1983 + 30 = PMA

So, 2013 is the year I turn 30. 30 is officially grown up, but I am not. That makes the Big Birthday (capitalisation necessary) a somewhat scary prospect. However, in honour of my childhood hero Linford Christie's "Positive Mental Attitude, PMA" philosophy, I am determined to remain sunny side-up about the Big Birthday and am making sure that 2013 is a very memorable year indeed.

I've started slowly. The first quarter of 2013 has been spent in the UK, which is most unlike me! I've ensured it's been time well spent however, fitting in trips to Bath, Hastings, Canterbury, Oxted, Monmouth... and of course, good old Stourbridge. Oh, and I started going to zumba classes, which means actual exercise. It really is a momentous year.

Collecting pebbles for an art project on Hastings beach, with my lovely mum.

May is the month it all kicks off, adventure-wise. I'm going to Dublin for the bank holiday weekend. It'll be my first visit to Ireland, which I'm excited about. Dan and I have got 4 nights there, and I've bought (but not yet read) a guidebook to ensure we get the most out of the short time. Bring on the craic!

Later on in May I'm making a whistle-stop trip to Glasgow, to interview for a volunteer position at the 2014 Commonwealth Games! I applied last year, and just last week got the interview invitation for my first choice, the Press Operations Team. I have no idea what the interview will entail, but I'm hoping it will be fun and I'll meet some cool people. Plus, I get some free time to explore Glasgow too, a new city for me.

London 2012 inspired me to apply to volunteer at the Commonwealth Games.

June is the month of the Big Birthday. I have 2 celebrations planned already - 1 in London and 1 in Stourbridge, The Motherland. I can't wait to see old and new friends and drink, dance and laugh a LOT.

July brings another trip with My Danny (he hates me calling him that, ha!) and this time it's to Rome. I won the flights from London Luton Airport and monarch, but they were originally meant to be to Munich. "Operational issues" meant I couldn't get the free flights to Munich, so we're off to Rome instead... which is fine by me! Oh, and Vatican City totally counts as a new country visited.

August, and I'm going to Budapest for the Sziget Festival. It looks amazing, and best of all - no camping! Dawn, Gemma and I are staying in a hostel ten minutes walk from the site, which means proper beds, showers and a base to explore the rest of the city when we're not drinking, dancing, or drinking some more. Bonus point: Hungary is a new country too :)

Dawn and I at Ibiza Rocks in 2011. Sziget 2013 will be equally awesome!

September... I'm not saying too much about that yet, nothing's confirmed and I don't want to jinx it. Safe to say, it'll be amazing if it comes off (and the best perk my job has given me, ever!)

October is India time... I'm going back!

November and December are currently free, but I don't intend on them staying that way for long! I want to go and visit all my amazing friends in Leeds, and I want to do another coach day trip, this time to Holland. Oh, and there's the idea of a Kenyan New Year that just won't go away! 30? Bring. it. On.

Cape Town, South Africa... Robben Island

One of the must dos when in Cape Town is a visit to Robben Island, the island prison where the great Nelson Mandela and many of his fellow anti-apartheid campaigners were caged during South Africa's not so distant past.

The island is only reachable by boat (as tends to be the way with islands) and you need to book in advance if you wish to take a tour. We booked online around 3 days prior, and luckily just managed to get spots on a trip. I'd suggest booking further in advance if you can do, to avoid missing out.

We met up with the rest of our group at the marina, and boarded the boat. It was a grey, rainy day and the sea was choppy. I'm not normally seasick, but as the boat lurched from side to side and all around me were vomming in paper bags handed out by the ever-cheerful boat staff, I felt very sorry indeed for myself and my churning stomach.

Finally on dry land we were greeted by our tour guide for the day. All the guides are ex-prisoners and are able to give you a unique insight into the prison, and the experiences they had there.

We were shown around the prison, as well as being allowed to enter the prisoners cells, including the one where Mr. Mandela (or Madiba as he is affectionately known by South Africans today) spent 27 years. We also strolled around the courtyard where Mandela and his fellow "high profile" political prisoners spent their exercise time.

Next we were taken on a bus tour of the whole island, culminating in the limestone quarry where prisoners were put to work in all weathers. We saw the poignant stone pile in the centre of the quarry, made by ex-prisoners on their commemorative return to the island, and preserved that way as a memorial.

After a visit to the island shop it was back on the boat for another choppy journey back to the mainland. I'm told the views of Table Mountain can be stunning, but can't personally vouch for that...

The grey, miserable weather was actually a good companion for the sombre mood we all felt on Robben Island. it's impossible to imagine spending even a week caged in the conditions of the prison, let alone 27 long years. To endure that, and then to come out and achieve as much as Mandela did is the definition of inspiring. Everyone going to Cape Town should visit Robben Island, and I hope it remains as it is for years to come - a reminder of what was, and how far things have moved on since those dark days.

I'll leave you with this...

Long Live Madiba :)

Cape Town, South Africa... Masiphumelele Township

South Africa's Cape Town is an amazing city of contrasts - busy city roads, beautiful sandy beaches, mountains, marinas... it's all there, making Cape Town a city that really does have something for everyone.

I visited in April 2013, and my 4 days there whizzed by far too quickly - I'll definitely be back! There's far too much to fit into just one blog post, so I'm going to start by writing about the township tour I did with my friend Ali, and the company she runs with her friend Mandy, The Township Sisters

The Township Sisters take guests around Masiphumelele Township, which means "we will succeed" in Xhosa (one of South Africa's 11 official languages) and my friends and I joined a tour with Charlotte, who has lived in Masi for most of her life. The great thing about these tours is that they're hosted by local people, who really know their community and the people in it, and can tell you stories and introduce you to other members of the community along the way like an outside tour guide never could. The tours are on foot - no soulless tour bus here, it really is an inside look at the township and Masi's friendly, welcoming residents.

Local kids saying hi!

Our tour took in the township school, library, hairdressers, shops, pub, homes and more. We were shown all around Masiphumelele and met plenty of friendly people along the way – from the teenage girls learning Beyonce dance routines in the community hall, to the older men enjoying a beer in the local pub. Everyone had a smile and a friendly greeting for us and we felt very safe and welcomed. It’s a great atmosphere in the township, you really feel the community spirit and positive vibe throughout.

I would recommend a township tour to anyone visiting Cape Town. The comparison between here and the five star waterfront area couldn't be more stark, but the friendliness and warmth in Masi shines through the comparable harshness of the living conditions. Taking a tour with The Township Sisters was a highlight of my time in Cape Town, and a unique experience. Thanks ladies!

Online TEFL - I'm qualified!

I just completed my online TEFL course with i-to-i TEFL, and I thought I'd give a quick run down of it in case anyone's thinking of taking the plunge themselves.

I went all in and booked the full 125 hour course, which is the most you can do online. It broke down as follows:

60 hour basic online TEFL course
20 hour grammar awareness course
20 hour video practice course
5 x 5 hour specialist modules - large classes, limited resources, one on one, young learners, business English

I work full time, so TEFLed in the evening, and at weekends. I completed the whole course in 80 days (ten short of the 90 you're given to do so, although you can extends that if you need more time) and I could have finished it a lot quicker if I'd needed to, as some days I didn't work on the course at all.

I found the whole course really interesting and useful (although the grammar did fry my brain a little!) and would definitely recommend it. Depending on why you're TEFLing, you may decide to go for a shorter course than the full 120 hours. For instance, the 60 hour online course if a great, broad look at TEFL and would be a fab footing for someone planning on volunteer teaching, or wanting to dip their toe in the TEFL water. It covers everything from student motivation to classroom management  from vocabulary and pronunciation to mistake correction and more. You can always go back to it and add the extra hours at a later date if you want to as well. Now that I'm 125 hour qualified, I'm confident I could pick up paid teaching work overseas - especially with the help of the i-to-i TEFL Jobs Board.

Having volunteered overeseas previously, I really wish I'd done the TEFL before I headed off to my first placement. It would have enabled me to feel more confident to hit the ground running straight away and arrive with some lessons and activities planned which I knew would be a success. The course comes with lots of great resources to download and keep too, which will be invaluable the next time I do some volunteer teaching/community work.

Me with student Sangheeta, volunteering in India. 

I'm feeling really proud of myself for completing the course (it was a new year's resolution!) and also really inspired to head off and put what I've learned into action! Roll on Autumn, and my next adventures...