large garden to provide each nursery school with fresh fruit and vegetables to help feed the children. 

The opportunity to learn new skills was one of the main reasons, apart from the beautiful setting, that I chose to do this internship rather than extending in South Africa. This position has not disappointed and has enabled me to learn about a new culture and language, connect with local businesses to introduce The Happy Africa Foundation and African Impact and get them involved in fundraising efforts. It has also helped me enhance my skills in fundraising such as writing corporate proposals and composing email campaigns to broaden our circle of potential donors.

On the 19th April we headed out on a weekend snorkelling trip to a small island off of Kizimkazi. We left Jambiani at about 10.30am and headed to Kizimkazi where the Dolphin and Marine Conservation project is based. I was pretty excited about this trip as the snorkelling is known to be very good around the island. After finding snorkel and flippers that fitted we all headed out onto two boats. The weather was quite overcast and the sea wasn't as calm as I would have liked, trying not to throw up on the way there was the aim of the game! After about an hour on the boat the engine stopped, I looked behind me to find that not only was our guide steering the boat and working the engine but he was also fishing and had just got a bite! As the boat rocked side to side I could't help but think of my mum (she hates boat rides) and how she would be doing the same as me and trying to concentrate on something still. I watched as our driver reeled in the fish which was a good sized king fish however I did have to look away as he bashed it's head in with a stick on the side of the boat! But hey how much more fresh can you get for a bbq. As we got closer to the islands we saw two dolphins swimming towards the boat. I couldn't help but laugh to myself as I pictured my friend Sophie doing her dolphin impression.

The three islands in the photo above were where we went snorkelling. The coral and fish below the clear turquoise water was incredible and the size of the sea urchins were pretty scary, some of the spikes where at least a foot long! Although the view under the ocean was beautiful a few of us had problems with our snorkels and this meant that my goggles were filling with water every couple of minutes, but hey I still got to explore whats the under water and some of the fish down there are as beautiful as any animal on the ground.

After about an hour of snorkelling it was time for the seafood bbq on the sand bank. As i looked back towards the island I got the view above. From where we were you couldn't see the sand bank and we were all wondering just exactly what to expect, but I wasn't expecting this:

A huge sand bank with a shaded area that had tables and chairs under it so that we could enjoy a civilised bbq. The food as always was amazing, we had octopus, calamari, the fresh king fish we had just caught, cigal (a type of lobster) and then chips, rice and salad. We were also able to enjoy some nice cold drinks and we even had fresh fruit afterwards, an epic bbq in a beautiful setting!

An epic day would be nothing without an epic photo to finish the day! And yeah there I am on the end like a crazy lady!!! Happy Monday everyone.