Letter 117

This is a letter more for me than you, to get me away from my architectural theory reading and escape off to the plans in my head for travel once I finally finish my degree. Plans include Germany, Greece, Scotland, horses, Eastern Europe, English teaching qualification, Mum’s 60th trip and the States. All in approximately a year. Lets go!!

Germany

I just purchased a Lonely Planet book titled Munich, Bavaria and the Black Forest Travel Guide – so you know I’m serious about this one. One of my best friends is currently residing in Berlin (and I’ll be there in a couple of days visiting her) so I thought it would be a good opportunity to go and visit her again and see Germany in Springtime. I started doing a spot of research at the weekend and decided I wanted to travel around the south (since I’ll only have about 3 weeks) but there’s little information out there so I thought a book would help. Exciting!

 

 

Greece

The only thing set in stone at the moment is my holiday to Greece with my mum. We are heading to Parga for a week in early June to chill out and catch up. Greece is one of my favourite countries (I have a letter about my love of Greece here) and I can’t wait to go back.

 

 

Work

I am then planning to spend the next four months working in Edinburgh for a number of reasons. Firstly, the money will be helpful for the next years travel and as I’m paying for a flat until the end of July, I may as well use it. I can then move in with my boyfriend and continue working all the way up until his birthday in the middle of October. Secondly, I have graduation (hopefully) on July 5th so obviously need to be here for that. Thirdly, it’s my best friend’s 21st at the end of August so I need to go home for that. All in all, there’s no point in planning a trip between all of these events so I may as well rake in some cash and enjoy the beautiful rubbish Scottish summer.

TEFL

I am super excited to also have a chance during this time to work on my TEFL qualification (teaching English as a foreign language) and I’m hoping to do this with Angloville, a company recommended to me by a traveller I met in the summer. This company sponsor the TEFL qualification in exchange for 3 weeks working on their program which is based around conversing with locals (of all ages) to help improve their English. It’s very exciting and I will use the 4 months working in Edinburgh to get through the 120 hours of online teaching before heading off in the New Year to put it into action!

Website for Angloville (if you’re interested) here.

Side note: The company offers these week-long placements to travellers so you can spend a week staying free of charge in a hotel in the countryside of Poland, Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic, Ireland, England or Malta helping people learn English.

Horses?

Before I get back to TEFL and the 3 weeks volunteering, I will have a couple of months, between mid-October and Christmas, to do a bit of travelling (finally!). This is the trip I have no plans for yet – not even a country/continent. The only requirement I have is that I would like to limit it to one country (or two small ones) and that I would like to include a workaway for about half the time that would allow me time around horses. Initial thoughts were Spain, Albania, Macedonia, Austria, Scandinavia, North America…. I really have no idea! Any thoughts will be helpful, but I have a whole year to think about it so I’m sure I’ll come up with something.

 

 

Eastern Europe

Back to TEFL and when I would hope to do the 3 weeks volunteering/working for Angloville which would be in January/February of 2019 (really looking ahead). I would hope to devise a route around Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and maybe Austria based on these weeks of work and take about 2-2.5 months to do it. Lots of new countries – all of which fascinate me!

 

 

Mum’s 60th

On April 12th 2019 my mum turns the big 6-0. Therefore I will be leaving April free so that hopefully we can go on a special trip together. No idea what yet, but I know she’ll want to do something big and something different. I’m thinking something on the lines of the Orient Express, and from some reseach I can imagine a week in Paris followed by the overnight (extortionate) train journey down to Verona and a week there, maybe with some time in the lakes to finish. It will literally break my bank but I think it would be incredibly special.

 

 

Summer Camp

Ever since I stepped out of the gates of my wonderful camp I’ve been saying I’ll return. Hopefully summer 2019 will be the year. I don’t know if I’ll go to the same camp (though I’d like to) but I would like to do at least something similar because I loved it.

 

 

I think 2019 will be a huge travel year for me and I figure I can probably justify spending a fortune on my mum’s 60th trip if for the rest of the time I’m either working, volunteering or staying in cheap places. Now I’m super excited to finish uni! (Note to self – don’t get ahead of yourself. You still have one essay and a semester to get through.)

Hope you’ve enjoyed me throwing my thoughts into a letter and rambling to my hearts content.

From Lou

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