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Itinerary - Gap-Year-Teaching-Malawi - Africa and Asia Venture
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Itinerary - Gap-Year-Teaching-Malawi - Africa and Asia Venture
Itinerary
You will fly from Heathrow to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, where you will catch a connecting flight to Lilongwe International Airport, Malawi.
Heather Wallace and Serena McVey, our AV representatives, will meet you and take you to the Korea Garden Lodge, where you will spend 4 days on your orientation course.
The orientation course will cover the following:
- History, culture and customs of Malawi
- Safety, health and security
- Teaching techniques, lesson planning and practice
- Education system in Malawi
- Basic Chichewa (the language)
The Korea Garden Lodge is 25 minutes from the airport in the heart of Lilongwe. It has a large pool, landscaped gardens and wireless internet connections. You will be able to keep up to date with your emails and also find out what Lilongwe has to offer.
Lilongwe
For those of you staying in the Lilongwe area, you will leave by coach in the early in the morning to be dropped off at your schools.
Zomba
Those heading south will be dropped off in Blantyre, the old capital. Our representative, Jane Thorneycroft, will meet you and take you to your schools in the Zomba area, where school staff will welcome you and settle you in.
House
Your house will probably have 2 or 3 bedrooms, a sitting and cooking area and somewhere to wash. Most houses have running water and flushing loos but a few don't - jerry cans, buckets, bowls and a pit latrine, or ‘long drop' solve that problem! Nearly all houses have electricity, for those phones and i-pods, but be prepared for lots of long power cuts! No worries - you will soon get used to it.
You and your partner will spend about 3 months in your school. A large part of every weekday will be spent teaching academic lessons, organising PE, sports, extra-curricular activities and socialising in the staff-room. There will be homework to set and marking to do.
You can teach in pairs or on your own - it's up to you and how confident you feel. You should have at least 12 academic and PE/games lessons a week.
At weekends and on public holidays you will have the chance to get together with other AVs to do whatever you want. Some weekends you will want to paint a classroom or dormitory, or organise a sports event for your school; and on others you will want to be a tourist! You won't be stuck for things to do! Mt Mulanje, the Zomba Plateau, Lake Malawi - Nkata Bay, Cape Maclear and Senga Bay -they all need at least one visit!
You will be given a date to meet up in Nairobi for your final 6-day/5night safari in an overland safari truck with Gametrackers, our local safari company. Your first destination will be Lake Nakuru National Park where you can see all types of game, less elephant. If you are lucky, you may catch a glimpse of a leopard. Then on to Samburu National Reserve for elephants, lions and much, much more! Samburu is not crowded with tourists and is real and remote African bush. By the end you should have seen the ‘Big Five’!
Your accommodation will be in 2 or 4-person, mosquito-proof tents. You will have an experienced guide with you at all times and 2 cooks to provide 3 great meals a day.
Finally, your 3-month school attachment will come to an end. Leaving will make you very sad indeed but nearly 4 weeks of travel and safari ahead of you will certainly help to ease the pain. Some activities might include:
- More travel in Malawi or head south to Zimbabwe and Victoria Falls. Then fly back up to Kenya on your return ticket, or travel overland through Tanzania to Dar es Salaam and to the exotic spice island of Zanzibar by ferry.
- Travel up the Indian Ocean coastline to the beautiful beaches of Kenya and Lamu. Swim, sunbathe, snorkel, scuba dive, sail and windsurf. More? OK, what about a trip in an Arab ‘dhow’? Oh! And there are beach bars and restaurants too!
- 5 days to climb Mt Kenya and 7 days to climb snow-capped Mt Kilimanjaro – at 19000 ft the highest mountain in Africa. If one of these appeal, we know porters that will look after you well.
- Many AVs travel further into Uganda for white-water rafting, bungee jumping and quad biking. The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Western Uganda is where you can trek to sit with Gorillas (expensive but very special!). We can help organise both rafting and gorillas - just let us know what you want.
Returning from safari you will pass by the AV office, where you will collect your T-Shirt and any stored luggage. You will probably spend your last group evening at the famous Carnivore Restaurant – the biggest bar-b-que in the world!
If you are staying on a bit longer in Africa, don’t worry because “Once an AV, always an AV!” We will store luggage for you and help you out if you run into any problems.
Don’t underestimate the reverse culture shock of returning home – it is real and can be quite a surprise! But most AVs fall in love with Africa and come back again…and again! And, of course, our Nairobi staff are always delighted to welcome back old AVs.
