There's no denying it, these bloggers are bound to make you jealous. Whether it's their guts, their energy or their tan you admire, overseas volunteers have got plenty to share with you about their remarkable work in fascinating countries. Read on to find out what you could be missing.

All | Ashley | Natalie | David | Sheila | Jonathan | James | Abi | Fiona | Community_Action_International | Project Mongolia | Sarah | Emily | Dana | Selina | Lucy | Hannah | Sally | Lucille | Martyn

Thursday Oct 20, 2011

A tale of tango 6

So I'm back at Fieldbase after joining one of the groups on the beginning of their trek and I've got lots of stories for you. I was lucky enough to spend the first three days with them and now I know why the treks are called the Adventure phase!

We all left Fieldbase at 6am last Friday, and settled in for a day and a half drive down to Kerala, where the trek started. The drive took us through three states: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Each state was absolutely beautiful but also increasingly different. The further south we travelled, the lusher the scenery got; with the greens of the countryside getting brighter and richer the closer we got to Kerala. As we travelled down the dusty roads, the vegetation became more tropical with the palm trees and banana groves becoming more common than we were used to around Mysore. 

We drove through national parks on our journey and saw lots of monkeys which everyone loved - although we did all get a bit concerned when they climbed onto the roof of the bus!

We stayed the night in a small town, called Udumalpetti, and then continued our journey to the Silent Valley Tea Estate to begin our trek.

We started the trek in a beautiful mountain village. As we walked past the huts, the locals where playing music, which soon became our trek soundtrack! After a quick lunch stop, and of course a cup of chai, our packs were on our backs and we were ready to start. And then it happened, the heavens opened and we started our trek in a complete monsoon! Apparently, this time of year, Kerala gets a second monsoon – which would probably account for all the lush green vegetation surrounding us!

A chorus of leeches

Along with the rain came a chorus of leeches, all rearing their heads and trying to jump onto us with every step. The village music was still playing in the background and it seemed as if they were all singing along with it...as they crawled up our legs! After a few squeals, mainly from me, we all had our 'finger flicking' action perfected and it was heads down, fingers ready and a quick march for 4km until we reached our camp for the night.

Now, although they're pretty gross, leeches can't actually hurt you; so after we had all got used to the fact that, whatever we did, we were pretty certain to get leeched, everyone started to see the funny side.

When we reached our camp for the night, our lovely guides set about making us a fire for the night. The boys did the manly thing and battled with the elements to put the tents up, while the girls set about making a delicious supper of pasta, baked beans and tinned cheese – just what we needed!

After a couple of hours, the rain subsided and we were all able to venture out from our shelter and see where we were spending the night -it was breathtaking.

We were nestled on the side of a mountain surrounded by peaks wrapped in swirling mists. The mountain tops looked like the white cotton candy machines you get at fairs, surrounding each peak with a delicate mist. The campsite had a lilly pond and crystal clear waterfall to gentle lull you to sleep – it was stunning.

After supper, and a lot of sock drying around the fire, it was an early night for all in preparation for our 5am start the next morning.

Reaching the peak

Sunday was our big day. We were going to climb Misapullimala Peak, South India's second highest peak at 2,637m. One thing was for sure, it was definitely going to be a challenge! 

Fuelled by energy bombs (a mixture of porridge oats, condensed milk and chocolate powder), we started out on what was to be the toughest day of trek. We were told by our guides that we had three 'hills' to climb before we reached the top. Now, I'm quite a fan of mountain climbing but these 'hills' were certainly not the sort of hills you might take a stroll up after a big Sunday lunch...in my view, they were mountains in their own right!

We trekked through open fields surrounded by mountains, across make-shift bridges and up some pretty steep paths! After our second 'hill' we stopped for a rest and then we saw it... Misapullimala Peak. Everyone was feeling pretty shattered by then, but seeing the top gave us all the spurt of energy we needed to keep going.

After a quick break and a few snacks, it was rucksacks on and best foot forward. We could see the top and we were going to get there, every single one of us.

Before we knew it we were in the cotton candy that we were looking at the night before. The mist surrounded us, sometimes it was so thick that we could barely see in front of us, sometimes it cleared and we got a peak of what was around us. It was like the mountain was showing us a window into the world; we were literally on top of South India.

The last 200m to the top was along a narrow ridge. By this time the mist was so thick we couldn't see either side. It felt like if you took one wrong step you would fall into a never-ending abyss. Now trek isn't called an 'Adventure challenge' for nothing and this bit was certainly a challenge! Some of the group loved it, spurred on by the adrenaline rush of being up in the sky. The rest of the group, me included, were petrified! However, we all did it – the group came together, encouraged each other, gave words of support and offered welcoming hands to help people up over the tricky bits.

Soon enough we were all at the top. For many, it wasn't just the mountain they'd conquered, but their fears as well. They had proved to themselves just what they could do when they put their mind to it – just the way Raleigh likes it!

The tea factory

As they say, what goes up must come down and in our case it was time to get going. Next stop was the Silent Valley Tea factory for a very much needed cup of chai. As we headed down the mountain, the scenery changed from the rolling green hills that we saw on the way up, to perfectly manicured tea plantations. I'd never seen tea grow and was surprised at how flat the plants were – they looked like Bonsai trees.

As we got to the final stretch the heavens opened again and it was a quick march through the tea plantations to our final stop. The Silent Valley Tea Estate is the highest organic tea plantation in the world and proved the perfect end to our trek. As I'm sure you can imagine, the tea was delicious, especially as by this stage we were all soaked to the skin! After warming ourselves up with multiple cups of tea, we jumped into some jeeps which took us to our campsite for the night.

Huddled around the fire, spirits were lifted as we had a much-needed meal of noodles, sweetcorn and tuna (a Raleigh special). Everyone agreed that although it had been a very tough day, the highs definitely outweighed the lows and, as we curled up in our sleeping bags with full tummies, there were smiles all around (and a few sore feet!).

The next morning the rain subsided and we were treated to some more spectacular views before heading off to our next camp for survival day! Just as we got to the campsite I saw the car waiting to take me back to Fieldbase so, unfortunately, I left this part of the trek. However, I can tell you that the group were about to have all their kit taken away from them and, under the watchful eye of the guide, were going to be taught how to survive a night in the mountains without any of their kit! Exciting! 

Back to fieldbase

Back at Fieldbase, I'm catching up on what the other groups have been up to while I've been away and furiously typing away at my computer. Joining the group on trek has definitely been a highlight of my time here so far. Apart from the obvious physical challenge it was personally very challenging to keep my fears hidden in front of the venturers. At certain points of the trek all I wanted to do was curl up into a little ball and teleport myself home to a hot shower, comfy sofa and large glass of wine. Looking around me at the wide eyed venturers fresh out of school or university I could see that the trek was possibly one of the scariest and most challenging things they had done in their life.

I had to put my fears and feelings aside and help them get through it. And, amazingly I did. I'm not quite sure how, but I put one foot in front of the other, held out my hand and, step by step, we all got through it together.

So that's the first challenge over with then...I'm already looking forward to the next. 

 

Posted by Sarah ( 11:41 AM )
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Wednesday Oct 12, 2011

And so it begins

After three weeks of training our ventures have finally arrived and boy were we pleased to finally meet them! I went with the 'meet and greet' team and picked up 40 very excited, if not slightly wary, 18 to 24 year olds from Bangalore Airport at 5pm on Sunday morning.

Now I've done the airport journey a few times, first for my own arrival into India, and then to pick up the rest of the project manager team. Arriving at 5am and starting your journey before it gets light, feels almost like you're watching the country wake up, rub the sleep from its' eyes and put on a morning cup of chai.One of things that I find most interesting about people is how quickly they can adapt to different situations and environments. It's amazing how you can get used to cows on the road and even goats on motorbikes and not give it a second thought. It's India after all!

Watching the venturers faces as, through their sleep deprived eyes as they slowly realised they were in India was magical, and reminded me of the first time I came to this amazing country. They laughed at the free-roaming cows, waved at all the smiling children and closed their eyes every time a motorbike or auto-rickshaw swerved in front of a bus (to be fair I still do that). Half of them licked their lips as they tasted their first cup of chai, and the other half screwed up their faces at how sweet it was!

After the four hour journey from Bangalore to Mysore, we were finally back at Fieldbase and they were all straight into unpacking, admin, tours and being told that they were going out on a three day trek the next day, oh yes, and that it was a 5am start.

All the PMs and I were watching with anxiously to see how they would react to sleeping in a dorm with wooden mattresses, having cold bucket showers and being told they had to get up at 5am the morning after arriving in India. I was trying to remember how I reacted to all of the above when I went on my gap year, many years ago, and I have to say was pretty impressed with their resilience!

It's a big thing being taken out of your comfort zone and plunged into an unknown world. One of things about being a volunteer manager is that you don't only have to manage your own feelings about being in a strange situation, but you have to manage those of others around you. You have to be the strong one, the grown up, the friend to listen and the person to make things better when things go wrong (which inevitably they will at some stage!) No matter what you're feeling inside, you have to be the one with the answers, the endless energy and the never-ending smile.

It's a tough job that's for sure and each one of us is panicking about that time we see a huge spider or massive snake and have to keep a cool head! It is however, one of the reasons why we're all here and will no doubt be one of the most rewarding things about the roles we've all volunteered to fill.It's pretty quiet around here now as everyone is out on trek training.

They'll be digging long drops, building shelters, cooking under the stars, swimming in rivers and experiencing the people and country they've come to see. For me it's the calm before the storm and I'm busy catching up on work back at the office before they all deploy on their various projects on Friday.

I'm joining one of the trek groups for the first few days of their adventure. We're going to Kerala to climb Misappulimala peak in the Silent Valley Tea estate. The peak is 2,637m and is the second highest in South India, just under double the height of Scotland's Ben Nevis. I can't wait, for me it's definitely going to be one of the highlights of being out here. I' m already looking forward to telling you all about it.

Posted by Sarah ( 6:36 AM )
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Monday Oct 03, 2011

The same, the familiar and the different

Second week into my volunteering experience and so far so good! I’m getting to grips with my role and slowly but surely planning out my time and working out what to do when.

It’s been a pretty hectic two weeks to say the least. I was part of the advance team out to Fieldbase so as well as doing all my own Communications work we have been preparing for all our Project Managers to arrive. As I mentioned in my last blog, Raleigh organises a number of projects for its venturers and each project has between two and three volunteer Project Managers (PMs).

Our role at Fieldbase is to essentially support these guys and work behind the scenes to make sure that everything runs smoothly for them during Expedition. They arrived on Sunday and it’s been full steam ahead to make sure their equipped with all the skills they need to run their project sites and manage the venturers.

I’ve been joining in on the training and have to say I’ve been incredibly impressed. In my London life I was sent on all manner of leadership, team building and other such corporate training courses. Some of them I liked and some of them my mind turned to which type of biscuit would turn up at the next break within about five minutes.

Suffice to say I haven’t been concerned about biscuits in the slightest over the past week!

Instead of having a swimming assessment in an over chlorinated pool I’ve been swimming in a reservoir surrounded by mountains.

Instead of doing my shopping in Sainsbury’s I’ve been buying fresh fruit and vegetables from local markets in Mysore and learning how to make chapattis.

I’ve swapped the London underground for auto-rickshaws (and taken to praying to all of the Indian gods every time I’m in them!).

I’ve swapped my boardroom meetings for meetings in a hut with a traditional Indian roof made of cow dung and straw.

Oh yes, and probably most importantly, I’ve swapped my morning coffee for a morning chai.

Along with all this, I’ve managed to squeeze in a 27k trek. The trek was part of our training as one of the projects that the venturers will be going on is a 19 day trek through the Western Ghats of Kerala. For our trek we walked through rice paddy fields and lots of Indian villages. The scenery was stunning and the villagers were incredibly friendly, stopping to talk to us and ask us where we were from at every stop. It was a tough day and by nightfall there were certainly a few blisters and stiff backs.

Once we got to camp we practiced all the camp crafts that the venturers will be learning. This involved digging a short drop, a slops pit, cooking our supper and building a fire to keep us warm while star gazing.

A slightly different camping experience compared to the luxury of my boyfriends pimped out VW back in the UK!

I’m back at Fieldbase now and we’re preparing to send all our PMs to visit their project sites ahead of the venturers arriving. It’ll be strange Fieldbase being quite over the weekend, but a good chance for me to catch up on some work and maybe pop into Mysore for a quick massage...

...well you know what they say about all work and no play!

Posted by Sarah ( 4:39 PM )
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Thursday Sep 29, 2011

Career break

I was delighted to be asked to write for the do-it blog. I’ve been planning my volunteering experience for around a year and can’t wait to tell you all about my experiences, both good and bad!

I’m Sarah and after working in London for 7 years I wanted a break. I considered the ‘pack on back’ option but realised it wasn’t for me. I wanted to do something that benefited both me, my career and others (in no particular order!). I also wanted to use this opportunity to see what else the world had to offer and make some truly magical memories.

In my ‘normal life’ I work in communications, first as a journalist and then in the creative department of a large PR firm. My most recent job saw me working in a communications consultancy, managing the production of an internal magazine as well as consulting on employee engagement and other projects. Although I loved it and worked on some great projects and meet some fantastic people it was time for a change.

So after a lot of internet searching I found Raleigh, a youth and sustainable development charity who run expeditions in Borneo, Costa Rica and Nicaragua and India. They had a role for a Communications Officer in their in-country Fieldbase offices so I got in touch.

A year later I’ve rented out my flat, quit my job and am writing this sitting in an office just outside Mysore in South India.

I’ve just been here a week and I already know it was totally worth it.

I’m working with a team of volunteer managers including, admin, logistics, medics and a photographer. We all have one aim, to make sure that the expedition we’re running for our venturers is the best experience they ever have – and to have a bloody good time ourselves!

So far we’ve been shopping in Mysore for supplies (Indian style!), trying lots of delicious curries, learning how to make chapattis and making sure that we’re all up to speed with our roles for when the rest of the expedition come out. Oh, and I’ve been updating the blog (yes another one) so that friends and family back home can keep up with our antics.

My role here is writing the blog, writing and producing the end of expedition magazine, producing presentations to explain about my role, working with the photographer to create slideshows, indentifying potential PR opportunities and well, pretty much anything else I want. I truly can make this role my own and can put my skills to as much use as possible – and of course learn some new ones!

While I’m out here, we’re running four projects, including one adventure project which sees our venturers and volunteer managers trekking through the jungles of Kerala.

Raleigh works on Community and Environmental projects. For the Community phase this time we’re making eco-sanitation units (or toilets to you and me) in a rural village and bio- gas units (sustainable energy using methane from cows) in another one. For the Environmental project we’re building an anti-poaching camp and a pathway to a beach where turtles lay their eggs.

One of the things I’m most excited about my role is that I get to visit and participate in all of the projects and the trek so I can gather content for the magazine and blogs. I’m also going to be writing a number of case studies on the venturers and volunteer managers for Raleigh to use for marketing and PR.

Oh, and I had a few problems with my visa so have to leave the expedition three weeks early – one thing’s for sure I’m going to be pretty busy!

Posted by Sarah ( 4:46 PM )
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