Community Takes Over Your Life

So I know that I said on Sunday that I would write a blog post everyday except Sunday. And then there was no post on Monday. The explanation for this is that I spent all of Monday watching Community season 1 from start to finish with my cousin. Community, for those unfortunate not to have been blessed by its touch, is an American sitcom, that airs on NBC in America and on Viva in the UK, which centres on a Spanish study group and the relationships that develop between the different members. One of Community's main selling points is its countless references to other shows and movies as well as the epic continuity seen throughout the two and a half seasons that have currently aired.

The pilot opens with former lawyer Jeff Winger's (Joel McHale) attempts to get with high school drop-out Britta Perry (Gillian Jacobs) through the creation of a fake Spanish study group; however, through TV and film geek Abed Nadir (Danny Pudi), four more members from Spanish 101 are invited along: former high school jock Troy Barnes (Donald Glover [also known by his rapper alter ego Childish Gambino]), elderly and very racist Pierce Hawthorne (Chevy Chase), overly religious Shirley Bennett (Yvette Nicole Brown) and, finally, adorable but recovering pill addict, Annie Edison (Alison Brie). Each episode begins with an introductory sketch, which usually has something vaguely to do with the episode, followed by the main story and finishing with the tag. The tag is a minute long piece which, usually, has nothing to do with the main story and no purpose other than to make you laugh. And it does. Repeatedly.

The show hits me in so many ways. The acting is great and the delivery of some of the lines gets me no matter how many times I've watched it. The on screen chemistry between the characters, especially Troy and Abed, is excellent and the tags at the end of each episode reinforce this. Some of the references to other shows are lost on you, though, if you have not seen the movie or TV show but I think this lends itself brilliantly to the show. It means that, when watching in a group, different members will find different parts funny, as happened last night when my cousin loved a Transformers reference that I did not get while I loved the references to The Breakfast Club. It also gives the show great re-watch value as when I first watched Community, I had never watched The Breakfast Club but now that I have the imitation of one key scene from the movie is much funnier.

Also you can not complain when the beautiful Gillian Jacobs and Alison Brie, who, my cousin pointed out, gets magically hotter each episode, on your screen. And that last point is key. Dan Harmon and his writing team are amazing. The script is genius and the levels of continuity and character development out of the world...if they are intended. For a first time viewer, Annie seemingly getting hotter each episode is just odd sorcery but, to the seasoned veteran, one can see that her character, and possibly the casting of Brie, was entirely up to Harmon.

Finally, good news! Community returns from its season 3 hiatus on March 15th! Rejoice Community fans and for those who have yet to sample its delights, you have just over three weeks to catch up with the rest of us.

Sunday's are for resting!

So I've decided to post everyday but Sundays in the future. Gives me an obvious day off and, as I don't do much on Sundays anyway, gives me time to recharge. 'Til tomorrow.

Hidden Costs of Volunteering

As I blogged yesterday, I am continuing to document my experiences before I leave on my three month stint in Tanzania by addressing one key issue that may slip under the radar for anyone who is thinking about doing some volunteering abroad. That issue is hidden costs. I mentioned previously that the price of the project paid for accommodation, food and insurance. Obviously there's also the air fare (£795 + tax if you book via Projects Abroad. I paid £700 via British Airways) to pay unless you plan on walking there and a visa (~£35) to allow you into to allow you into the country. However, in Arusha I will also need something called a 'Permit C' which allows me to carry out volunteer work and it costs roughly £300. £300 to spend 3 months volunteering in your country sounds like a lot of money going into government officials pockets to me. Frustrating to say the least. There are also costs associated with the vaccinations you have to take. I was recommended to have Typhoid (Free via NHS), Hepititus B (£90), Rabies (£123), Yellow Fever (£60) and anti-malarial tablets (£20 with my ASDA discount card). These add up to a substantial amount of money. I also want to take a netbook with me as my 18.1" laptop is slightly to big and heavy to feasibly take with me and I would rather have my own access to the internet and a place to upload my photos than having to rely on internet cafés. The one I'm looking at is around £350, which is on the more expensive side but, as I will probably use it for law school come September, I'm looking at it as an investment rather than a one off expense. These are my essentials, I guess. Things that I must have before I go. Now onto things that I would like.

I do not particularly fancy taking a suitcase with me which travelling in Tanzania and Kenya so I'm looking at getting a fairly sizeable hiking backpack for around £70. Important but, in the end, not a life changing addition to my expenses. Then there are clothes. I'd like a few more shorts and shirts and a hat and stuff before I head off but again this costs money and is, as my mother keeps reminding me, unnecessary. I don't really know how much I'll spend on clothes but lets put it at £125. Then there is the 19 days that I will spent after my placement travelling independently of Projects Abroad. I have bought insurance (~£40) and will need a place to stay. I am currently looking at hostels catering for backpackers as they are cheaper than hotels. Seven days in Mombasa is about £140 for a single, private en-suite room on Nyali Beach. I would like to spend a few days doing the beach hotel experience and this will cost a fair bit more.

Another thing one should do when planning a trip like this is to decide well in advance what you are going to do. I gave myself roughly two months to prepare and that is not enough when you factor in working a full-time job. Give yourself enough time to get everything sorted well in advance, mostly the extra costs stuff that I have mentioned above. Laptops and clothes etc. can be bought in the sales rather than last minute. It also allows you to shop around for deals on travel and accommodation if you travel after. Give yourself six months to prepare and you will be set.

Anyway, some of that seems a bit obvious, especially the last part, but I have always needed a good idea to slap me in the face for me to realise it's there. This will probably be the last travel-based blog post for now. Will post another before departure and possibly one before then on ideas for lessons and stuff but it's hard to know what I'm supposed to teach when I know nothing about teaching children. However, in the next few days I'll post about other stuff affecting my life. Maybe my views on my beloved, and thoroughly underwhelming, Arsenal and where they are at the moment. I thought I'd miss football while in Tanzania but, to be honest, I can barely bring myself to watch more than a half when Arsenal are playing so badly. I'm also having a Community marathon with my cousin on Monday as he's never seen it. It's one of my favourite TV shows at the moment so there'll probably be a post about that too.

Anyways, Happy Weekend to you all.

Pre-Departure Review of Projects Abroad UK

So, here as promised, is the 'review' of Projects Abroad pre-departure. I call it a review but it will be more of a ramble. There will be two parts to this entry: one focusing on Projects Abroad themselves and how I have found their services before I depart; the other a hints and tips section or other various bits of information that I have learned so far tomorrow. One could point out that I am writing a review when I have not even been on my volunteering trip yet but I think that the preparations and months leading into departure are paramount to setting you off on the right foot.

Projects Abroad is a “leading global organiser of overseas volunteer work placements” according to its home page offering many different placements in various disciplines all across the world. Then again, so do most companies offering this kind of experience. I found out about Projects Abroad by searching on Google and, as I knew which area of the world I wanted to do some volunteering in, I went straight for the Destinations page to see if they offered teaching in Africa. They did and there was a information session in London that I attended. There were about 20-30 other people there along with employees and past volunteers from Projects Abroad with experiences ranging from a law placement to teaching and care work, although all seemed to have gone to Ghana. The staff were friendly and approachable, happy to talk about all aspects of spending time abroad and company literature was strewn across tables for people to take. At first glance they seemed very professional and, more importantly to a first-time volunteer and lifelong cynic, legit. I had already decided on Tanzania for my destination as it is close to where my parents grew up and is home to Mount Kilimanjaro, the Serengeti and Zanzibar. Also, I'm constantly reminded of how friendly Tanzanian people are. So, having decided where I was going and what I would be doing, I joined the Facebook group. (As an aside, I think I may be the ultimate product of the internet generation when I determine how legitimate a company is by whether it has a Facebook group or not.) Set up by the Projects Abroad team in Tanzania, it is a convenient place to ask questions of volunteers and staff who are already in Tanzania about customs, clothes and the placements and the people on there are extremely helpful. So far so good for the more 'informal' modes of contact.

Once I had decided, I began ringing and e-mailing Projects Abroad regarding my plans and they were friendly, well-mannered and tried to be as helpful as possible, following up phone calls with e-mails and e-mails with more e-mails. Everything was relatively smooth up until the booking. The first problem came with hidden costs and efforts required to get my own visa, which I did not really mind so much but my parents did. Suggesting that the visa application should be done by the company and that the 'Permit C' that I need to get when I enter Tanzania (not cheap at 500 USD) should be integrated within the cost of the program. We had also planned to book flights through the company as well hoping to get cheaper rates however the £795 they charge does not cover any tax so I was looking at another £200 on top of that, whereas I booked return flights including tax for just over £700 via British Airways. The team that dealt with the handling of flight details seemed to mistake a lot of the instructions I gave via e-mail, possibly through reading through them too quickly, not understanding well enough or my bad instructions.

Next with my placement. I was given a questionnaire to fill in regard experience, skills and targets for my trip and a few days after I replied I was suggested a place at a school catering for 2-7 year olds. I replied saying that my preferred age group to work with would be 11+ as that is where my experience, albeit brief, lies. I received an e-mail thanking me for letting them know of my preferences and they would try to accommodate me. A few days after that I got an e-mail telling me that I could view my placement and living arrangements online, once I had paid the full invoice. Which brings us to present day. Having paid the invoice and been able to access my placement details they have placed me in the Gohechi Centre for 2-8 year olds. It is also listed under care projects as I mentioned in my last post. I have sent an e-mail confirming that these are correct details and we shall see from there I suppose.

Projects Abroad have been a pleasant company to use and are extremely good at maintaining contact up until the point where you actually sign up with them. I think it would have been nice for contact to have been maintained up until departure with the odd e-mail here and there to assess the situation and make sure that I was ready and enthusiastic about my time abroad. I think that the information available about the placements should be wider and more practical rather than a regurgitation of whatever is on that particular school's/organisation's website. Also, there are plenty of hidden costs that should probably be advertised somewhere. However, so far there has been nothing that has caused real concern and this should bode well for my time in Tanzania.

First!

Welcome, one and all, to my newest adventure. A foray into the weird and wonderful world of blogging which will hopefully entertain many and horrify few. I will probably blog about anything that springs to mind. I don't really have something that I wish to focus on; however, as it says in the description, I will probably be spending most of my time keeping track of what I am doing while in Tanzania for the benefit of my friends, family and myself. 


Firstly, though, I think it is only polite to introduce you to my mundane existence. Unfortunately, when I look at my life, nothing particularly interesting seems to happen but when you spend much of your time watching ridiculous TV shows, I suppose that real life seems to be rather boring in comparison. Prior to my current state of unemployed limbo, I worked in the alcohol section of ASDA. Not exhilarating work but it still provided a welcome distraction six days a week. I say limbo but, in actual fact, I am supposed to be preparing myself for a four month stint in East Africa. Tanzania to be more precise and Arusha to be even more precise. I have finally paid the entire invoice, booked my flights and found out the details of both my accommodation and my placements for my time in Tanzania. However, I still need my final round of vaccinations as well as buying T-shirts, shorts, a hat, a backpack, and a netbook in order to keep myself, and hopefully you, entertained throughout the months.


I fly out to Tanzania on the 1st March, with British Airways taking me from Heathrow to Dar Es Salaam and then Precision Air from Dar to Kilimanjaro Airport. From there I will, hopefully, be met by an employee of Projects Abroad (the company I am using, www.projects-abroad.co.uk, a pre-departure review of which to come later, possibly tomorrow) in order to take me to meet the family I will be staying with. Yep, no hotels and spa treatments for me. The family consists of a Mr and Mrs Jacob who have a little 11 year old girl named Glory and own a shop and backery. I think they mean bakery. I must admit that, while I know that many people are not native English speakers, misspellings are a pet peeve of mine. I think I may offer to proof all of their material while I am there. 


My first month in Tanzania will be spent at the Gohechi Centre which caters, I'm told, for 2-8 year olds, many from broken families. This scares me. I've never worked with children of this age before, my only other experience of teaching being a short placement at a secondary school for half a module at university. Another thing that scares me is that on the myprojectsabroad page lists it as care, when I did ask for teaching but as there's only two weeks to go, I wouldn't want to cause any confusion or disturbance regarding my preferred choice. As my dear father loves to remind me so, not everyone is afforded this opportunity. Likewise, it does state on the projects guide to not have any expectations of preconceptions on what your experience will be like, but I think that is almost impossible for a mere mortal such as myself. I always envisaged living in a family with a son around my age, maybe in his teens, teaching in a school for 11-16 year olds where I could play football and have conversations with. I am not complaining though and I will just have to take this in my stride, however filled with stutters and slips that may be.


That said there are other worries on my mind, mainly of the financial kind. The fees that I have paid to the company I am going with cover accommodation, food and insurance for the period that I am volunteering. For the three weeks after that, I am on my own. Which is a daunting prospect both for my person, as I have never travelled alone before, and for my wallet. I have been looking at hostels and backpackers lodgings and have found some suitable places but I worry sometimes about security, especially in Kenya which is not exactly the safest country. However, for under £125 for seven nights you can not really argue with the price. Ideally, I'll make some great friends in Tanzania who just happen to be travelling the same time as I am but, realistically, I will be on my own for the duration. I thought I would be fine with that but now the anxiety starts to set in. What exactly shall I do on my own, not only after the placement but during it too. Whereas, at home, I have endless amounts of Community re-runs and high speed broadband, with which I can play a few games of League of Legends, I struggle to think what it is I might do on, say, rainy days when no one wants to go outside? Maybe I will rediscover my appetite for reading. I hope I do anyway, judging by the amount of books I intend to take with me. Which books do I intend to take with me? A blog post for another time I think.