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My Gap Year

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My Gap Year

INTRODUCTION

Without boring you too much I'll give you a bit of an insight in to who I am: I have just turned 19 years old (19th of September to be exact). I went to The Oratory Preparatory School (OPS) when I was 8 years old and went to The Oratory School after that at 14. I've come away with 11 GCSEs, 4 ASs and 3 A levels. I studied Biology, Chemistry, Maths and Economics at As level, dropping Economics at A2 to get 3Bs, which - let me tell you - was a huge relief after only managing BCCC at AS! I am now going to go to York to study Biology after my gap year. Most of my time over the last 11 years (!) was spent at school, being a boarder, and I've come way with some great experiences and made what I hope will be some life long friends. I love all kinds of sport, especially rugby, football and skiing. I've just joined Salisbury Rugby Football Club which makes my dad really proud as I'm the first one in the family to play club rugby since he stopped many years ago (aarrhhhh). I did loads of stuff through the CCF at school: had loads of flying experience in the RAF section in the Bulldog aircraft and more recent Grobb aircraft. I've also done a gliding scholarship and a method of instruction course. That's about it about me really, I'm a pretty simple fellow, oh yeah, and I've lived all over the place within Europe but never gone further – a prime reason for wanting to travel in my gap year – I am now living in Salisbury with my folks.

Why Take a Gap Year? As I have already mentioned my main reasons for taking a gap year are taking a break from education, wanting to travel further than Europe and generally just to gather my paces before heading off to Uni to face another 3 or 4 years of education. Certainly for me, one reason for taking a gap year is to get a taster of life in the real world. As I have already mentioned, as a boarder I spent most of my time at school. My gap year is a chance to step away from that lifestyle. Although my gap year expedition is a chance to venture out of Europe and see different cultures, there is no reason to travel abroad. Indeed, a lot of my year will be spent at home working trying out different jobs. Leaving in January and returning in April, I will spend at least 7 months banking money for uni and right now for the expedition.

Why Trekforce Expeditions? When I finally decided to take my gap year, I decided I wanted to do something completely different , out of the ordinary and something very out of character. This expedition is certainly that! Trekforce Expeditions is an extremely well run organisation with plenty of preparation, helpful advice and good instructions. They have a well defined plan on joining the expedition with an introduction day followed by the briefing event. No stone is left unturned on explaining the requirements of the expedition in terms of general information, clothing and equipment, medical and inoculation details and fundraising. At this point in time on the run up to my expedition I would thoroughly recommend them to anyone. My Plans for the Future After My Gap Year? After my gap year my immediate plans are to go to the university of York to study Biology. It could be an option to study Biochemistry on arriving but that is yet to be decided. My course will last 3 or 4 years depending on whether it becomes a sandwich course with a year in the industry in another country of Europe. My plans thereafter are still very uncertain. I will either turn towards the biological industry or become a teacher. I think I will just play it by ear and see what happens, letting nature take its course. If I've learnt anything from this gap year it's that life can not be planned!

FUNDRAISING
My main source of income for my fundraising is working. Other sources of income are through companies, car boot sales, a half marathon and a raffle. Presently I am working for Matalan in Salisbury. I am making £92.40 a week on average, which, I hear you say is no where near enough. I am fully aware that if possible £300 a week, or near to, is a much more realistic approach. It is however easier said than done. At my present rate I will total roughly £1500 by the end of December. I am looking for other work and with a bit of good fortune this should rise to £2000+. Companies are happy to support you as long as you have enough to offer them and give them a good incentive. In my case it is through advertisement. Any press releases or promotional material that are produced would contain their name and perhaps their logo. I plan to get in touch with the two local papers in the middle of November on this matter. We will also wear the logo on the back of our t- shirts on the half marathon. You will also have noticed their logos on my home page.

I have now done two car boot sales, one at the Alderbury Fête that happens once a year and the other at the cattle market that takes place every Sunday. I've raised a strong £90 which will definitely not go amiss. It however does not come without determination – the cattle market started at 7.00am, just past the break of dawn! My half marathon should raise another £250 if all goes to plan. I am running with my brother and my father. I am yet to organise a raffle which should, if a success, raise at least another £500 (hopefully!). As you can see this leaves me just short of £3000. It is far from ideal considering my contribution to the charity must be £3200 by 10th December. I have however (with a lot of persuasion!) come to an agreement with my father. He has agreed to pay the rest as a sort of interest free loan and for me to repay the debt on returning to England. My problem with my fundraising is that I simply chose to take a gap year too late.

My advice to all is to definitely take a gap year of some sort and to start fundraising a year in advance, this way avoiding the '7Ps': Piss Poor Planning Produces Piss Poor Performance!!

ABOUT GUYANA
Guyana (full name is Co- operative Republic of Guyana) is a largely forested country with spectacular waterfalls, distinctively large plants and trees and a thick tropical rainforest teeming with brilliantly coloured birds, insects and a wide variety of animals. Guyana is potentially a lucrative eco-tourist destination. However, political instability, inter-ethnic tension and economic mismanagement have left it amongst the worlds poorest countries, with an infrastructure that is barely able to support its population.

The People
The indigenous peoples of Guyana are collectively known as Amerindians making up roughly 4% of the population. Indian groups include the Warao (Warrau, Arawark, Carib, Wapisiana (Wapishana), Arecuna, the mixed 'Spanish Arawak' of the Maruka Riverand many more in the forest areas. The Makusí (Macussí or Macushí) are the most prominent of the savanna peoples. Sizable concentrations of Amerindians inhabit the far west along the border with Venezuela and Brazil. They are rarely seen in the populated coastal areas, although a few have interbred with blacks and East Indians. Since 1970, traditional Amerindian lands near the international borders have come under government control, although Amerindians continue to hold village lands informally throughout Guyana's interior. The other major elements in the population are predominantly coastal dwellers. Descendants of African slaves form the oldest group; they abandoned the plantations after full emancipation in 1838 to become independent peasantry or town dwellers. The Afro-Guyanese constitute about one- third of the population. The East Indians came mostly as indentured labour from India to replace Africans in plantation work. They form the largest racial group in the country— about half the population— and have been increasing more rapidly than the others. The East Indians are the mainstay of plantation agriculture, and many are independent farmers and landowners, have done well in trade, and are well represented among the professions.

The History.
Spanish explorers first charted the territory that is now Guyana in 1499. In the 1620s the Dutch established a permanent and successful colony on an island in the Essequibo River. The English and French also founded settlements on the South American coast during the 1600s. All three nations claimed rights in the whole region extending from the Orinoco River to the Amazon River. The first human inhabitants of Guyana probably came into the highlands during the first millennium before Christ. The Warrau Indians may have arrived first, followed by Arawak and Carib tribes. The early communities practiced shifting agriculture supplemented by hunting. Christopher Columbus sighted the Guyana coast in 1498, and Spain subsequently claimed, but largely avoided, the area between the Orinoco and Amazon deltas, a region long known as the Wild Coast. It was the Dutch who finally began European settlement, establishing trading posts upriver in about 1580. By the mid-17th century they had begun importing slaves from West Africa to cultivate sugarcane. In the 18th century the Dutch, joined by other Europeans, were moving their estates downriver toward the fertile soils of the estuaries and coastal mud flats. Laurens Storm van's Gravesande, governor of Essequibo from 1742 to 1772, coordinated these development efforts. Guyana changed hands with bewildering frequency during the wars (mostly between the British and the French) from 1780 to 1815. During a brief French occupation, Longchamps, later called Georgetown, was established at the mouth of the Demerara; the Dutch renamed it Stabroek and continued to develop it. The British took over in 1796 and remained in possession, except for short intervals, until 1814, when they purchased Demerara, Berbice, and Essequibo, which in 1831 were united as the colony of British Guiana.

Culture.
Until its independence, Guyana was tied culturally more closely to Suriname and French Guiana than to the rest of South America. Guyana was settled by East Indians, who still speak Urdu, Hindi, and Tamil dialects; black Africans; and a few Europeans, mostly from Britain. These various ethnic strains have remained fairly distinct, and today each group has its own style of life and culture, although the ties of nationhood tend to bind them together. Postindependence Guyanese culture still bears the imprint of its colonial heritage. Guyanese were taught to respect and covet European values during the colonial era, and this has not changed despite government exhortation. Yet ethnic identity continues to be important, with daily life centring around ethnic and family groups; the mother- and grandmother- dominated family among blacks differs from the father-oriented East Indian family. Men of both groups often commute long distances to work along the coastal highway. Daily dress normally does not distinguish one group from another. Amerindian culture, which remains uninfluenced by national politics, is recognized as an important element in Guyanese museum displays and as an inspiration in local music and painting. Cultural institutions are concentrated in Georgetown, including the Guyana Museum, which includes the Guyana Zoo, with its impressive collection of animals from northern South America. Guyanese writers have made noteworthy contributions to literature; the works of Wilson Harris, A.J. Seymour, and Walter Rodney are among the foremost.

Life.
Slightly more than one- half of the total population of Guyana is made up of East Indians, whose ancestors came from the Indian subcontinent. Another 43 percent of the people are of black African descent or of mixed background. Approximately 2 percent are Native Americans. In addition, small numbers of Europeans and Chinese live in Guyana. About 90 percent of the people live along the coast, and 62 percent are classified as rural. About 57 percent of the people are Christians, most being Anglicans or Roman Catholics. The remainder are mainly Hindus (33 percent) or Muslims (9 percent). The official language is English; Hindi, Urdu, and Native American languages are also spoken.

Land
The narrow plain that extends along the country's Atlantic coast has been modified considerably by humans. Much of the area, which measures only about 10 miles (16 kilometres) at its widest point, has been reclaimed from the sea by a series of canals and some 140 miles of dikes. The coastal plain's inland border is generally marked by canals that separate the plain from interior swamps. South of the coastal zone the forested land rises gently and has sandy soils.

Plants and Animals.
The animal life is varied and includes deer, anteater, and two species of monkey. Among the birds are manakins, sugarbirds, and cotingas; the diversity of brilliantly colored birds and insects is considerable.

Economy
Immediately before independence in 1966, Guyana was in the early stages of developing its resources. The development continued under an economic plan drawn up by British, United States, and Canadian experts. Manufacturing, which was on a small scale in the late 1960s, was expanded in the 1970s, but in the late 1980s the economy of Guyana was dominated by agriculture and service industries. The national budget in 1996 included revenue of $247 million and expenditure of $287 million. Government management of the economy has become direct and significant. During the 1970s the government nationalized U.S. and Canadian bauxite holdings; in 1976 it nationalized the vast holdings of the Booker McConnell companies in Guyana, which included coastal sugarcane plantations as well as an array of light manufacturing and commercial enterprises. By the mid- 1980s it was estimated that the government controlled directly more than 80 percent of Guyana's economy. All nationalized businesses have been reorganized under the Guyana State Corporation. The state-owned Guyana Sugar Corporation controls the sugarcane plantations, and the Guyana Mining Enterprise Ltd. was established to oversee local mineral production. Severe drought and political turmoil contributed to Guyana's negative growth of -1.8% for 1998 following six straight years of growth of 5% or better. Growth came back to a positive 1.8% in 1999 and 3% in 2000. Underlying growth factors have included expansion in the key agricultural and mining sectors, a more favorable atmosphere for business initiative, a more realistic exchange rate, a moderate inflation rate, and continued support by international organizations.

President JAGDEO, the former finance minister, is taking steps to reform the economy, including drafting an investment code and restructuring the inefficient and unresponsive public sector. Problems include a shortage of skilled labor and a deficient infrastructure. The government must persist in efforts to manage its sizable external debt and attract new investment.