What do you wish someone had told you before you went abroad?
I wish someone had told me that sometimes things do get tough. I went into it really cocky and figuring I would never miss home and I would be fine. It wasn’t always like that, sometimes it did get hard. The one thing is it always gets better. Luckily I had a great support system and an awesome group of friends who were always ready to help and distract.
Sometimes all you wanted was to go home and sometimes you were wishing you never had to leave. Another one was bring flip-flops, may sound weird but walking bare foot in a hostel will make you wish you had something. There were some things packing wise I wish I had done a little differently but I think that’s all personal!
What do you tell your friends who are thinking about going abroad?
A lot of my friends feel like they missed the chance to go abroad because they wanted to go to university/college first. I shoot that idea down really fast. One of my best friends on the program turned 26 while we were there. There definitely isn’t an age limit. I tell them how much I got out of it and how much fun it was. It was a great way to find out more about myself and the world around me.
I found people all over the world that were just like me and made friends really fast! If you don’t mind making spontaneous decisions and flying, you’ll have so much fun! The best part is all the things you don’t even know will happen. You will meet the coolest people and have so much fun you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner!
What made this experience unique and special?
This experience was so unique all because of the people I met. From the volunteers I was there with to the people I met in hostels and the kids I taught. They were all amazing and lovely people and I loved meeting all of them.
At the start of my travels I thought to myself “What will I see this trip?” That question quickly got turned around to “Who will I meet this trip.” I loved the element of surprise that came with it. If you go to London, you know (to an extent) that you will see Big Ben, the London eye, Buckingham palace and others. One thing you don’t know however is who you will meet. I made some lifelong friends met some amazing mentors and heard incredible stories. It was awesome.
What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?
One piece of advice is to always say yes. You will probably hear this a lot but I can’t stress it enough. There were a lot of things I didn’t want to do on my gap year. It was things like going in on Fridays, staying until 8 to talk to parents or going out with friends when I was tired. No matter how much I wanted to go home and talk to family or nap, I got a lot more out of these things.
Even if you’re scared of something or if you haven’t been able to do it before, give it a chance. There were a few times I missed home and just wanted to be miserable and my friends would pull me out, I would have fun and feel a lot better afterwards. It all started with one simple word “yes”