Dear diary ... My UTS family

Dear diary,

I have been living in Port Elizabeth (PE) for three weeks now. I got a warm welcome right away on the Friday that I arrived and I was immediately invited for a dinner in the city. I went to Asada with the United Through Sport boys and it was hands down one of the best restaurants I have ever been to with a great atmosphere and the nicest local staff. I had a great time and had the most delicious steak. It was a good first evening and I got to know the other volunteers right away. 

The following week it already started to feel like a family to me, which is weird since it was only the first week. But constantly working with each other and being together in our free time as well, did make the group very close. We have Dutchies, Germans, Americans, Aussies, Scots and Swiss and English people and anyone talks to anyone.

What helps is the crazy Tuesday night. Yes, Tuesday night. A Tuesday night in PE starts with a Games Night and ends in an Uber with drunk people singing along to a song that we can pretty much call ‘the UTS theme song’: White Tiger by Izzy Bizu. My first Tuesday started with coaching the kids of course. You come back pretty tired after a fun day in the sun, so you hang at the pool for a bit of dipping and tanning. Then after dinner, the night started with a pool tournament in the ‘Boome’, which is our relaxing spot with a pool table, ping pong table, tv’s and a minibar. Soon enough though, pool turned into drinking games and drinking games turned into karaoke at Barney’s. I like to think Barney’s is the busiest place in South Africa on a Tuesday night. So an awful lot of people are able to enjoy I’m a Believer, Young dumb & broke, Angels and every other song requested by a full podium that’s taken over by UTS people. And the night does not stop there, no no. Cuz what’s a Tuesday night in PE without heading to the bar called White Tiger. Jup, no wonder it’s our theme song… Crazy Tuesday’s…

The next day we are all coaching hungover, so surely it’s a great idea to have a 5-a-side tournament with all volunteers on the Wednesday night. Luckily the heat makes you sweat out the alcohol and a dip in the pool also works great. Wednesday night is my personal favourite, since it’s the only day we can actually do some sports ourselves, beside fitness and running. We always have four teams and literally everyone that joins can play quite well so the games are pretty exciting. Super tiring but a lot of fun! 

The rest of the week usually consists of a games night on Thursday, going out on either Thursday, Friday or Saturday. And in the weekend we also have the opportunity to do some activities like skydiving, shark cage diving, ziplining, canoeing or something simple like heading to the beach, the mall (with a casino and a cinema) or a nice rooftop garden. But we don’t need much to have fun. The greatest example being Boys Night: claiming the Wi-Fi-room, sit in our underwear, watch football, have a beer and have a great night.

A week ago, two days after Boys Night, a big part of the group left and everyone was in tears, even I was while I’ve only been here for two weeks at that point. It’s hard to say goodbye to people knowing it’s unlikely you will see all of them again. New people came in on the saddest day so far, which must have been the weirdest thing for them. Nevertheless, a week later they are integrated, they had the intro I had, we played water polo, went to the beach, had a games night, 5-a-side football. People come and go at UTS, but White Tiger will continue to be on repeat…

Baie Dankie