Over the course of a few months, I have changed my mind often about where I want to travel to after I graduate university next summer.
From my first post, you can see that I spent a month in Kenya summer 2008, and because of this, I seem to have caught the travel bug and want to explore every part of this world. Why have all these hidden treasures around the world and not visit them?
Because I seemingly want to get my education out of the way first, it has given me plenty of time to ponder over which hidden treasures I want to go to first.
Japan and Hong Kong were on top of my list at the start. My second cousin lives in Hong Kong and I had been speaking to her about the schools, how expensive accommodation and food is. But then I was speaking to my mother about it, and knowing how fussy I am with food made me realize I actually would not eat anything out in Asia. If I’m going away for a year, I want to be able to eat their cuisine on a daily basis and I know that all I’d be eating is noodles.
I did research Hong Kong in such depth, that I know where I would go and what I would do if I was to ever go to this country in the near future, but at the moment, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to spend a year there.
I then began to search gap year sites, and stumbled upon Bunac.org which is a site that gives you options to either work abroad, volunteer abroad or do a summer camp in the USA.
They break down for you exactly what the programme is about, what is included in the programme, how much the flight would roughly be, visas, the programme and the application costs along with offering you a group flight so you can meet other travellers before you reach your destination.
This is something that I think benefits me, knowing that even when I go out to the country I choose, I will still be receiving support from this team to help me settle in, to find work and to meet other people who are already over there and share the experience with them.
I looked at their Australia, New Zealand, America and Canada package and after much deliberation over which package looked and sounded the best to me, I decided that Canada would be the main country that I will be spending a year with, getting to know and visiting all the gems that are planted there.
Although I have yet to book this package with Bunac, due to money dilemmas at the moment, and of course, university and paying rent and utility bills to my house, I should be able to afford the trip by the time I finish university, or a few months after.
Most of my friends ask me how I will be able to afford going away for the year, and I simply tell them that I save all my birthday and Christmas money (my birthday is 17 days after Christmas, which is great!) and I have been saving money for many years now.
I do already have £1,500, which is way off from the target to pay for this trip but it is my 21st next January, and because it is a big milestone, that money will be going straight into my savings account along with the Christmas money, which should boost it up.
I will also have around £1,500 when I finish university and along with earning £120 a month, which isn’t much but I can’t commit to more than 6 hours a week due to going into my 3rd and final year of university, that should give me another £1080 over the course of 9 months.
I know that most of my friends (who are 20 should I add) have started to save up to buy a house, have their dream wedding and to make sure they have money when they start a family, but I’m just not like that. I want to put me before anyone else at the moment and reach my own goals of visiting the Tai Mahal in India, the Northern Lights in Norway, teach English in Hong Kong and surf on Bondi Beach to name a few.
To quote Leonardo Di Caprio (yes I know, but his quote is pretty accurate) “How can I die without seeing every inch of this world?”
Have any of you ever booked a gap year with Bunac? What are you experiences with them?
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