I know plenty of students that have taken a gap year between A-Levels and moving to university. Many of them get a job or travel for a while. But the plans of this student were a little out of the ordinary.

This is Esther:

I had the opportunity to interview Esther, she had decided that university wasn’t the right choice at the time and she wanted to do something different.

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Why didn’t you decide to go to university?

“I decided to not go to university because I felt that my choice of course was the wrong choice. I realized during my year 13 exams that I wouldn’t have enjoyed my chosen degree and knew that I would have to pull out either way. I made the decision to pull out my application when my exams had finished and so  I had some thinking time to consider what I wanted. The decision wasn’t easy but I knew it was the right choice for the stage of life that I’m at.”

How did you find out about the opportunity?

“I originally found out from my dad during my exam period. He mentioned that he had read and heard in the church notices that a church family who live out in Africa were looking for a home-school tutor for a gap year, etc. He didn’t think much of it when he found out, but told me when I mentioned that I wasn’t certain about my university choices anymore. God timed it perfectly, he knew when I would feel the way that I did and gave me a solution before I even realized the problem.”

How long have you been a Christian?

“For a long time I called myself a Christian but I didn’t really know what it meant to be a Christian. I hit a point when I was 15 years old and I realized that I had messed up big time in my life and I needed forgiveness. The most amazing thing is that even after everything I had done, God still loved me and forgave me.”

What struggles have you faced so far after moving out there?

“Culture shock. Specifically getting used to a Muslim culture in which as a woman I am seen as a second class citizen to a man. I get comments on the street from the local men and after a while it gets quite irritating, but I’m learning to ignore them. Also, being dragged out of my support network and thrown into a different continent was pretty hard.I found cooking and cleaning for myself quite easy to do even out there because I’ve been doing so much for myself throughout my teenage life beforehand. I did struggle at first with getting to grips with the kids’ homeschooling program as it was all new material and I didn’t know either of them very well. But now things have settled down and I’m in more of a routine.”

What does your daily routine look like?

“Teach in the morning; I teach one-on-one so it’s fairly intensive and doesn’t really require more than four hours, I’m left pretty exhausted after it, but it is really rewarding. Then lunch, learn Arabic and see the locals in the afternoon.  At the weekends I do the weekly shopping, clean the house and do laundry. I have a lot of time for prayer, reflection and spending time with God. Not much out of the ordinary there.”

What has helped you through the hard times?

“Two things have helped me through the hard times; number one is prayer and God. In my worse times I turned to God because I knew, that even when it felt like the hardest thing imaginable, God was still in control. He helped me through so many hard times before and provided me with this amazing opportunity, of course he was going to be there during the tough times. 

The second thing is my support network back home. This includes my family and a select few friends. My dad, brother and best friend have been the rocks in my life; even with their own struggles and hard times, they were always there to give me advice and help no matter what was wrong. I can talk to them about anything and will get godly advice. My best friend has been the one that I turn to first, mainly because she knows me so well and I know she will always give good advice based on me as an individual, whereas my dad will often quote scripture. It’s amazing to have support in multiple ways.”

What have been the highlights?

“Camel riding (Kevin the camel is my new best friend), quad biking, getting henna, going to a hemam and in general becoming good friends with ladies on team and one of the locals. But mainly having time to think about what I want from life after my year out.”

Kevin the camel and Esther’s new friendship (pictured above)

If given the chance, would you do it all again?

“Yes! As hard as it’s been I would do it all again because even now, only a third of the way through the year, I can see how beneficial (if stretching) it has all been.”

Well, I guess it’s not all bad.