Tell us about your travel experiences! Where have you been?
Wow… Well the easiest way to summarize my travels is by saying I went to 25 countries by the age of 25. Spain is definitely my favorite country amongst those 25. I absolutely love it there – Thailand too. My dad is from Guatemala so that has a special place in my heart (and the food is amazing!) Anything with sunshine and beaches makes me happy, so who knows why I’m living in the UK?
What do you love most about your job at BUNAC?
Obviously helping people go and travel is always exciting. Opening people’s eyes to the experiences they don’t even know what they’re in for yet is what my job is about.
I know how great and valuable working abroad is from personal experience.
I worked in Spain teaching English as a foreign language for five summers, and then after that I graduated from university and worked three jobs for seven months to save up to go volunteering in Costa Rica. Then I worked a ski season in Banff, Canada.
What makes your job challenging?
I think the main thing is probably trying to get people inspired to go traveling everyday; it makes it really difficult for me not going away. I crave wanderlust because we’re constantly thinking about different places to go!
What’s your all-time favorite travel memory?
Flying over the Sydney Opera House when I did my working holiday in Australia! Since watching the 2000 Olympics when I was younger all I wanted to do was see the Sydney Opera House. When I saw it for the first time… it was a really long flight, and finally being there and looking at it with my own eyes felt like an I’ve-made-it moment.
Another is definitely when I was living in Costa Rica and I dreamt in Spanish for the first time. It meant that I was fully immersed in the language of the country I was in, which is an amazing feeling. I sent a text to my dad as soon as I woke up.
What life lessons have you learnt from traveling and what’s your travel philosophy?
I would just say to be open. You can’t really predict anything. If you’re really structured in your life and travels you don’t have a chance for anything to go crazy. The little surprises along the way are often the highlights of entire trips. But overall, the most important thing I’ve learnt is to be tolerant to other cultures. You can’t expect to go to a new country and think it’s going to be exactly like the place you call home.
Why have you chosen to live in London?
I think London has always been like Sydney for me –they’ve always been places that I’ve wanted to be and I’d done Sydney so London was next. I wanted to be little Annie Smith (or whatever her name was) from Parent Trap when I was a girl. I also feel like London is a much better city to experience as a local than to travel to as a tourist – it’s a place to settle for sure.
What BUNAC program would you go on if you had the chance?
I would do volunteer Ecuador. I haven’t done South America yet and it’s killing me that I haven’t done it. You get to do a bit of everything and volunteering is one of the most rewarding experiences.
What does the future hold for BUNAC?
There are some really cool changes coming to our core programs, which all the staff are so excited about. Watch this space!