I've been doing a lot of thinking about what my next move is going to be in terms of moving abroad at the end of the year and it's brought me to two very different outcomes, both of which I could see myself doing.
First, my original plan is to apply for the working holiday visa for New Zealand and move at the end of the year. It would give me one year in the country to live and work, much like I did in Ireland this past year. I really love the idea of living in New Zealand for so many reasons. Firstly, the weather on the south island from what I've been told is much like the weather in Dublin. Cooler, wetter, and rarely stifling, all things that make me especially happy. I love that I'd have a year to travel around New Zealand because in that year, I feel like I could definitely see the entire country. Also, it's extremely close to Australia as well which would mean I'd have the opportunity to do some travelling there as well which would be fantastic. I'd also have access to parts of Asia which would be such an awesome opportunity. I'd probably have the opportunity to do at least one or two trips to places like Japan or Thailand which would probably be the coolest experience I've had thus far. There's so many reasons spending a year in New Zealand would be a very good thing for me. My second idea is getting my TEFL licence and using it to teach English abroad. My plan with this is to get the licence and start by teaching English online so that I get a feel for what it's all about and whether or not I could see myself doing it long term. If I decide I really enjoy it, there's so many opportunities to take English teaching jobs abroad in places like Japan, India, Taiwan, and parts of the middle east. This would be an experience like no other in my opinion. I would never have thought about living in a place like Japan because I was originally overwhelmed at the thought of having to try and navigate a new written AND spoken language. However, now that I've spent a year living abroad and travelled to some countries where English was not the first language, I've seen that it's totally manageable to live in a place where I don't understand anything. It's an opportunity to try my hands at learning to read, write, and speak an entirely new language during my stint as a teacher. Plus, I'd have access to so many Asian countries if I was living over there. I'm torn between these two options. Both would offer me access to parts of the world I wouldn't be able to financially get to otherwise and both would provide me with a year of new experiences. For now, I'll focus on getting my TEFL licence and go from there I guess. What's the old saying? The world is your oyster or something like that? We can go and do whatever we want if we put our minds to it! HAPPY VEG
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I was having a chat with my sister this morning regarding some things in her life that are bothering her and I came to the conclusion that I too have some things that I need to hash out. Particularly, my FOMO about living in Dublin. For those of you who don't know, FOMO = Fear of Missing Out. I have serious FOMO about everything I'm missing out on back in Dublin. It's such a weird feeling building a life for yourself somewhere for a year only to walk away from it and pretend like everything is A OK being back home.
Don't get me wrong, it's been such a blessing being able to see my family and friends more often, I certainly don't take that for granted. What I'm missing though is everything I had access to being in Dublin. I was actually just talking about this the other day with some of my coworkers who are about to take trips to various tropical destinations, it's so difficult not being able to just decide I want to go somewhere for 2 or 3 days and being able to do it. I had access to all of Europe and for such an unbelievably low amount of effort. It was as simple as deciding I wanted to go, taking my vacation days, and jetting off for hardly any money whatsoever. I just don't have those opportunities back home in Canada and I'm feeling the travel bug immensely. I think what I'm most torn up about is how I'm going to make 2020 memorable in any way when it's being compared to the best year of my life. How do I even begin to make this year compare? How do I do something so memorable that 2020 doesn't just fade into history without being in any way, shape, or form, exciting or memorable? It's a tough challenge for sure, one that I still haven't figured out how to approach. I've been home now for 4 months and the novelty has now worn off. I'm constantly missing my life back in Dublin while also trying to figure out what I can do back in Canada to make sure that I have another exceptional year. I'll tell you, this experience living abroad was definitely a blessing but it's also shaping up to be a bit of a curse as well. I'm determined to to hash out how I can make this year special. I just don't know how yet.. HAPPY VEG It's officially 2020 now which means it's time to say goodbye to 2019 and all of the good, bad, and in between times that came along with the year. For me, 2019 was actually one of the best years of my life on so many levels so it's a difficult year for me to leave behind but it's also great motivation to try and make 2020 an even better year!
First of all, I spent most of my 2019 living in Dublin which was definitely one of the best experiences of my life. Ireland is a phenomenal country full of people from all over the world. I had the privilege of meeting some of the coolest people and learning about their experiences through living at the Hostel. What started off as a nerve wracking experience blossomed into one of the most unique and enjoyable living experiences of my life. If you would have told me I'd be sharing a bedroom with anywhere from 4 to 8 people for an entire year prior to this, I definitely wouldn't have believed you but as I said, it ended up being such a wonderful experience. I met so many amazing people there that helped shape my 2019. I had an amazing job back in Dublin working for a 400+ person hostel which again, allowed me to connect with people from every part of the world and every walk of life. I can't express enough how cool it was to chat with people from different parts of the world and bond with them through our experiences in Dublin as expats or travellers. Meeting so many interesting people is such an insightful experience because you really learn that there is so much more going on throughout the world than what you think you know. I worked with some amazing people too, some that I'll hopefully stay connected with and get an opportunity to meet up with again one day somewhere in the world. I also did some seriously amazing travelling throughout Europe. I visited places I never would have dreamed of having the opportunity to visit had I not been in Dublin living this new experience. Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Scotland...the list goes on and although there were times that I felt like I should have seen more, I am ever so grateful for having had those experiences. 2019 taught me a lot about myself. So many things I accomplished this year, I did so entirely on my own. Moving to another country where you know absolutely nothing or noone is a feat. Adjusting to a new climate, new city, new experiences, all of it, I did it all on my own. Flying around Europe and navigating a new country once or twice a month was intense but also such an inspiring experience. Not only did I get the opportunity to visit some of the most beautiful countries in the world, I got to do so alone. I grew as a person more this year than I could have ever imagined and I will forever look back on this experience as one of the best in my life thus far. 2019 was by far my best year which is putting 2020 in a challenging position right from the get go but I intend to make it as amazing as possible and will continue to grow and learn new things every day. I hope you all had an amazing 2019, an amazing New Years, and I wish you all a happy, healthy 2020 full of new experiences, happiness, and most of all, no regrets. HAPPY VEG |
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