.: blog

Traveling itself leads us to an amazing self discovery path. But sometimes it's not easy to join the travelling part and our little backpacker economies, right? And sometimes we think about staying for a while and getting a job there, but... how to find a job in a hostel, par exemple, that offers a little salary and not only accomodation and meals? I'm sure that's all questions we, travelers, have been thinking for a while.

Recently I discovered a great opportunity that almost all countries can provide: The Au Pair work. It consists of you going to live with a local family, helping to take care of their children. Sometimes they ask for a little help with the pets and house cleaning, but nothing too much far from the main point. They provide accomodation (most of the time you have a bedroom of your own), all the meals, and also provide generous pocket money. The salary depends on the country actually, but the places that pay the highest value use to be Australia, New Zealand, USA, France, China, Canada, amongst many others. Plus, living with a local family, you will completely understand the way of the locals life, learn their language much faster, eat their food and make friends and connections that will endure a lifetime!! You can choose between going only for 1 month, up to 1 or 2 years, so it can suit almost any occasion, and you have the weekends off most of the time to explore the surroundings. In the Aupair.com website, you can choose to see a family that lives in a village or in a big town, a great plus because there's no way you can fail your match ahah! Also, for us, travelers by blood, this is a difficult time. We cannot travel, and have to be extremely careful about the Covid situation. But with Au Pair, you can travel to a country that has almost no cases for months without having to worry too much about the pandemic situation, and then you just have to wait for this to get better, and explore the countries around it, so it maybe be your best option for travelling abroad in 2020.

Actually I also want to talk with you about security. Travelling to the other point of the world is not easy, cause you never know who the people are on the other side of the screen. But using the aupair.com website is the best and safest choice for sure! Now... I know, working with children is not for everyone. But for me, it's one of the most fulfilling experiences actually! Children see the true beauty of the world. They don't think about hate, wars, hunger. They live each moment with kindness and compassion, they believe in love, they adore nature and are curious and kind to animals. But, most important of all, they are capable of dreaming. Something we, adults, totally forget, when we focus on our 9 to 5 job, settling down every plan we had for the future and always thought they were impossible to achieve. Children help me to see a better world. And make me believe again, a thing we all need!

The best thing about the au pair philosophy is that you are supposed to be treated like a big sister. You work for a family and they become your family. You don't see that in every job! And it can be quite important when you're planning to leave your country, into the unknown, leaving everything behind for a while. Homesick is really tricky, but I assure you, with this kind of work, you will not regret your choice.

But why exactly is Au Pair such a great option to fund your travels? There's a lot of Gap Year choices to choose from. Let's take a look on the monetary value:

1) Traveling the world with almost no money.
Besides the Visa and travel ensurance cost, yes, it's possible to travel the world staying at hostels/couchsurfing, eating by cooking food from the supermarket and travelling by lifts. Here, you would maybe spend around 7000€ per 1 year of travelling in 2-3 continents, with airplane tickets. But you have to know it's totally not the safest and most comfortable way. I know stories of friends that did this and many times ended up sleeping on the streets. You could get robbed or worse, and still ending up loosing money and not beinmg able to continue your travels.

2) Trying to find backpacker jobs when you're already in the country.
This actually works if you're lucky. There's some countries it's really easy to find a job in a farm/a bar/ hotels, and be well paid for it, like Australia, Canada or New Zealand. But not many countries have this easy option and you can end up with option 1.

3) Volunteering with trusty organizations.
Great choice for the ones that want to actually take part on something big and still have fear of travelling and adventuring on their own. You have a lot of volunteer programs that have to do with desadvantage children or animal care, where you have the food and accomodation covered. But you end up paying a weekly cost you have to pay the organization (the cheapest ones are usually 130€/week) plus the airplane tickets.

4) Volunteering with WWOOF and Workaway
On the other hand, you can find your host on your own and volunteer in individual/local houses instead of organizations. This is a better option if you're on a budget, cause you don't pay for volunteering, you work like 5 hours/day and have food and accomodation covered too. There's so many options of jobs here, between child care to animal care or carpintery and farm work. In Workaway you can actually get some pocket money deppending on the host but not too extraordinary. But... you still have to pay your flight tickets, and the airport-place transport.

5) Working with Au Pair

With Au Pair, you can easily find a family, so the uncertainty gets out of the question. And you will get a job, not a volunteer program, so you will get paid a weekly pocket money to work for 5-7 hours a day. Plus, many families buy you the return flight ticket, so you don't have to worry about getting there. Also, since you're in a family buble and you become part of the family, if they travel inside or outside the country, there's a lot of chances you will go too and don't have to pay for it, since you go to take care of their children. You work on average between 25 and 30 hours per week and your weekends are free, so you have plenty time to explore. Also, in some countries like China, the families usually give you a language/cultural course for free or even free museum passes/transportation passes for you to take the most of the experience in your time there.

So, what the program can provide you and why is the best way to fund your travels:

Free accomodation and all the food covered;
Generous pocket money you don't find in many other jobs - to help you continue your travels;
Sometimes free return flight tickets or even help with the Visas;
Free time to explore the place;
Comfort;
Safety;
Traveling for a cause;
Having someone there to support you cause you're gonna be part of the family;
Truly learning the culture of the country since you're gonna live with locals.

Now is the part that you ask me... But how do I find a family? Easy ahah! Just register on the website www.aupair.com and start your search today! I'm sure there will be a perfect family for you!! There is always one perfect family to the right person, with the same lifestyle, thoughts, and a bunch of love to give :)

Happy and safe travels!

Pic by Jasmin Bauer

No comentários

Hey Guys. Today is a little bit of a different post! I asked some people to share with me one of their best travel stories and got an amazing feedback Today I'll share with you my favorite 3, hope you like them as much as I do!!

1. Mongolia, somewhere on the Taiga, Rein Deers farmers

With Amélie Corne - @ameliecorne

I always wanted to travel to Mongolia, that Shamanic country fascinated me. I was finishing a seasonal contract in summer with my best friend when he asked me to travel from Paris to Beijing only by the road. Trains or Bus, or even cars but no plane!

I said yes immediately!

We’ve been travelling through all Mongolia during winter.

You have to know that I hate the cold like crazy. It was -40 Celsius degrees....

Even though I felt in love absolutely with this country! We saw only two tourists within a month! We crossed all Mongolia with a small 4 wheels drive car and an amazing driver.... stopping in the yurt of some farmers family during that time.

Everyone was so kind to us, offering us a bed in their tent, some food and tea.

No one was speaking in English, no courant, no water, no toilets ... but that was the most intense moments in my life. Finding pure kindness without any words.

Looking at the most beautiful landscapes with no one around... And also the most starry sky of my entire life when I woke up during the night to go to the “bathroom” outside the tent, fighting the cold after the sweet heat of my bed...

I realized my dream to met the rein deers farmers and the prince of the Taïga, this white boy!

We arrived in the family after a long day driving, most of the time off road. It was already the night and that family gave us a “rein deer milk” tea to welcome us. Asking why we were so crazy to travel during winter when the weather is so cold. But experience sometimes are prices less. After a meal we had to go to sleep to save the batteries for the light.

On the next morning we had an amazing day with our hosts, enjoying time with children and playing with the rein deers. These animals are pure kindness, letting the kids riding them! They asked me to try many times but I’m way taller than a Mongolian and I was afraid to hurt these poor guys!

On the evening time we helped the family to gather all the herd closer to the tent. Some of the males had to be attached on a leg to a tree so be they won’t go to far away during the night and make the rest of the group following them.

The biggest male was this rein deer on the picture. I walked him back to his place, he was so quiet and majestic. When I sat and took him to his tree he just looked at me in the eyes and started to lick my gloves.

I could see peacefulness in its eyes.

I remembered the Shaman I saw few days ago and who told me I was on the right way. Definitely. I was. I was feeling at the right place at the right time.

Such a priceless moment to share with the nature, a rainbow sunset, one of the most beautiful creature of the forest and myself...

I can’t wait to go back during summer time and experiment those moments in a warmer climate!

Thanks the Universe for this memory!

2. Tanzania to Zambia and the Sacrificial Cape Buffalo: A Train Ride

With Steve Tsentserensky - @finally.made.it

There are easier ways to do it. Quicker, more comfortable ones even.

But there’s something in our nature, even when presented with all the choices in the world, that doesn’t necessarily have us opting for the quickest, easiest or even most comfortable way to go.

Dar es Salaam.

I’m sweating. This would be the title of my memoir if I were to write one about my entire trip, “Africa: I’m Sweating”.

The tiles in the ceiling are missing. Not all of them but really anything above zero wipes away the sheen and allure of the first-class lounge.

This train station, bluish-green walls, spaciously vaulted and airy with hints of a long-forgotten grandeur still in the air is something to behold. Certainly far removed from its halcyon days a few decades back but it’s got charm.

My car and cabin number are handwritten on the ticket. The ticket which had to be purchased in person or reserved by phone because internet booking is not a thing.

I can’t tell if it’s old-world by choice or necessity.

The alternative, easier no doubt, is just hopping on a plane from Dar to Victoria Falls. I looked into a budget flight; Dar es Salaam->Johannesburg->Victoria Falls. The route makes absolutely no sense, like flying NYC to LA by way of Panama, but budget is budget and this was out of mine. A few hundred dollars was still too rich for my blood and coming all the way to Africa and not seeing Vic Falls was not an option either.

Cost issues aside, a 36-hour flight replete with a wonderfully useless half-day layover in Joburg was not how I wanted to spend my limited time on the continent. It’s not why I’m here. Some decisions make themselves.

Kind of.

Moshi.

The post-Kilimanjaro high still has me floating and I’m starting to realize I have way more days left in Africa than things to do. I’d already summited the mount, gone on safari, visited a Maasai village and little oasis and I still had about 2 weeks. I long ago decided planning in advance was not my thing so I had prebooked nothing. Just a flight in and out of Tanzania. The guys from Trekking Hero, already heroic in their efforts in getting me atop Kili, stepped into the fray to offer another suggestion to assuage the possibility of boredom creeping in.

Take the train.

This was mind-blowing for a number of reasons but chief among them was that I had no idea a train even existed. The Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority doesn’t exactly do a gangbusters job of advertising.

I started to do a little research on my own eventually hitting the Wikipedia page. Not a confidence builder. The Tazara page is the equivalent of checking your aches and pains on WebMD. You fall far enough down the rabbit hole and realize you’re either already dead or very cancer-stricken.

Lines like “minimally operational” and “on the verge of collapse” are featured.

Sensing my trepidation, I was informed that the ticket for the 2-day trip, in a first-class car, was about 100,000 Tanzanian Shillings.

$45.

Sold.

Some decisions make themselves.

There’s chaos. Boarding is less an orderly affair and more a soft version of a stampede. I just took my cues from the folks in the lounge with me and followed their lead. Worked fine and for all the perceived disorganization, things went off without a hitch.

Now listen, I’m not an expert on train travel. In fact, this was my first real train trip. I’ve been on many metro systems the world over and traveled by train in Europe but nothing of this multi-day, sleep aboard variety. This was new.

The first thing you notice is the dissonance between what you read and what you see. Yes, this train is old but there’s definitely a sense of pride in its maintenance; the cleanliness and care for the physical appearance. I can’t judge the engineering but suffice it to say, we didn’t die (one cape buffalo may have, more on that shortly), so hats off to the Chinese who built this thing between 1970-75.

As far as the cabins go, I was pleasantly surprised. It was first-class but there was nothing ostentatious, just a comfortable space to store your things, relax and catch some zzz’s when the time came.

The main action was to be had was in the lounge car where there’s an instant camaraderie that comes with being stuck with folks for a couple days. It was a nice international mix in addition to those traveling locally and there was an ease and openness to the conversations because we knew exactly when they would end.

We drank the nights away with no thought to who the designated driver would be. They were more likely to run out of your beer of choice (they didn’t) than anything else.

The food was a simple but genuinely tasty affair, rice/potatoes with fish, chicken or steak. I opted for fish. It came in its entirety and fried to perfection. Solid $1 investment.

The second thing you notice is the pace. A bullet train this is not.

If travel is meant to move you in both the physical and metaphorical sense, the train is a mode with unequal weight in power in the latter respect. The snail pace a welcome respite from the cacophony of unrelenting noise and speed of the modern world.

The views of the Tanzanian and Zambian countryside aren’t world-famous but they are stunners in their own right. The beauty of the landscape was honestly unexpected and could be found in the golden hues of the dry land, the lush greenery giving way to scrublands and the rugged hills passing by in the distance all disappearing into blissful, unspoiled sunsets in the middle of nowhere.

You pass the kids playing soccer on a dirt pitch, the vendors hawking their wares along the way, the well-dressed man on his lonely bike, the woman in a red, checkered dress down to the tracks she stands near looking forlorn with bags piled at her feet.

The pace meant there was ample opportunity to lose yourself in the scenery and people that populate it whenever your heart desired and what made this journey particularly special was the fact that it passed through some of the famed game reserves of Tanzania. Makes for a pretty cheap safari.

Delays are common and from what I understand a sort of rite of passage. Needless to say, this train is most assuredly not one you should take if you’re a stickler for schedules or need to catch a flight on the other end. I’m told our delay was caused by the untimely and unplanned meeting between the front of the train and the body of a cape buffalo. It was the middle of the night, I’d been drinking and awoke to us at a dead stop. Pun intended. I didn’t ask or investigate, I went to the bathroom and went back to sleep only to be told in the morning what happened.

To add insult to injury/death, as we approached the border with Zambia, money changers became more frequent and increasingly more hardline with their service tax, nearing a 20% take by the time we got to the last stop before crossing. I didn’t heed the warning that you truly can’t spend Tanzanian Shillings once you cross into Zambia. In spite of literally being told I’d be cut off from buying things on board without Zambian Kwacha and that the train didn’t, in fact, operate as a closed system even though it essentially was one (in my opinion)…I didn’t exchange money. I thought my American charm would suffice.

It did not.

Fortunately, a now well-acquainted stranger took pity on me and we made a small exchange to get me through.

What I came to love about train travel is the uniqueness of what you see along the way. You get to see a cross-section of daily life that you'd otherwise gloss over, finding yourself paying more attention to the people and places you pass, all somehow imbued with more meaning. Perhaps it's because the fleeting nature of it is so thoroughly present on a train. That's an odd irony of life that in the course of traveling we can ascribe this deeper meaning to things we’d ordinarily just as quickly ignore back home. Something we often do.

3. Around the world to get to Ryazan, Russia

With Diana Banana - @diana.bannanna

This is a little story about me traveling to Russia (I must say, I'm from Mexico and I'm not even close of speak Russian haha)

Let's begin! So, it was June 28 in 2017, I flew by plane to Cuba in the morning to do my first stop flight, I was so excited because I was going to spend a complete month in a city near to Moscow, so I planned to do so many trips and adventures there. I spent like 5 hours in Cuba's airport and I had my first setback there because guess what!! My plane was delayed for like 2 hours, but I mean, at that moment everything looked good, I enjoyed that time looking for souvenirs to buy haha and after that I took my plane to Paris to do my second stop flight.

I flew like 10 hours to Paris, such a great flight I must say. But when I arrived in Paris, I realized I was late to get my next plane to Moscow!! (Due to the delay of the first one).

So, it was my first time in the Paris airport and in that moment I didn't know my flight was going to leave from another gate, in another side of the airport!! I mean I was so lost hahaha, I ran like crazy to find the gate, I even asked to the police man for help, and in that time I didn't speak French and he didn't speak English hahaha it was so funny, I was literally crying. So, after 15 minutes of running to die, I took a bus to get to the other station, I arrived just on time to board the plane (I was the last one hahah they were just waiting for me, I was so embarrassed!), and just like that I overcame my second obstacle.

I flew during 5 hours and finally I arrived to Moscow's airport at midday; I took a train to some subway station which name I don't really remember 'cause it was in Russian haha, and then, I found my third obstacle, like I said, I don't speak Russian, so it was so difficult for me to buy my Subway ticket hahaha, but I used my phone to translate what I wanted to say and I got it. Like it was expected I got lost many times in the subway hahaha everything there is in Russian, I didn't understand anything!!! But I really enjoyed my time there, you should know Moscow's subway is awesome!! If you ever have a chance to go there please, enjoy it like I did, it's so filled with art. So, finally I arrived to the station I wanted and then...

My fourth obstacle came up, it was so late!!! I spent so much time in the subway that I didn't realize I was so late to get my next train...(the last one finallyyyyyy); I lost the one I was planning to take... I was like: -what I'm going to do, is getting late and I don't know anyone here- really, it was so stressful hahaha. So I had to wait in the train station for the very next train to Ryazan (this is a city 2 hours near to Moscow by train), where I was going to stay for the next month. So, I bought the ticket train and waited for it, I was so sad and alone... Hahaha

But.. finally my train was there and I took it. 2 hours later I arrived to Ryazan and my friend was waiting for me at the train station, she was so worried because I didn't communicate with her since a was in Cuba hahahaha, but I was so grateful she was there, it was so late.. but finally I was there, ready to have one of the best experience of my entire life. I must say, at that moment it wasn't funny at all, but now, I remember it and I'm grateful I had the opportunity to live that amazing experience.

No comentários

This Corona Virus came not only to destroy our economy and our grandparents lives, but also to make us realize we have to change the way we treat our ecossystem. As we are seeing now, the animals are on the streets, the flowers are growing again, and the nature is taking a deep breath from mankind.This time you have in your home is a great way to connect with nature again and to start thinking on how do you want to paint the world with your carbon footprint from now on!!

Travel is not the ideal way to erase pollution because airplane travel is one of the most carbon emissors to the atmosphere, but we can make the way a little better with some tips:

Always try direct flights instead of lay overs cause there's less carbon emission to the atmosphere. If you can, choose other transport ways such as bus, train or even boat travel.

When you're in a walkable city, walk instead of taking a taxi. It's good for you and, if you cannot walk, rent a bike and do some exercise!

Pack Less - You don't need a 20kg bag for your 1 week holiday, you will not even wear so much clothes!! The less carg the airplane has, the less pollution it will make. It's proven in the cientist laws this actually happens.

Bring your own reusable water bottle and a textil shopping bag.

Use a bamboo toothbrush and try to wash your hair only 3/3 days instead 2/2 or even everyday: less plastic bottles of shampoo, and yes girls, it's possible if your hair gets used to it. When I was in Iceland I didn't had a bathroom shower everyday and I washed my hair 3/3 days, sometimes 4/4 days and my pics still look beautiful.

Be careful with wildlife encounters. Always go with tours that respect the ecossistem and the animals in it. Elephant rides, camel rides, lion encounters... not good at all!! The animals are not well treatned.Do some research before you pick a tour!!

Stay at eco-friendly accomodations and if you can afford it, always look for eco-friendly tours (normally tour companies with small groups are the most ecological ones).

Buy local souvenirs, and handmade ones - it boosts the local economy and saves the environment. My fridge magnets are always handmade ones and I can tell you I have the most beautiful magnets in the world!!

Install some eco-friendly apps:

Green Globe (best app to find the most eco friendly hotels and atractions in the world);
Olio (a food sharing app);
Locavore (an app that tells you where you can eat local);
Oroeco (see what is your carboon footprint to analyse where you can reduce it);
Spinlister (helps you to find a bike in your town destination);
CityMaps2Go (forget the printed maps and save some paper with this great app);
RefillMyBottle (shows you where is your closest spot to refill your water bottle safely, specially in Asia);
Giki (shopping eco friendly products);
Ecosia (research browser that donates their profit to plant trees);
My Little Plastic Footprint (helps you to see where you can reduce your plastic use).

Happy quarantine and hope from now one your travels can have less impact on our amazing earth!!

No comentários

These are sad times for us, world travellers. Unfortunately, this corona virus situation is lefting us no choice but to stay at home, a beautiful way to express love for others, not spreading the virus for the weaker ones. But that doesn't mean we cannot dream, we cannot travel without leaving home! I watched many movies to write you this post, and picked up my top 5 favorite ones about travelling and self discover journeys to keep you entertained in your couch :)

Nr 5) Into the Wild (2008)

So, this movie is about a young guy who's just tired of all the society shit and decides to abandon his dysfunctional family, in a trip to Alaska with no money, no things, just his books and his writing. The people he discovers in the way somehow change him, and the journey itself is amazing. I know many people love this movie and IMDB likes it too, but this is the number 5 on my list because I think I didn't connect so much with the main character as I connected with the others in the other movies, since he does things I don't completely agree. But... you should see it anyway, it's a masterpiece.

Nr 4) Wild (2014)

This movie is about a woman that lost her mother and her grieving process was to get into drugs and to do sex with every man, so she completely ruined her marriage, the only thing that she loved and she still had. One day, she sees a book about the Pacific Crest Trail and she decides to do it in a way to find the beauty of life again, and mostly to forgive herself and start to put her shit together finally. The trail is difficult, not many women do that, but, besides every rock she encounters, she manages herself to get to the end. Will she be able to find the meaning of her life? You have to watch it and see for yourself.

The cinematic part of the movie is taken for a realism and more sexual way to explain things that I think It would be necessary, but besides that, It's a great movie if you find yourself in a self discovery journey as Cheryl.

Nr 3) Lion (2016)

This movie is not about a person getting into the wild to discover things inside, it's about an Indian child that lost his family because he got lost, was adopted by an Australian family and many years later, tried to find his real family against all odds. I loved this movie because of the cinematic part and the music, who did this should win an Oscar. Besides that, in the end there is a twist that breaks your heart, if this wouldn't happen, I would probably not like the movie so much. It's a real story and this feeling to see something so bad that really happened... It was magical.

Nr 2) Eat, Pray, Love (2010)

This is again the classic movie when the woman is tired of her life and travels to find something more meanful. But it's a very important movie for me... I connect 100% with the main character, since I passed trought all those feelings she's passing by. And I never saw the end of the movie, because I want to do my own end in my own life.

Anyway, this is about a woman that doesn't have a great marriage, and goes to Italy to enjoy the best food, to India for a spiritual retreat, and to Bali, to "find love". Sometimes the movie is a little bit clichê but... I told you in my "About me" part that I love this kind of films xD

Nr 1) Tracks (2014)

Ok... I was not expecting anything from this movie and it just... Blew my mind!! It's a real story about a young australian woman that, more than any other characters in the movies I presented, needed to connect with herself again, needed to forget the haunting memories that she was always having, needed to end her demons and her nightmares. So, she thought the best way doing that was to cross the painfull australian desert (from Alice Springs to the Indian Ocean) with only 4 camels and one dog. She had a little help from National Geographic, which told her story back then, but the things she has to pass and the way she always carry on her track... Well I cried the whole movie. That's why is my top 1. Please watch it, promiss you will not be disapointed! Sometimes the movie is a little stopped (not many action all the time) but if you like this kind of movies sure this is the perfect for you. I wish some day I can have half of the courage of this girl.

Hope you can enjoy your time in this quarantine with your family and your new movie watching list!

Stay safe, stay at home, and never loose hope! I will be here to cheer your day!! :)

No comentários

.

Search By Country

IATI Seguros de Viagem

IATI Travel Insurance

About me

Places I've Been