The Travelteer, Sara, is flying home; the end of her time volunteering in Kenya has crept up on her,

“In the chaos and excitement of the last few weeks I seem to have lost track of time because all of a sudden I’ve found myself in the departure lounge at Nairobi airport waiting for my flight back to the UK. 6 weeks – gone just like that. But my god, what a six weeks it’s been!”

Sara relays details of her farewell to the orphanage, something that included her favourite dinner (pilau), cakes and games. Her description of teaching the kids to play musical statues is certain to raise a smile. She was also given a Kenyan outfit by her fellow teachers that consisted of linen trousers, a kaftan, head wrap and kanga. We’d love to see you in it Saz…

Unsurprisingly the experience was tough on an emotional level, but that is what it’s about,

“I love that I had to opportunity to live with the locals and work alongside some of the most inspirational people I have ever met and I still hold the view that it is a place of extremes; it is both beautiful and obscene, inspiring and heart wrenching, rich but so poor. That’s what makes it Mombasa though and that’s probably what will keep me coming back here for many years to come.”

Thanks Sara for sharing your experience, we look forward to meeting you on your return. If you’ve got a desire to volunteer abroad then be sure to read through Sazintransit’s Blog and get a real feel for what it entails.

STA Explorer Saz has been on the classic African wildlife safari, although working as a volunteer her and other members of her team decided that they should experience the more ‘touristy’ side of their current location.

The trip was, in her words, ‘um-ed and ah-ed’ about due to price, but eventually she decided to commit to a three day and in the long run was pleased she had,

“I saw lions and elephant and giraffes (oh my!) zebra and cheetahs and buffalo. I got to wake up at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro with monkeys playing at the entrance to my tent and I visited a Masai village where we were welcome with traditional dances and blessed by witch doctors. It was by all accounts a mind blowingly good trip.”

It did however get her thinking about the conflict between the every day life she is experiencing as a volunteer and the more romantic vision that the safari created. Saz talks about the effects the current drought is having and how, although this was evident during the three day trip, it is rarely addressed. Equally on her mind was the huge variation in prices,

“Instead of bartering for reasonable prices in the local markets we were expected to pay five times as much as normal in tourists stop offs. Any attempts to speak Swahili were met with raised eyebrows and even at lunch time when we stopped off for a quick bite to eat we found ourselves being charged 700ksh for a meal I pay 50ksh for anywhere else.”

Her thoughts are insightful and interesting as ever and if you want to read them in full, including a simple tip on how to drive the cost of your safari down, click through.

STA Explorer Sara has had to have a vent in blog post form about the attitudes of some of her fellow volunteers who seemingly have had some trouble understanding what being a volunteer actually means.

“I, obviously, think volunteering is a good thing. I won’t go into the whole debate now but essentially I think we westerners do have something to offer and it is part of a big two way process – we benefit from our experiences – they, hopefully, benefit from whatever skills it is we can offer.”

As far as it goes this premise is basically spot on but problems have arisen where Saz is based due to volunteers not wanting to work. It seems bizarre, but a few people are refusing to muck in where the help is needed. This attitude has really got our Travelteer’s goat.

“No one expects you to clean toilets all day – but if you choose volunteering as part of your gap year/life experience then put your heart and soul into and do it properly. Remember – it’s a two way thing.”

If you’ve got views or experiences of the volunteer holiday get in touch or leave a comment.

Last time we checked in with STA Explorer Sara, The Travelteer, she was considering her trip to Africa and wondering if it was all in all a good idea? Well, that is by-the-by now as she has arrived at her destination,

“Woo hoo! I am finally writing this blog from Mombasa Kenya! I arrived last week on Thursday and it has been just awesome since touch down!”

She’s already excited about getting involved with her volunteering role and has been charged with the task of creating and organising a structure for future volunteers,

“Twaayf has just managed to secure its own accommodation for volunteers so will now be running its own intern placements for people coming over…”

This means she’ll be creating all sorts of promotional literature along with formalising a screening and application process. And this diving straight back in at the deep end has seen Sara already picking up bits of Swahili, notably a phrase we can all use – ‘Nataka Pombay’.

Click through to find out what I just demanded…

STA Explorer the Travelteer, also known to many as Sara, is considering her decision to head to Africa.

In her post ‘Is this really a good idea?’ Sara tells of the escapades that befell her during the last official leaving do, a heady night in Oxford. Involving dares, piggy backs from strangers, attacking her boyfriend with a rose and 92 (or 9) shots of sambuca, the evening was nothing if not eventful. However, the loss (theft) of her wallet and the breaking of her camera and shoe got her thinking,

“Is me travelling on my own for five months really a good idea when I can’t even get through a night out in Oxford in one piece!”

Sara I’m sure you’ll be fine; and besides, you did get through your night in Oxford, just a little worse for wear. Last night also saw The Wandering Warburton’s last leaving bash…

STA Explorer, the Travelteer, is preparing for Africa and in doing so is also taking some precautions. Having recently found out that a few of the children she’ll be looking after in the orphanage she’s volunteering for have had malaria, she decided to double check her own tablets and the guidelines surrounding how they should be taken,

“I have never had tablets which are so… finicky. I have to take them at the same time everyday, while standing up, with 2 pints of water and a meal and I can’t lie down for at least 2 hours after taking it.  I mean seriously?? I’m surprised it doesn’t go the whole hog and demand I stand on one leg while touching my nose with my eyes closed.”

It does sound ‘finicky’ but I’m sure all for good reasons. Although there is a light hearted element to Sara’s post there is also a serious side, as she talks about the on-going droughts in Kenya. She posts an image from The Guardian (above) of a mass grave for cows that have died from lack of food and water. It has her contemplating what may lie ahead during her trip,

“I’m not sure what the drought situation is like in Mombasa and I don’t know how or if it is affecting the orphanage at the moment. My communication with the guys out there is fairly sporadic and normally quite brief because of a lack of resources on their part. It’s quite frustrating in a way – I wish there was more I could do –  but I suppose I will just have to wait and see.”

The latest STA Explorer to join the Travelbuzz tribe is Sara and she’ll be going by the name of The Travelteer.

You see, she’s going to be travelling and volunteering… Anyway, as you can find from her lovely blog Saz In Transit there is only 552 hours (less now I’m sure) to go until she heads to the first stop on her five month break Kenya.

Already she has learnt that surfing in Kenya isn’t a great idea due to sharks - is this true? It isn’t something I’d heard before and am now pleased that I have been forewarned should I decide to practice my cut back in that neck of the woods. All that aside, 552 hours equates to around three weeks which she’s looking to fill. Currently this means working on the blog ,

“Anyway, as I am so bored and as I have to try and fill the next 552 hours somehow I thought I’d get working on the blog a bit.

The Kenya section from before was really focused on my work out there – you can expect that in future blogs – but also expect some more light hearted stories and regular updates on whatever crazy stuff I get up to which, if you know me well, you’ll know should be occurring in abundance!”

Sounds good Sara, can’t wait… In her latest post there is an itinerary of where she’ll be heading, so have a look and see if you’ve got some tips on what to get up to.