5 years since Brazil!

Warning these next few blogs are probably going to be pretty mushy. With lots of anniversary type dates and 16 days until I leave, it’s all pretty emotional!!

So…..

This day five years ago, I was on my way to Brazil on my first Cross-Cultural Solutions program. It’s crazy to think how much has happened since then! I remember getting my final expectations talk and really having to stop myself from crying on the phone! It was the first time I had travelled alone to a different country and I had no idea what to expect.

Turns out doing that program was the best thing to ever happen to me. It gave me the confidence to believe that if I could ‘sort of’ control a class of 30 three year olds who didn’t speak a word of English; I could pretty much do anything. I met some amazing and inspiring people in Brazil who I am still in touch with now. Brazil and the people I met captured my heart.

This incredible event led me to move to New York to work for the organisation.
It led me to travel all over the States, again meeting more remarkable people.
It led me to volunteer in Costa Rica, volunteer in Guatemala. And even when I made the hard decision to leave CCS and New York, my astounding journey continued. I volunteered in Ghana for 2 months and realised my passion for teaching, which led to me move to South Korea for a year to teach.

I have said this previously but on each Cross-Cultural Solutions program and each step of my travels I have met wonderful people who have inspired and encouraged me. Every new journey I have embarked on I have always been nervous and apprehensive. But I have the support from family and friends to go and do, it resulting in life changing and unforgettable experiences.

My advice is to go and do. Go and travel. Get out of you comfort zone. Yes it will be scary, yes it will be uncomfortable and there will be awkward situations where you wonder what the heck you are doing. But the positives will definitely outweigh the negatives and who knows what it could lead too….

‘A positive experience causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events and outcomes. It is a catalyst and it sparks extraordinary results.’