Take the Gap

Some teenagers and twenty-somethings are disciplined, focused individuals who know exactly what they want to do and have a five-year plan and a ten-year plan.

But most don’t. And that’s where gap years are so great.

CHOICES, CHOICES, CHOICES

Back in the 20th century, I took a gap year after my first degree. I spent about three months working to gather funds, spent the winter travelling up north, the spring doing unpaid (but oh-so-valuable) fieldwork on the West Coast among the flowers, and the summer exploring the rock pools of the Cape Peninsula. I sort of made it up as I went along, but things are easier now. There are a slew of organisations that will help you plan a gap year doing anything from spending a year in the bush to working in a hotel or teaching English in some exotic spot. Or you could volunteer to do something useful.

BE FOCUSED

A gap year is not simply time out, and it’s not just killing time until you somehow magically figure out what to do. Yes, it’s an opportunity to have fun — but also to seriously consider the rest of your life. So if you have a vague idea of what you want to do, use that as a starting point. You could try to get an internship or volunteer in a similar field. But even if you don’t have a clue what the future holds, use this year to learn something new about yourself and the world. You don’t have to go to the ends of the earth, but if you want to get the full benefit of a gap year, you really should step out of your comfort zone.

DO GOOD

If your parents are supporting you for this year, it’s a great opportunity to pay it forward, and to donate your time, energy, and skill to a good cause. There are organisations that arrange volunteer programmes in exotic places, but you don’t have to go far to find an opportunity.

You could volunteer at local schools or dog shelters, you could visit isolated people, you could volunteer at a local soup kitchen (or start a soup kitchen), or you could be a guerrilla gardener and just get out there and commit to cleaning up a piece of vacant land. You could regularly patrol a local river or beach and commit to picking up every single piece of litter you see. And, if you like, you could even turn a lot of that scrap into an artwork.

GO WILD

Spending time in the wild as you transition from one phase of life to another has a respectable precedent. You could do a wildlife skills training course for a couple of months, or even take a whole year out and qualify as a field guide. You may not want to do that for the rest of your life, but if you’re planning on studying a life science or an earth science, it could be handy. Or you could enrol in an organised adventure course where you learn everything from whitewater kayaking and horse riding to cooking, self-defence, public speaking, and orienteering — with the emphasis on having fun out in the wild.

And here’s an idea: you can combine the idea of an adventure learning experience with working overseas by working at a summer camp in the USA for about 10 or 12 weeks. You would help with all kinds of activities, like sailing, horse riding, soccer, cooking, arts and crafts, wilderness skills, and more. The camps run from June to August, but you can go early and help with the prep, which is a great time to get to know the other counsellors.

There are some upfront expenses, but all your expenses are paid while you’re there, and you will get a stipend, so you should make a bit of a profit, which you can spend travelling around. The age range is 18—25 years. ecotraining.co.za, campleaders.com

GO FAR

You don’t even really have to leave home to have a gap year, but it’s so much more exciting when you do, and the more different it is from home, the better. You could spend time working in another country, actually earning money while having a great time and broadening your horizons. Best of all, you can live like a local, perhaps learn a language, and make new friends. The most important aspect of international exchange is learning that people all over the world are very much like you.

They may look different, eat different foods, speak different languages, and worship different gods, but once you connect with them, you will discover that they are people just like you. And that is the secret to world peace. That might sound very ambitious and a bit arrogant, but really, if everyone were to take the time to actually connect with people who are different, the world would be a much better place. Check out goabroad.com to connect with someone who can do all the scary admin for you — finding a placement, organising visas, and some even organise flights, but you can probably do that better yourself.

If you’re not concerned about earning money and would like to spend a few weeks or months in some different countries, WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) and Workaway are member-driven sites where you can connect with hosts in many different parts of the world to live and work in some amazing places. You usually don’t get paid, but are accommodated and fed, and have lots of free time. The work involved is anything from house-sitting, domestic work, or child-care to animal care, farmwork, construction, or even working in small family-run industries. Like all such sites, most of the people are genuine and great, but do your due diligence and check very carefully before you turn up on the doorstep of a stranger on the other side of the world. wwoof.net, www.workaway.info