It has come to my attention that even though some of you keep up with the blog quite regularly, you don’t really know what I do here because my writings are just ramblings, not really regular updates, Which is what I intended this blog to be about. But that would be BORING, unless I was in some bonkers place like Laos, so it is what it is. I will update this page whenever I make a move, it will be on the right-hand menu :)

sometime around July, 2007, I am sitting in school feeling unenthused and despondent about my future. I thought it would become miraculously clear as I neared the end of high school what i wanted to do with my life. As it stood, there were a million things i would have liked to study, and a million more things I wanted to do. I read somewhere about the concept of an au pair, discovered AuPairWorld, and got an account. What had begun as and idea quickly became a reality, and on AuPairWorld I found Dan and Rebecca from the UK, an hour north of London, amoungst a sea of German/French families. They were touring NZ at the time with their two little boys, and I met them in the apartment they were staying in.

What cemented my decision to travel was a series of events that pretty much convinced me I wouldn’t rather be anywhere else, the thrill was so addictive.

The main reason I eventually chose D&R was because I had gotten to meet them, unlike the 10 or so other families I was choosing from.

24th July, 2008, I arrived at Heathrow airport, after 30 hours travelling, sufficiently buggered. I am picked up by small excited boy, Edward, and Dan, who I vaguely recognised. The jetlag barely effects me, other than a very uncharacteristic notion to wake up at 6am for about a week. Which I really rather enjoyed.

27 July, After bumming  round at Dan and Rebecca’s, settling in, not working, I set off to meet Joy in Minehead for a 4 day holiday in Minehead, staying with her relatives, helping out with a holiday club in return for board and food. Alas, I missed the bus from London to Bristol, and ended up stranded and peniless. I was shown no sympathy. All was ok in the end.

Once I returned, I began work for Dan and Rebecca, looking after their two boys and their little wee girl, and did lots of cleaning and ironing and cooking. I gained many housewifely skills. This was not to stay so peaceful, as only a few weeks in, Rebecca decided she couldn’t hack having someone else in her house. She LIKED being a Mum, she had tons of time, and didn’t really need me. I began looking for a new job, was flooded with job opportunities for London, and also had an offer from Liz and Bill in Minehead. I eventually took the job in Minehead. I hung around working for Dan and Rebecca for another month, which drove me slightly insane.

20th August, I moved to Minehead. I didn’t actually work for another month, which meant I had way too much time to think, and miss people. I soon got a occasional job in Pinnochios, an Italian restaurant. This led me to meet my first friend here, Lauren. A few weeks later I began working for Liz and Will, again as an Au Pair, for 20 hours a week. I explored Exmoor and went to Wells and a monastery down past exeter while I was there.

9th October, Liz and Bill decide they don’t want me around anymore. THis kind of sucked, but it turned out OKAY ’cause it meant I got to go to..

Exeter! on the 22nd Oct, with my old man friend for a couple of days, then

Plymouth, on the 24th, to stay with some friends of Han’s for a few days. I saw a bit of Cornwall, went to a pub and watched footie, and had a thorough education in old school british kid’s tv programs, on which I am now hooked.

On the 28th I hopped on a bus to Scotland via London, which was fun, and eventually arrived in Killin, to work in a hostel.

I met some fantastic people and we travelled forward to Oban and Mull, then onwards to Aberdeenshire, to work on the funniest little farm with a hilarious little family.

After a few nice weeks there, I went to work in Glasgow on the 18th Nov, which is a wonderful city. I’m excited about all the gigs, and it’s really good to be working again. I spent christmas here, which was tedious. I lived in a hostel for a month, which I still visit almost every second day for the internet or to hang with K.

I then moved into a flatshare and spent no time at all there because January was mad and I was busy doing who knows what, really. There was a period of 5 days where I slept a total of 6 hours. This was generally the theme for a month- I have no idea how I did it, or why, really. I think it was good fun but I really couldn’t tell you!

I went to Dublin for 5 days with K and P, was good fun.

Right now I’m living a very budget life in Glasgow, going to gigs and working and dating and drinking (a lot less than January, mercifully) and trying my very best to save and plan the summer but work is thin on the ground so we’ll see what happens.

In future..
Summer, working as a WWOOFer and at festivals, generally partying.
Fall, see where money is at.
Winter, see if I can get away with getting a job- not sure exactly how my visa works.
Visa will expire in the next summer, so I think I’ll go to Portugal/Switzerland/Greenland/Germany.. somewhere else in Europe. Possibly a few festivals, a few more WOOFing jobs, then I think I’ll travel home via Thailand. In orfer to get a visa for another European country I need to be at home, and I need more savings, so I’m thinking of coming home and working, then working in Australia for a while? I might even start studying- depends where my head is at.

Last updated 11 March