After a whirlwind summer of friends all over the world, HCX catches up with a few to give you an insight into holiday jobs abroad (and inspiration for next summer). Read on to find out more about your summer 2014 as a:
- International Event Manager for Student Adventures in Tanzania
- Deckhand on board a millionaire’s yacht in the Mediterranean
- Au Pair for five young girls in Geneva
- Medical student teaching first aid in Mongolia
- Receptionist for an Italian hotel basking in the sunshine
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Immi: International Event Manager, Tanzania
Through working closely with RAG, Immi heard about Student Adventures and was intrigued by the prospect of spending her summer being an ‘International Event Manager’ in Tanzania. Despite being rejected first-time round, she persevered by attending a Student Adventures networking event, stayed on their radar and was finally asked to attend an interview before receiving a job offer a few days later! This is what Immi had to say about her experience working with their Kilimanjaro Trek Adventure…
“Over the summer I was involved in organising about 700 people: everything from hotel rooms and dinners to safari trips, flights to Zanzibar and even taking them to the doctor if need be… Basically I was their mother! It was stressful at times but I met loads of new people and learnt a lot. The Tanzanian people I worked with became my family out here. I never felt unsafe which is quite something coming from a young girl travelling alone in Africa. I learnt a lot about patience and politeness: things take a long time in Africa, sometimes waiting three hours for your lunch but you’ve got to learn that and that getting annoyed about it does nothing to rectify things.
“The perks of the job? They were never ending! First of all I got to climb Kilimanjaro – and made it! I was even lucky enough to raise money for a charity close to my heart, The Meningitis Research Foundation, as my best friend nearly died from meningitis two years ago. On top of this, I got to go on safari for two days to the beautiful Ngorongoro Crater, followed by a trip to Zanzibar – both of which were out of this world and all included in my job! Afterwards I travelled into Uganda and returned to Zanzibar. I’ll be honest it has been really hard…”
After my chat with Immi, it seemed the only downside to her trip was a slight mishap with an expired visa (‘easily resolved by hopping over the border into Kenya for a few days!’) and a temporarily lost bag. For three and a half months in Tanzania? Yes please.
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Rich: Yacht Deckhand, Mediterranean
After graduating from Uni earlier this year, Rich decided to go and join some friends working as a deckhand on a yacht in the Med. It took a 1 week boat course (STCW95) costing £1000 and a persistent and outgoing attitude but he eventually got a job and now works on a Russian oligarch’s private yacht! It’s safe to say he is absolutely loving it!
“I went down to Antibes, a big port for private yachts in the South of France, pretty much straight after exams as I knew that a lot of the people looking for these jobs would have been there since April. I recommend just speaking to everyone: you’re much more likely to get a job walking on the docks than through an agency. The STCW course was expensive but you’re earning £2000-2500 a month with the possibility of tips of up to a few grand a week if you’re on a decent charter boat so it’s definitely worth it! The hours are long, but if you’re willing to work hard and not have a day off in sight, the perks are great! Hostesses say that cleaning the cabins is pretty gross so if that doesn’t appeal, try Sail Croatia, Yacht Week or any of the flotilla companies for a hostess-type role which would be a lot more about organising social events. The pay for this would be a lot less but is still a great way to travel for free and have a fun summer!”
This sounds like an incredible job for any sociable, friendly person keen to travel and meet more like-minded people! Plus, having people like Kate Moss and Eva Longoria on your boat is a huge possibility in these circles; you’ll definitely get a taste for lifestyles of the rich and famous!
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Sarah: Au Pair, Geneva
Au pairing is such a great way to improve a language, get paid to see more of the world and even prepare you for the prospect of some of the responsibilities of adult-hood: cooking, cleaning and looking after children! Last summer Sarah decided to look for an au pairing job to improve her French and here are some of her stories about the experience…
“A friend recommended a website where you add a profile and can connect with families looking for an au pair. I skyped a few families and eventually chose a family with 5 daughters! It was quite an easy process; just hard to choose! Such a great way to learn French and travel: I got to see every corner of Switzerland and parts of France and Italy with them. They even continue to take me on holiday: skiing and to other parts of Europe! The only downside was learning that having 5 children is maybe too much!
They did provide a lot of entertainment though… I remember one occasion when I spotted that their pet rabbit had died and accidently said ‘Oh no, it’s dead!’ in front of the two year old. I quickly tried to rectify it by telling her that this English word meant ‘happy’ in French. I told the mum who replaced the rabbit before any of the other children noticed but the 2 year old kept saying it was ‘dead’ which the older children understood too well… and it was pretty obvious that the English girl was to blame!”
Sarah has just come back from another paid holiday in Italy! If spending the summer with children makes you think of fun games, ice-creams and days out at the beach rather than noise, nappies and nuisance, then head to Au Pair World now to set up your profile and meet your future holiday-funder!
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Annie: Medical Volunteer, Mongolia
Now for somewhere completely off-the-beaten-track and perhaps not an obvious or very likely option for most: Annie was lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel to Mongolia this summer teaching first aid as part of her placement for her medical degree. Although it is perhaps not a viable option for you for this particular purpose, the destination and people she encountered sounded far too remarkable to leave out…
“Mongolia was such an incredible experience. As a country it is really disorganised as they have always historically been nomadic and moved from place to place without ‘time’ really being a proper concept. It was quite frustrating to try and pin people down and get people to commit to anything so that was probably the hardest part. Having a good contact in the country before we went out was really key for organisation and they helped to set up most of the placements before we got there. Having four translators with us the whole time who spoke the language and understood all the customs was so helpful and we relied on them for everything! That probably leads onto the best bit: being part of such an amazing team and feeling like we were making a difference and achieving something together. Living on top of each other for six weeks in the same dorm room meant that everyone got close so quickly and it was like being in a big family. Everyone was so supportive of each other and we all had so much fun as a group.
“Travelling around Mongolia for our different placements was really good and we met a really wide range of people. The youngest person we taught was six and the oldest probably about 70 so we had to adapt our teaching styles depending on the group we were with which meant it never got boring. The children we taught were in orphanages or from around the slums of the capital so it was really nice to just give them some affection. However, it was harder to feel like we had actually taught them valuable skills as they were more interested in just playing with us. I probably actually preferred teaching the adults as they were so appreciative of what we were doing and asked us so many questions.”
Even without any medical background or qualifications, volunteering is an invaluable gift you can offer someone or a community, whether in the UK or abroad. But this doesn’t necessarily have to be a holiday placement: look out for an upcoming article about Community Action for more information on what you can do to volunteer in and around Exeter during term time.
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Fran: Hotel Receptionist, Italy
I don’t know about you but I grew up wanting to work in a hotel in some exotic location and my friend Fran has been living the reality in Italy for the past two summers. Jealous doesn’t cover it.
“I’m working at reception, learning Italian on the job (which is slightly terrifying and partly hilarious when there’s a misunderstanding). I do whatever is needed from breakfasts and check-in to translating and babysitting for the boss’s three adorable grandchildren… So I’m kept busy! I knew nothing at the start so the first few days were daunting beyond belief! It’s quite amazing though what a desperate need to communicate and absolute terror can do for your ability to learn a language!
“In my afternoons off I get to relax by the pool or go to the beach: I’m basically half guest, half staff. It’s entirely beautiful here and the weather is incredible, so even in its down moments I can hardly complain!”
Don’t worry too much if your language isn’t up to scratch… Being lost in translation seems to be the stem of most comical moments. And if it means you can get good work experience and a tan at the same time, then surely it’s a summer well spent?
I hope these snippets have given you some new and exciting ideas of how to spend your holidays. It’s definitely clear when planning next summer you don’t have to make an exclusive choice between going on holiday, earning money or adding to your CV.
Photo credits: Pinterest, Tumblr