Following what seemed like a never-ending stint at the UK’s favourite supermarket, it was finally time for me to embark on the more exciting bit of my year out: two months in East Africa.

The plan was to spend the first five weeks volunteering at a small primary school in a remote part of Kenya. The remaining three weeks would be an overland adventure incorporating white water rafting in Uganda, attempting to climb Mount Kenya, a lot of safaris and a few days chilling on the beaches of Mombasa.

After meeting fellow volunteers at Nairobi airport, we made our way to a camp on the outskirts of the capital. This first night was intended as an opportunity to meet the people I would be living and working with for the next five weeks. For most of us, it was also a chance to try the native alcohol, from which point onwards the night seemed to pass by fairly quickly.

Early on the second day we made our way to our new home, Langlanga, a small village about three hours south of Nairobi. As we pulled up it was clear we had landed ourselves some rather swanky accommodation. Two adjacent, bungalow-style buildings complete with a couple of cooks, a night watchman and a lush grassy lawn - it was hard not to feel a little spoilt. In true British fashion, we took the weather with us and spent our first afternoon in Kenya stuck indoors playing cards.

The next day, we took our first five minute walk to the school where we were introduced to the head teacher - clearly a very caring and enthusiastic guy - and given a tour. Our duties were explained, which included assisting in and teaching lessons of maths, english and science, and helping to build a new library.

A small point on practicalities, you have to be careful about the water you drink in this part of the world, including ice cubes. Unfortunately, I didn’t know this beforehand and spent my second afternoon in Kenya running between my mattress and the not-so-inviting long drop.

We quickly settled into our daily routine. On a typical morning, we got up about seven o’clock. This might sound ridiculously early but it was no problem with early nights and morning sun. Showers were cold and usually delayed until the smell got unbearable.

At about nine o’clock we would head over to the school and meet with the builders who we worked with most days and quickly befriended. It was physically demanding work especially in the first two or three weeks when the foundations had to be dug and rock had to be moved.

There was an opportunity on most days to get into the classroom, though. Having absolutely no teaching experience, the prospect of teaching science to a class of forty Kenyan children was slightly daunting so I gave lessons with another volunteer which eased the pressure a bit. The pupils sat through every lesson without making a sound and never let their attention slip. Without wanting to sound too dramatic, it makes you realise how lucky we have it in the UK when it comes to education.

We took most weekends during the first five weeks as an opportunity to visit other parts of the country. We made our way to a few local hotspots including Kenya’s fourth largest town, Nakuru. This was a particular favourite as it wasn’t an obvious place for tourists to visit and felt more like the real Kenya. Friday and Saturday nights were usually spent together in a bar, drinking with the locals who would almost without fail turn out to be as friendly as all the other people we had met.

Inevitably, the time sped by far too quickly and it was time to pack our things and say our goodbyes. Having spent the best part of five weeks with the children, teachers and builders who worked at the school, as well as our two female cooks, it was a sad time and tears were shed. On the final day, we were given a farewell ceremony with gymnastics from the children and speeches from the teachers. We almost ruined this special event with a poem collectively penned the night, before sung to the tune of an 80’s classic!

After a short stay in Nairobi, we set off on our overland adventure in what looked like a small converted lorry that used to transport toilet rolls. These lorries turned out to be a fairly popular way of travelling around Africa for large groups of people. If you ever find yourself boarding one of these, whatever you do, don’t sit at the back. The back seats offer the least resistance to pot holes and nobody will want to swap.

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