In defence of the gap year

A few months before I set off on my epic journey of self-discovery and exploration, a humble comedy video went viral. ‘Gap Yah’, while both funny and at times startlingly accurate, revealed a trend of growing resentment and shunning of the long-existing custom of taking a pre-university gap year. And there I was in the deep West Country, slogging away at my A-levels and dreaming of faraway exotic lands.

I had wanted to take a gap year for as long as I could remember. Travelling was in my blood and I had the vaccination history to prove it. I wasn’t going to let some pesky YouTube video stop me, nor the more daunting thought about the drastic impending hike in university fees. Yet, due to the video and the change in public opinion (we were all tough and austere then – credit-crunch hardened), I found myself embarrassed before I had even set off.

So I spent my gap year travelling across South America desperately trying to avoid Gap Yah and its stereotypes. It is possible and, yes, at times it is cliché (I still dread being labelled ‘gap-yah girl’, despite my tendency to throw my experiences in Peru or Argentina or ‘that time in Chile’ into any and every conversation going) but do I regret it? NEVER. It made me tougher, wiser, much better at directions and able to stomach almost anything (llama anyone?).

So, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you my (definitely-not-definitive) guide to the gap year and my humble attempt at defending it.

HOW TO DO IT: a recipe for gap year (NOT gap yah) succes

The dream that motivated my 9-5 working days

WORK FOR IT

Pay your own way. This will make you not only financially aware/morally superior but also feel supremely independent. Getting your first credit card is a terrifying but oh-so-exciting experience. I now have a job history ranging from childcare to bar work, including working on a farm. I feel these skills will, at some point, come in use.

CHOOSE WISELY

There is, quite literally, a whole world out there to explore. For Orlando, the infamous king of Gap-Yah, a country’s cash-lash ratio (i.e. how pricey the drinks are) was the ultimate destination decider, but we’re not all motivated by the premise of getting sloshed for under a tenner with a group of Aussies somewhere in Thailand. Go somewhere that inspires you. I Attenborough-ed myself silly dreaming about the South American continent, yet being there in person completely trumped all the HD panoramic shots and silky voice overs.

Move over, Attenborough

LEARN THE LINGO

Or, at the very least, a few words in the hope that, by some linguistic miracle, taxi drivers will be less likely to rip you off.

SAY YES

YOLO it (within reason) and you discover so much more – at one point, I was taken in by a lovely gay couple (a dentist and an interior designer) in upmarket São Paulo who prepared caipirinhas and tacos for lunch, whilst the dentist prescribed my friend anti-malarials. It was bizarre, yet enlightening, and makes for good stories.

EAT EVERYTHING

You never realise how good food can taste when you’ve been stuck on a traveller’s diet of pasta for three weeks and you suddenly waltz upon an argentine steakhouse and devour 8oz of pure beefy goodness. Though it is worth mentioning that, while I have a stomach seemingly made of iron, many people don’t. Stacking up on Imodium = prerequisite.

7,500 kg of chocolate-y goodness smashed up and handed to the crowd

DON’T drink everything

Nobody – bar Italians and Argentines – enjoys drinking Fernet (shudders). After a gap year, you find that, along with a plethora of international recipes now stored in the compartment of your brain formerly reserved for algebra, you are now a pro when it comes to cocktail consumption/creation.

MAKE FRIENDS

It seems a bit of a no-brainer but you’d be surprised how many don’t. On a gap year, you meet people from all walks of life and all corners of the world. I travelled solo, which meant LOTS of new friends (I think they felt sorry for me). This not only had the benefit of always providing me with a place to stay and an expert tour guide in many of the world’s cities, but also resulted in lots of exotic names liking my Facebook pictures (which I think we can take as the real victory here).

Just one of the many friends I made

BE FEARLESS

There are always hairy moments and I know I got lost A LOT, but somehow these things don’t seem to bother you when you’re already thousands of miles from home. I endured earthquakes (I slept through one reaching 7 on the Richter scale – the night before had clearly been a heavy one), transport strikes, and some hefty civil unrest (pretty sure it was blanks they were firing). Yet, like the local population, I just got on with it. So, yes, the gap year makes you a fearlessly tough cookie, capable of coping with everything from natural disasters to negotiating government blockades (DEFINITELY USEFUL LIFE SKILLS, ahem).

How to defend yourself agaisnt a puma – a common sign in Patagonia

THE BEST PART

For me, there will always be a standout: working as a volunteer in Arequipa, Peru. A lot has been said/written/discussed about volunteering abroad and it is true that a lot of schemes are truly awful, exploiting both western travellers and the local community. Yet, volunteering doesn’t have to be charged with the ‘cuddling cute orphans’ image. You just have to do a bit of research.

For me, after three months of travelling with no routine and going where the wind took me, I went a little crazy. I stumbled across a start-up NGO in Arequipa in need of an English teacher. I worked with them as they established themselves and learnt first-hand how sustainable community support can be achieved. I was inspired by the kids that refused to let poverty hinder their dreams and I’m hopeful for their future.

I won’t ever forget my lovely class and their bright smiles – sneaky ways of making me give them the nice pencils to colour in with and their incredible interest in some of the oddest things (I was frequently asked if it snowed in “my country”). I miss them fiercely, even two years on, though I am glad not to have to have to hunch, squeeze and endure the daily 45 minute commute to school on the colectivo – packed full of smells, skirts and sweaty men – a serious transport challenge to anyone over 5’5.

My BFFL

I will honestly never forget my gap year experiences (although there are some I still can’t remember). I now have countless hilarious anecdotes from mistranslating menus to public transport disasters. I was inspired, awed and humbled. I learned to dance baile funk, I ate llama meat and I taught Peruvian kids the words to “I’m being eaten by a boa-constrictor”. So yeah, it is cliché, but I’d do it again a million times over.