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Lena Gieschen, 24, is certainly an adventurous person.

After high school she spent a year on Heligoland, Germany’s only offshore island (1km square!) at an institute for bird research.

Now, half way through her five-year biology degree at the Christian Albrechts University in Kiel, northern Germany, Lena has embarked on another adventure, in Cape Town, South Africa.

“I wanted to spend a semester abroad in an English or French speaking country” says Lena, “I wanted more non-academic experience and life-skills, and to learn about the outside world before continuing with my studies”.

Lena saw posters from South Africa in her university’s international office. Although she originally wanted to spend her semester in New Zealand or Canada, these posters persuaded her that South Africa was the best option. She immediately used the internet and email to find out about internships and volunteer programmes in South Africa. SAEP was listed on a site run by Working Abroad (www.workingabroad.com) and Lena got in touch with SAEP Programme Director, Norton Tennille who helped her to organise her trip.

Although Lena originally hoped to find an internship in a wildlife programme, she has instead found herself teaching biology to township Grade 12 learners, who will write their final secondary school exams at the end of the year. SAEP organises academic support at five township high schools in Cape Town, but has always struggled to find volunteers to teach biplogy. Lena’s arrival has thus been a great blessing for both SAEP and the learners.

Much to her surprise, Lena has realized how much fun teaching is. “I am stealing a lot of ideas from my former teachers” she chuckles, “I am enthusiastic because I have a goal – for my students to pass their final exams”. Asked what she is gaining out of the experience, Lena replies “I feel like I am doing something useful, and I get a lot of positive feedback”.

After struggling initially with the language barrier and the local accents, Lena has built up a wonderful rapport with her class, which is usually between 15 and 20 learners strong. She has really been struck by how open, warm and friendly South African people are, and enjoys travelling to different areas in Cape Town and meeting new people.

Although Lena has only been working with SAEP for two months, she has already contributed significantly to SAEP’s work of adding value to the teaching provided by township high schools.

Lena is in Cape Town until September 2006, and plans to travel to Kruger National Park before she leaves. She is already involved with bird counts through the Avian Demography Unit at the University of Cape Town and wants to see some more of South Africa’s marine life before she leaves.