My Summer Options

So, I have mentioned in passing before that I have options when I get back to the UK in the June after The Long Journey Home. However, nothing is really fixed. It’s both daunting and exciting – it is definitely going to be a strange day when I finally get back to Wales after two months of travelling with a wide open space in front of me and no fixed plans in place. I thought I’d chuck my ideas and options out there for you all to see and maybe, after writing this post, I’d have a better idea myself of what I might actually really want to do. Alternatively, you could vote for your favourite ideas and I could go on whatever you say…

Firstly, let me begin by telling you about the commitments I definitely already have:

The main reason I’m coming home in June in the first place, and a great way to start my summer of fun!

It will have been two years since I saw one set of grandparent’s and a year and a half since I saw the other set. It will be high time to pay them a visit!

I haven’t seen a large majority of my extended family on my Mum’s side in years. Two of my cousins will have gotten married whilst I’ve been away, one will have had a baby by then and another is bringing her boyfriend home from Australia for the first time to meet everyone. I can’t really miss this!

Above: the last time I was at a family gathering, it was my cousin’s wedding in June 2014, before I’d even decided to come to New Zealand!

Sounds strange to list this as a commitment, but I definitely want to get my Irish passport (through my heritage) and I need to be in the UK to do this.

And now for the options:

Since reading this post from Flora the Explorer, I’ve been turning this idea over in my head as a real possibility. As you’ll know from reading my post on the refugee crisis in Europe, I feel very
strongly about the situation and would dearly love to help out in some small way and contribute something towards helping to make these people’s lives a little easier. Flora spent a week volunteering at the Calais refugee camp and I think it’d would be a really worthwhile and purposeful thing for me to do when I get back to the UK and Europe. I have no idea what would be thrown my way but to see some of the impact of this crisis would be eye-opening and to feel that maybe, just maybe, I’ve made the tiniest amount of difference would be fantastic. This is a strong contender!!

I mentioned at the beginning of the year that I have an ambition this year – to really work on my blog and improve it. I said in that post that I’d like to go to the TBEX travel blogging conference in Stockholm in July and this is still something I’d really love to do. I think it would be immensely useful for me to meet other bloggers, network and learn more about the industry, especially if I want to use my blog in the future to progress my career or change direction somehow. I still haven’t made the commitment and booked my place, but I have until mid-March before the prices
increase and am still mulling it over… Deep down though, I think that this trip is almost definite – it’s just a case of paying the money and booking a cheap flight over there!

My friend C is from Munich and one drunken Friday night recently, we decided that I should go and live with her for a bit in Munich and spend some time working there. If my money plans go awry, this will be the perfect way to earn some much needed cash, and even if my money plans are on the straight and narrow, a few months in Munich would be fantastic, especially spent with C! As a native, she’ll be able to show me all the best spots and I’d get to experience living in another country, as well as pick up (hopefully!) some of a new language.

Whilst I could get a job in Munich if my money plans do go awry, it is highly likely that if I am pretty broke when I get back to the UK, I’ll need to knuckle down and get a job as soon as possible. Therefore, I’d probably have to stay in the UK and find a job there, rather than head off to Munich. To be honest, I wouldn’t really mind where in the UK, although London, Bristol and Edinburgh would be top contenders. I also wouldn’t really mind what, as long as it brought the money in for my next adventure!

Above: head to London, get a job and enjoy scenes like these more often? It’s a possibility…

After hopefully getting my Irish passport, a lot more doors will open to me in terms of going to Canada. Whilst realistically I don’t actually see myself going there until 2017 or 2018, it could be an option if I want to head off further afield again fairly quickly after the summer.

With regards to Oz, I’ll admit that I’ve never felt a very strong desire to go here before. If I do get a WHV for Australia, I’d probably do my farm work, save hard, do some travelling and then head home in time for Christmas 2016 in the UK. One positive about going to Oz is its proximity to New Zealand – and the possibility of a trip back here at some point whilst I’m on this side of the world again.

I have always had this at the back of my mind – a plan to travel to a few countries in Africa, raft down the Zambezi River and perhaps go on safari. This is the long shot though – this is the least likely option for me I think at this stage but it’s worth throwing it out there. This is only really viable if I do have the money – whilst I could volunteer in Africa, it would be a longer term travel plan and I would need to ensure I have the funds to support myself for the entirety of my stay.

Above: head back to Africa and meet more cuties like these? Maybe…

So there you have it. All my options. A lot of it depends on money.

If I have the money, a summer of fun spent pottering around the UK and Europe would be my ideal scenario, with some family time and overdue catch-ups with friends thrown in for good measure. Following that in the autumn, I would probably then fly back to NZ to see out the last month of my WHV and then go onto Australia until Christmas.

If I don’t have money, I will get a job in the UK for a while, interspersed with weekend trips to places in Europe and the UK and some volunteering in Calais, and then most likely head to NZ and Oz as above.

It’s all speculation really. We all know from previous posts how often and how quickly my plans change. It is a luxury to have these options, and I honestly don’t think that anything I’ve outlined above is a bad option. One thing you can be sure of though – I’ll definitely keep you updated and if you’re a regular reader, you’ll be coming along for the ride with me as I’ll be blogging about it all!