Saying goodbye to the children....

Hey hey hey!

How are we all?

This week has been pretty much the same which is why I have not written a new post! I want to keep this blog as interesting as possible therefore I will only write new posts when I have experienced or seen something new or if I have I have any thoughts I would like to share with you all.

This Friday, 20^th September, was the day the schools closed for Half Term. During the school holidays, the children living at Saint Anthony’s stay with family members or foster families as this allows the children not only to see family members but also to experience that loving family environment. Therefore on Friday I had to say goodbye to most of the children. About 10 of the children have stayed here as they only joined Saint Anthony’s less than two weeks ago which is not enough time to find appropriate family members or a foster family to look after them.

Therefore on Friday at about 12 pm, the minivan and the two larger cars were loaded (to the max!) with the children and their bags... There doesn’t seem to be a law about how many passengers you can have in a car here in South Africa! Each of the cars were going in different directions, I went into Mlondi’s car (social worker at Saint Anthony’s and also the person who picked me up from the airport when I arrived!) who was going to the nearby townships and then Dundee, which is a town about 45 mins away. By joining Mlondi, I was able to see more of the nearby townships, where some of the children will be living as well as spend a bit more time with Sindi. She had come to me earlier on that day whilst I was in the office to say goodbye and she was very tearful. When I asked why, she said she is going to miss me over the holidays. It was hard to see her like that as she is normally very smiley and bubbly. I had a huge lump in my throat L I gave her my number and told her to call me whenever she wanted a chat during the holidays. She was a lot better afterwards. Sindi and her sister Mbali (she is 16 and also lives at Saint Anthony’s) are spending their half term with their older sister as their mother unfortunately passed away. The township where they live is only a 15 minute drive away but it has no electricity but this doesn't matter to Sindi, she still “loves this place”. I could see she was happy to be home. Her family actually have two houses; a small one which is where her older sister stays and a larger one. I am unsure why this is or who stays in the bigger house. I didn't have time to ask her those questions but will do so when she comes back. I will let you know what she says.

After dropping Sindi and Mbali home, we went back to Saint Anthony’s for some lunch and to pick up the remaining 6 children who still needed to be taken to their families. One of them was Slindo, she is the oldest girl in Saint Anthony’s, we get on really well. She could have gone home on Wednesday already however her care worker, Mam Hlobi, didn’t allow it. I am unaware of the reason why she couldn’t leave but Slindo was not happy and the fact that she was one of the last kids to be dropped off on Friday did not make her any happier (as I am sure you can understand!). She spent one night with her cousin in a township near Dundee and then headed for Johannesburg the following day, where she will be staying with her older sister for the duration of the holiday. She was extremely happy about seeing her sisters and getting away. She is 18 years old now and it is clear that she wants to be independent and has had enough of being treated like a child. I think this is understandable as she is living with 14 and 16 year olds therefore she has to obey the same rules for example wake up at 4 am, go to school at 7:30 am, have dinner at 6:30 pm and be in bed by 8:30 pm). After the long summer holidays in December (what we have in July/August), she unfortunately will not be returning to Saint Anthony’s L

After dropping Slindo off, we made our way to Dundee. One child was dropped off at a Medical clinic and the other four were dropped off at their aunt’s home. There are a lot of siblings at Saint Anthony’s and although they may live in different cottages whilst staying at the Home, they stay with the same family during the holidays, no matter how many siblings this might be. A good example of this is the 4 Mkhize siblings (Mbekezeli, Philiswa, Sbonelo and Sphamandla) we dropped off in Dundee. Their aunt is unemployed and has her own four children to look after, which she struggles to do. Despite all this, she still wants all four of them to stay with her. Saint Anthony has provided her with food parcels for the week however the social workers have told me it will help her but it is still not enough. I asked if there were any other relatives with whom the four of them could stay and their answer was “She is the only one that seems to care”. I was shocked by his answer... how can you not care about your own family, your own blood?!? This means their aunt is Saint Anthony’s only hope however the lack of money means she cannot take them on permanently. There are government grants available for cases like these; these are 700 Rand per child per month (approx £47), this helps but again they aren’t enough. Additionally getting the government to agree to pay is a difficult and a lengthy process. So on one hand you have family members who could provide for these children but who simply do not want to and on the other, you have an aunt who wants to give her sister’s children the loving family environment they deserve but she simply cannot afford it. It is heart breaking. But one thing is for sure, the four Mkhizes have each other and that will never change. The love between siblings here is the strongest I have ever seen it, not just at a young age but through the whole duration of their lives (I have met the siblings of some of the care workers at Saint Anthony’s and they are still very close). This may be because many lose their parents at a young age or because they need each other to survive therefore often live together or it may simply be their culture. However the reason is irrelevant, the love they have for their brother or sister is the sort of love we should all be showing and having for our own siblings but often don’t... Let’s change that now rather than wait for something drastic to happen before we realise how much we love our sisters or brothers...

On that note, I send you all a hug (whether I know you or not!)

Isabel x

My first South African Wedding...

Sawubona, Unjani? (Hello, how are you?)

Hope you are all keeping well! The remainder of my week was pretty much the same apart from my weekend which I will tell you about now. However before I do, I will explain briefly what my routine is during the week as that is what a lot of people have been asking me recently:

•  I get myself up, showered and ready for morning prayer which is at 8 am.
• Then I work in the office until 1:00 pm at which point I have lunch either with my colleague Thabile or in my house.
• At 2:30pm I go and see the toddlers in their cottage. They are aged between 0 and 6 years old. I play with them until 4:00/4:30 which is when they have their bath.
• At that point I go and join the older girls (aged 14 – 19) who are normally having their study time. A lot of the work they have to do is in English so they appreciate some help. The good thing is most of them are in the same class (here they call it grade) at school which means once one girl has been explained how to do something, she can teach the others (or the others copy her, which is what happens most of the time!).
• Once they have finished their work, they take their bath and have free time until dinner is ready which is normally between 6:30 pm and 7 pm. Each day one girl is responsible for preparing breakfast and dinner (at lunch they eat the food that has been prepared by the two dinner ladies in the main kitchen). This is one of the ways in which Saint Anthony’s teach the children life skills.
• After dinner they again get to do what they like work (which normally involved singing and dancing) if they have done their until bed time which is at 8:30 pm. That is when I leave and head back to my own little house.
• In the evenings I normally watch TV, work on my blog and have something to eat if I haven’t had dinner with the girls. That pretty much how my week goes however my last two weekends have been very different because there has always been some form of event. Therefore as of yet, I have no idea what a normally weekend at Saint Anthony’s looks like.

So moving onto this weekend...

Saturday 14^th September – Wedding!

So I was told on the night before about the wedding of Sis Mabu’s (staff member) brother which was taking place at the church right next to Saint Anthony’s at 9 am. So that morning I had a little lie in (until 8 am!) and made sure I was ready for 9 am just in case we actually attended the wedding. It was a good job that it did because it turned out that the whole of Saint Anthony’s was in fact invited.

In terms of the ceremony, I didn't notice much of a difference apart from the organ being replaced by two massive speakers and a DJ! So instead of the bride walking into the church to the normal “Here comes the bride” tune, she walked in on Boys II Men! However I am not sure if this is what happens for all South African weddings...  Another difference I noticed was that the father doesn't hand his daughter to her future husband until after the homily. This means during the whole first half of the mass, the daughter sits with her father in one row whilst the groom sits with his best man and groomsmen and the bridesmaids sit together again on another row. The rest of the ceremony was a normal mass with the signing of the papers after the final blessing. After this the newlyweds left the church to some loud South African music played by the DJ followed by the bridesmaids and groomsmen who danced their way out. The kids loved the music and were all dancing around, even the toddlers! Again I am unsure if this was a typical South African wedding but this is what I was part of on Saturday.   

After this, the older children were invited to attend the reception and they said I should come too. Normally there are two receptions. The first one takes place at the bride’s house on the day of the wedding and then the second one happens at the groom’s house the following day, which is when the gifts are exchanged. However the bride’s home, I was told, is too far away therefore they combined the party and were doing everything on the day of the wedding at the groom’s home. Although I wasn’t too keen on the idea at first, the girls reassured me that there were going to be some of the members of staff there as well as all of the Zanzibar boys. Therefore I agreed to go however the staff had already left in the car which meant myself and three of the girls had to walk. This was the first time I walked through the township of Blaauwbosch and it was nice to actually see a bit of the area in which I was living. Here are a few pictures:

As you can see the area is very poor but they all have brick houses. This is not the case if you drive just 5 mins in the direction of Newcastle where a lot of the houses are still made of scrap metal, bits of material and large stones, which are there to keep the roof in place... So it only takes us 5 minutes to walk to where the reception was taking place and as I expected most people were staring as it is very unusual to see someone white in the middle of a township. However I had most of the Masakhane girls round me so I felt safe, but this meant people were too frightened to come and talk to me (this is what one of the men said to me when I arrived). This is something I am finding hard to do here, how do you stay safe but still open enough so that people are not scared to come and talk to you...? It is a balance which is hard to find but I am sure it is something I will get the knack of over the next few months.

To my surprise, the reception wasn’t very lively and slow starting. We didn’t see the bride or groom and the music only arrived an hour later (but the loud music I was hearing at 12:30 am that night showed me things definitely livened up!). We only stayed a couple of hours and then headed back to Saint Anthony’s.

Sunday 15^th September – 5:30 am start!

The title above is not a typo; I indeed had to get up on a Sunday morning at 5:30 am! That day we headed to the Maria Ratschitz Mission for mass as it has now been 50 years that people have been going on a pilgrimage to this place. We drove most of the way however we did the last 2 miles by foot whilst praying the Rosary as a group. The children did ever so well and managed to walk the whole way despite the hot sun, the dust from the cars driving past and the early start! We were all very very dusty but glad to arrive, that’s for sure!

We went to the chapel and prayed at the tomb of Bishop Michael Pascal (founder of Saint Anthony’s Home). After getting out sugar levels back up with some muffins and juice, we attended mass along with between 1 000 and 2 000 other people! Here are a few pictures:

Luckily enough we picked a spot in the shade and the strong wind meant we were kept nice a cool for the whole duration of the mass, which was approx. 4 hours. By the time we arrived back at Saint Anthony’s, it was 5 pm! It had been a very long day so I headed straight to bed (I was fast asleep by 9 pm!)

As you can see I have only been in South Africa two weeks today and I have already experienced and seen so so much. I feel extremely lucky and blessed to have been able to be part of each event as most of these only happen only once every few years. To me personally, the things are I am seeing and experiencing proves to me that this is the right place for me right now. For the next 8 months, here is where I am meant to be...

Until next time!

Isabel x

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday

Tuesday 10th of September – My Welcoming Mass

First and foremost, I want to say OUTCH!!!! My thighs are absolutely killing me from the pilgrimage yesterday! I am dreading tomorrow’s pain... But anyway, let’s get onto more important things...

Tuesday started off like most days with me assisting the office staff with their work. However today was also the day the men of the Home thanked the women for their hard work. Therefore at lunch we had (yet another) massive feast which consisted of crisps, peanuts, marshmallows, sweets, some freshly barbecued beef (this is still from the cow that was killed on Friday), salad and bread. There was of course desert which was ice cream and custard! I did tell you all they love to eat here J

I then did a bit more work before going to say hi to the older girls, who were having their lunch. Afterwards I got myself ready for my welcoming mass, which was also a goodbye mass for Father Jesus. All 88 children were present as well as 5 nuns from the nearby area. As you might be able to guess, the mass was followed by a great big...... FEAST. We had some more barbecued beef which they call a “braai” with some salad followed by some cakes and ice cream. By the way, if I come back massive from South Africa you know why! It is all out of my control :P

After helping Auntie Poomi with the washing up, I joined the children outside where they were having their own braai! Here I spent some time with some new children which I hadn't had a chance to mingle with as of yet! I played catch with a few of them but boy can those children run!!! I was also informed today that we have had a new girl arrive at the Home today so I’m going to keep an eye out for her over the next few weeks. There will also be two new children arriving either on Tuesday or Wednesday. Their mother unfortunately passed away in August and their father has just recently committed suicide.

This is just one of the many reasons why these children come to Saint Anthony’s, so I ask you please if you do pray, pray for these children. Thank you.

Monday 9th September - Pilgrimage to the Maria Ratschitz Mission      

           

Since Saint Anthony’s Home is celebrating its 50^th anniversary on the 26^th of October, Malume has decided that on every Monday for 9 weeks before the celebration, the staff will go on a pilgrimage to Maria Ratschitz. This is where Father Michael Pascal (establisher of Saint Anthony’s Home) was parish priest and also brought the children that were under his care at the time and together they climbed the mountain to the cross which is situated at the top. This is also where he was buried (he passed away September last year). During his time at Maria Ratschitz, Father Michael Pascal had a cross erected two thirds of the way up, which is where we will be climbing me to and having mass. He dedicated this cross to one of the children who was under his care. This child became an orphan at the age of 8 and so was looked after by his uncle who abused him constantly. Despite this, the child put up with his uncle and the abuse before being put under the care of Father Michael Pascal 7 years later.

So as a group, we prayed first at the chapel which is situated at the foot of the mountain called the Hlatikulu Mountain. We then said the “Our Father” by the tomb of Father Michael Pascal after which we started our climb to the first cross. We climbed together as a group and during our journey up, we stopped 5 times to pray the rosary. The climb itself was ok although it was very steep however the wind is what made it a lot harder and a lot scarier! But we made it J

We then had mass during which I read both the first reading and the responsorial psalm (another first for me!). The view was absolutely breath taking! 

After mass myself, Malume, Father Matthew, Busisiwe and one other member of staff (I unfortunately do not remember his name) went on to the second cross which is at the very top of the Hlatikulu Mountain. It was challenging again but the amazing view made it all worth it.

After a pray, we climbed back down again to where the others were and then as a group, we went all the way down to the chapel. Following a closing pray we said goodbye to Father Michael Pascal and returned to the mini bus for some food. By the time we arrived back at Saint Anthony’s, it was already 19:30 (we arrived at 10:30). After a much needed shower and some food, I went straight to bed and was fast asleep by 21:30!!!

It was a very challenging and tiring day but it was also very rewarding and beautiful. This is a definite must if anyone is ever in or near Blaauwbosch.  

Sunday 8th September - My first Mass

So today is Sunday and that only meant one thing.... mass. I was told before arriving that masses here are normally relatively long, approx 3-4 hours! They were not wrong however it is not the ceremony that takes a while, it is the announcement and speeches afterwards which take up a lot of time. As Sunday was the last mass of Father Jesus, there were A LOT of speeches... about 2 hours worth! However before they started, Father Jesus introduced me in front of the whole community (approx 200 people). He made me come to the front of the church and introduce myself. I was expecting to be introduced but I did not think he would make me stand up in front of everyone, nor did I expect to have to say anything!

After the mass, the children of the community had prepared some songs and of course lots of dancing! The Saint Anthony’s children did me proud! Here are a few pictures:

Sindi in her choir outfit

Girls from the community doing some traditional Zulu dancing. The yellow tops shows they are saving themselves for their wedding day.

One of the three drummers in their traditional Zulu outfit

That Sunday was in fact Mary’s birthday and it is a tradition at Saint Anthony’s that on this day, all of the children’s birthday is combined and celebrated. So we had a huge feast and ate it all together. Then we had a massive slice of cake. Here is a picture of the cakes:

There were 4 in total (2 blues and 2 pinks!). Each child (yes that means all 88 of them) also received a party blower... I think you can imagine the noise! It was great to see all of the children eating and playing together. They really are one great big family J

That pretty much sums up my last few days! Again if you have any comments please feel free to write them below!

Isabel x

Day Three - an eye opener

Hey everyone J

First of all I would like to thank everyone for reading my blog. I have had over 200 views in just a few days which is so much more than I expected! The more people who read this, the more people will be aware of Saint Anthony’s Home and the amazing things they do for these (88) children!

So Friday was my third full day in South Africa and it was a real eye opener in terms of traditions, culture and life in a township. The day started off slowly with Malume (this is what everyone here calls the Director of the home but it actually means uncle in Zulu) being away. Therefore I worked for a couple of hours on a new project called Reach for a Star, which is a project carried out every year near Christmas time. The purpose of this project is to ask each parishioner of all the surrounding parishes to buy one piece of clothing for one of the children currently living at Saint Anthony’s. The way they do this is by creating a card for each child with the child’s photo, name age, item of clothing needed and its size. All 88 cards are then hung on a small Christmas tree and places in each of the churches in the surrounding area. Each parishioner can then take a card and buy that specific piece of clothing the child needs. This not only ensures the children receive items which they desperately need but it also means they have presents to open at Christmas. Although it may seem like we are starting early, many of the parishioners will need to save up in order to be able to buy the item of clothing. My responsibility in this project is to collect information from the social workers regarding what each child needs, take a picture of each child for the card and finally to design the card itself.

After that I decided to make the most of the gorgeous weather. So I went and sat outside with the rest of the social workers who were watching the twenty children who had not gone to school. I then went and had lunch in my house during which I watched one of their very cheesy South African soaps e.g. the bold and beautiful... (I think you get the picture!). I then decided to go back outside to play with the kids which is where I met Father Matthew. He is also relatively new in Blaauwbosch as he only arrived one year ago. He is originally from Kenya but has been in Italy for the past 7 years. He introduced me to the nuns who live next to the Home where we had tea and biscuits... it felt like I was in England again! The South African drink tea as much as we do! I was then offered some of the liver of the cow that had been killed that morning... It had been a gift from the priest, who is leaving the parish of Blaauwbosch, to the local community. As I have come to learn, it is very rude to not accept food here so I had to be brave and taste some. Surprisingly enough, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be but that might because of how fresh it was... After that, I was introduced to another priest and a few altar servers who were also cooking and eating some of the liver (this cow must have been HUGE!) and what did they do......? They offered me some more liver! He gave me a huge chuck which again I had to eat.... I think I have had enough liver now for the next year or so!

We then went a visited Father Matthew’s parish which is in Madadeni 7. I had a nice chat with three of his young parishioners and also got to see some of the nearby townships. We then headed in to town, Newcastle, which is a 20 minute car journey away. It was around 7 pm by the time we arrived and it was really interesting to see how different life in a township is to life in a town. At first I thought town would be very lively, especially as it’s a Friday but I was completely wrong... by 7 pm, Newcastle is dead and all shops are closed (even food stores) whereas in the township everyone is walking around, chatting and playing in the streets. However if you come back at around 9 pm, there is barely anyone around. All you see are lighted windows and one or two people walking (I have been told that those still around at that time are normally fairly dangerous!).

Driving through the township, I also saw a few large tents. These are normally erects for a funeral, for remembering someone’s death or for a wedding. However weddings are normally celebrated in November or December (summer) therefore all of the tents that I saw were to mark a sad event rather than a happy one. During these sorts of events, a cow would normally be killed, cooked and then eaten by the guests.

So that pretty much summarises my third day in sunny South Africa. Trust me if you like food (just as I do) you will love their culture J

Until next time...

Isabel x

My first day at Saint Anthony's Home !

So I have just had my first full day at the orphanage so I thought I’d share it with all of you!!!

Before I start talking about my day, I want to tell you about my sleep... I had already been warned by a previous volunteer as well as Mlondi (a social worker) that the chickens and turkeys can be very noisy especially in the morning at around 2 am!!! But as I only had three hours sleep on the plane I thought I would sleep right through it.... I was very wrong! At 2:30 am I was woken up by this loud noise which turned out to be the chickens crowing! Their pen is right next to my bungalow and the window in my room is single glazed so you can imagine how loud these birds were! I don’t mind too much though... it’s all part of the experience really ;)

The director Malume (my uncle) said I could have a lie-in so I got ready for about 9:30 and then headed to the main office where I met one of the admin lady Tabile and the book keeper Stabile (the names are a nightmare but I’m getting there!). Then Auntie Boomi showed me the kitchen, laundry room and one of the play rooms for the younger kids. There were three children in there aged two and three as well as Timo who has special needs. As soon as I walked into the room, they came and gave me a cuddle. The two toddlers wouldn't let go of my hand. I will see if I can maybe spend a bit more time and play with them tomorrow.

After the little tour I went back to the office and helped Stabile with the invitations for the Home’s 50^th anniversary, which is taking place on the 26^th of October. The day will start at 9 am with a mass and at 11 am the function will start. Although the program has not been decided yet, Stabile told me there will be some speeches, some singing and some dancing (at which point I volunteered to choreograph a hip-hop dance for the girls.... oh dear!). The three of us (me, Stabile and Tabile) then had lunch together and afterwards I had a small talk with Malume at which point he gave me a report to correct, which is again for the anniversary celebration.

When all of the kids had come back from school, they are allowed to go and play in the garden before doing their homework. So I went a joined them and the girls very quickly got me involved in their game... The rules were as follows: one person had to hide a belt somewhere in the garden, once hidden the person will call the others who at this point where waiting behind a wall as not to see where she was hiding the belt. Once called, the others had to go and find the belt and the first one to do so has to chase the others and whip them with the belt until they are all back by the same wall the others had been at beforehand. The game then starts again as the person who has just found the belt needs to hide it again. I don’t think I have ever run so fast in my life... I managed to not find the belt or get whipped! Two of the local priests (one of which actually visited my parish in Billericay) came to the Home to meet me as they were told by my priest that I was coming.

Afterwards I then went to the girl’s cottage where I helped them with their homework. We then had supper and then did a bit more work. They mentioned teaching me some traditional Zulu dancing which should be great fun. They got super excited when I said I did hip-hop so now I need to start putting together a choreography!!!

I couldn't have asked for a better first day! I really look forward to mingling with some of the other age groups and helping to organise the anniversary. The Home is also hosting a Culture Day on the 16^th of this month which is when each child or worker dresses in their traditional clothes, cooks traditional food and performs their tradition dance or music... I need to start thinking of something I could do about the England... Cupcakes with a British flag could be a good idea...

So as you can see I have been here one day and I’m already very busy and feel very much part of the Saint Anthony’s family already!

Until next tome ;)

Isabel x

P.S: the turkey came very close to pinching me today! It is so aggressive and nothing seems to scare him off... not even my lap top bag! So now I run past it and just hope I get into my house quicker then it gets to me haha! I honestly didn’t realise how quick or aggressive turkeys were!

Hey everyone!!!

So I thought I should use my first post to introduce myself...

My name is Isabel Ashdown. I’m 22 years old and have just graduated from Bath University with a Bachelor of Science in International Management and Modern Languages (German). However instead of starting a career immediately, I have decided to work for 8 months in an orphanage in Blaauwbosch, a township 3 hours away from Johannesburg.

Where did it all start?

So where did this all start.... Since the age of 14 I have been doing voluntary work mainly in my local community. For 2 years I was a member of the Saint Vincent de Paul group, which meets up once a week and visits elderly parishioners in their homes. For the past 8 years, I have also been a member of the Brentwood Catholic Youth Service (BCYS, bcys.net) and I have gone on 5 of their summer pilgrimage to Lourdes (three times as a young person and twice as a small group leader).

However three years ago, my family and I spent Christmas in Gambia, Western Africa.  On one of the days, we decided to go and mingle with the locals. We visited a school and a family compound. It was then that I fell in love with the country and its people. Since that day, I made a promise to myself that I will return to the continent as a volunteer.

The Orphanage

So here I am today, sitting in Dubai airport waiting for my connecting plane to Johannesburg! The orphanage in which I will be working for 8 months is called Saint Anthony’s Home (http://stanthonyshome.org/). They care for a large number of children whose parents are either not able to look after them or have been physically or mentally abused by their parents. Additionally, the Home runs a reunification program in which children are paired with foster families who look after them during the school holidays. The ages of the children range between 0 to 18 years old.

What am I hoping to achieve?

Although I will have a more concrete idea of what I will and won’t be able to achieve during my time at the Home, I do have a few ideas in my head of what I would like to do. This includes:

·         Set up/continue the ICT lessons: one of the previous volunteers started up an ICT club for some of the older children as the Home has a room with about 10 computers. Therefore I am hoping to continue the work which was started earlier on this year.

·         Set up a dance club: dancing has been part of my life since the age of 4. However dancing in Europe is very different to dance in South Africa. Therefore with a dance club I am hoping to encourage the children to have some fun whilst keeping fit but also to exchange and mix some dance genre.

·      Raise awareness of HIV and Aids: the problem of HIV and Aids in Africa is not a secret however I have the feeling it is something which is often brushed onto the carpet. I am hoping to change this attitude within the Home and create awareness of the illness but also how it can be prevented and treated. I also want to find a way in which each child who stays at the orphanage is able to find their status and receive treatment if tested positive. I am aware that this is a lot to achieve in a small space of time but at least I can get the ball rolling.

·      Improve the Home’s website: although the Home has a good website, I would like to make it more eye catching, accessible and more functional. In other words, give it a bit of a face lift.

That’s it from me for today J I hope this has given you a better idea of what I am doing and why I am doing so. If you have any feedback or maybe would like some more information about something please do not hesitate to contact me. At the end of the day, I have created this blog not only so that family and friends can see what I have been up to but also to encourage others to do the same as what I am doing. It is often easier to embark on something like this knowing that someone similar to yourself has gone alone to the same/similar place, had an amazing time and come back all in one piece. I know I haven’t quite arrived yet but I have no doubt the experience will be amazing

Isabel x