the first day of the rest of my life: part deux

Four days into my new life in Auckland and I have been inundated with questions about how I’m enjoying it. So, for the moment I will endeavour to answer the most common ones.

What’s Auckland like?

It’s hilly, Queen st is seedy after 9.30pm, the wind makes it nearly impossible for me to wear skirts, the humidity makes my hair frizz and my make up run. The buses are always late and their drivers are grumpy.

On the other hand, I’ll never get bored here. The city is brimming full of bars, clubs and music to suit anyone’s tastes. From indie rock to showtunes and go-go dancers, you’ll find it in Auckland. The beaches are gorgeous and full of beautiful people and the shopping is great (Dress Mart, booyah!)

What’s it like being a student again / How’s uni life?

To be honest, I have no idea! The last few days have been such a blur. New people, new faces, new names. Moving in, unpacking, orientation, course info, getting lost, finding a job and of course lots and lots of vodka!

I’m looking forward to my course, but I’ve heard it’s extremely competitive and I know it will be initially hard. I’ve been out of school for nearly a year and a half so I’ll have to get back into the swing of things and remember where that competitive spirit lies!

Have you made any friends?

I always find making new friends difficult, I always seem very confident but I do find it hard approaching people, especially if they already have a group! But we’re all in the same position and I’ve met some really really cool people from all over the world! Though I do really look forward to getting into study and joining some groups so I can meet more like-minded people!

So, that’s my current situation in a nutshell! I’m still waiting for internet to be installed in my room so this will be the last post for a while. Once I have something interesting to write about I’ll be back (cue Terminator music). the internet arrived today, hurrah!

For now, So long, Farewell, etc etc.

x

I've landed!

Up in the big smoke now.

Won't be writing again until I get internet in my flat though.

Am loving auckland so far. Yay for backpacker bars and two V&Ts for 10 bucks!

Will write something proper soon... maybe... xx

the first day of the rest of my life

My bags are packed, i'm ready to go.

To Auckland, that is.

Tomorrow is the big day, i'm moving into my new digs and i'm starting University! Which will mean no internet for awhile :(

I'm so excited for this, I feel like i'm entering the next stage of my life. I can't wait to get my mind working and thinking critically again but it's going to be tough to get into the swing of study again!

In typical fran fashion I am completely unprepared. I thought today I better start packing (since i'm leaving 10am tomorrow!) and about half way through I realised how much I actually had to do!! Also got a call this arvo -i've got a job interview next Tuesday so I spent a lot of time fretting about how i'm going to organise getting there and what i'm going to wear!

So next week is O Week, orientation monday, job interview tuesday, wednesday free (woohoo), thursday and friday I have an Academic Writing paper (can't WAIT) plus i'm sure lots of socialising and various shennanigans, maybe a toga party. It is O Week after all!!

So I probably won't be on here for a while. Not until we get internet in the flat anyway.

But before I go, I need to introduce you to my baby....

My new red BlackBerry. As you can see i'm pretty happy about it :)

And with that I better be off.

So long, for now.

The challenge = 30 countries. 30 years.

I stole this idea from my friend Mel, who I met on a Contiki in New York.

As previously mentioned, I like planning. I also like goals, but have never really had a long term goal. I remember my brother always saying that by the time he was 30 he wanted to own a new BMW –which I guess would act as a visual sign of the level of success he wanted to attain by that age.

Personally, I’m not really into cars. And since I don’t know exactly what path I’m going to follow career wise, I don’t really want to make any career related goals. That’s when I came across Mel’s goal… it’s so perfect I’m going to have to steal it for myself.

30 COUNTRIES BEFORE I TURN 30

A pretty big ask, In a nutshell I have 10 years and 2 months to visit 18 countries more countries! The countdown begins….

THINGS I’VE ALREADY DONE:
Fed Kangaroos in Australia
Hugged the worlds biggest Kauri tree in New Zealand
Learnt about sugar cane plantations in Fiji
Chewed gum in Singapore
Had a proper Greek salad in Greece
Got lost in Pompeii, Italy
Said hello to the Mona Lisa in France
Sat in King Henry’s chair in England
Had a Baileys in Ireland
Lived practically next door to Edinburgh castle in Scotland
Been an underage drinker in the USA
Driven on the wrong side of the road in Canada

AND ON THE TO-DO LIST……
Drink Vodka in Russia
Eat a proper curry in India
Learn to play soccer in Brazil
Cruise in a vintage Ford in Cuba
See the pyramids of Giza in Egypt
Spend an ANZAC day at Gallipoli, Turkey
Eat a Toblerone in Switzerland
Visit the site of the crucifixion, Israel
Trawl the markets of Hungary
Go sailing in Sweden
Visit Anne Franks House in Amsterdam
Sleep in Count Draculas house, Albania
Ride the bullet train in Japan
Visit the worlds largest brewery in Belgium
Watch Marlene Dietrich films in Germany
Walk the Great Wall of China
Learn to Argentine Tango in Argentina
Go on a safari in South Africa

So there it is. The challenge. Good luck me.

OH MY GOD ROB LOWE JUST LOOKED AT ME!

There isn't a lot I miss about England... apart from this...

Fran's guide to... LONDON on the cheap!

Lets get something clear first. London is NOT a cheap city. Even if you're earning pounds like I was on my last visit it's still 5 times more expensive than the rest of the country. One pint in London will probably buy you 3 up north.

HOWEVER, if you know where to go and what to do you can stretch your pounds (a little bit)

VITAL STATS FOR LONDON, ENGLAND
Population: 7,556,900 (as of July 07)

Area: 659 sq miles

Mayor: Boris Johnson

Time Zone: GMT

Accomodation:
Staying in London is pretty expensive, i'm lucky enough to have a couple of contacts there so I can pretty much always get free accomodation. Obviously, that isn't the case for everyone -but I would say, if you know of ANYONE that lives there -a distant cousin, friend of a friend... see if you can stay with them, even if only for part of your stay, you could save a decent amount of money. If you are dossing and the person you're staying with is in a shared flat/house it is etiquette to offer to put in at least a fiver per day -which is nothing in the scheme of things.

COUCHSURFING: Now, i've never done this whole couch surfing thing before... it just sounds a bit dodge to me but I did meet a guy up in Edinburgh who'd spent 2 months couchsurfing his way around the UK... so it's definately possible, and of course a great way to meet the locals and some new friends, especially if you're travelling solo! Find out more here: http://www.couchsurfing.com/
GUMTREE: While searching for a flat on gumtree, I came across heaps of people offering rooms in their flat/house for rent on a temporary basis. If you're travelling solo -this will probably be wayyy to expensive, however if you're travelling with a couple of people it would probably work out quite cheap. As well as holiday rentals, they also have couch surfing and home swap sections. http://www.gumtree.com/london (tip: as well as looking at holiday rentals, also try short term houses to let under the offered category)HOSTELS: And last but not least, the trusty old hostel. There are MILLIONS of hostels in London, all varying in price and dodgyness. If you're a solo traveller hostels are a fantastic place to meet people -i've met so many cool, fun people at the various hostels i've stayed at. Now, I would say the average for a single-sex six bed dorm would be about 19 pounds, but if you feel comfertable in a mixed dorm or don't mind sleeping in the huge 24 bed dorms then you could probably find one for under a tenner per night. Just remember, on friday and saturday and during special events (ie st patricks day) prices will soar!

Transport:

There are several main transport options for your stay in London.

The Tube (london underground)

The mainline train

Buses

Black cabs
and... walking!

The tube is by far the quickest way of getting around, but it is no way to get to know London which has so many important historical landmarks and some really stunning architecture! The tube also gets VERY busy, especially the Piccadilly, Central and Circle lines, so try to avoid them during rush hour!

The best way to see london is to either walk, or take a bus. If you've got quite a distance to travel, but no major time restrictions i'd take the bus -it's about 90p on an Oyster card and if you go to the top level at the front you get some great views of the city without having to pay 15 quid for one of the tourist busses! If you're right in the city, just walk! Touristy areas have MILLIONS of signs pointing to all the main attractions and it's practically impossible to get lost. Plus it burns calories, bonus!

And... I know this is all about staying in London on the cheap, but I really would travel in a black cab at least once, it's just SO iconic! I'm sorry but you can't go to London and NOT travel in a black cab... it's like going to Italy and not having Pizza!

If you're staying in London for more than 3 or 4 days i'd seriously consider getting an Oyster card to use on the tube and bus, they cost 5 pound, and you just top up at any tube station or oyster card stockist. You'll save a lot of money in the long run and it saves you buying tickets all the time!

Food:

I'm going to keep this short and sweet. Food is expensive. Always will be. An unfortunately, while most of us can live without the gorgeous 150 quid topshop dress, we can't live without food. Like every other city, in every other country the most economical thing to do is to buy food from the supermarket and cook it yourself. For healthy food on the run, Food chain EAT does some really good healthy salads/sandwhiches/soups and cakes at reasonable prices. Other than that pub meals are usually pretty decent or you could go get some take away... McDonalds anyone?! (On a slightly whingy note PLEASE don't go to McDonalds/KFC/BK etc etc during a trip to London! There are so many other places to eat!!)

Attractions:

There are so many places to go in London, however, many cost an arm and a leg. So this section is dedicated to some pretty awesome FREE attractions.

MUSEUMS: News flash! Museums are free!! You heard me, FREE.

There are millions of museums in London covering nearly every subject possible, some privately owned museums may have a charge of some sort but all national ones are free to the public. My two favourites are the Natural History Museum and Tate Modern. I'm not going to talk about the Natural History Museum because i'm going to bask in the glory that is the Tate Modern. I LOVE THIS PLACE. It is incredible. You must go there, even if you're not a fan of modern art this building is worth a visit.

HYDE PARK: This park is gorgeous, especially nice during the summer. And right across the road from my beloved NZ War Memorial.

BUCKINGHAM PALACE: I think it speaks for itself really.... I mean the Queen lives there for crying out loud.

COVENT GARDEN: This is such a cool area, nice little stores and cafes, cool outdoor stores selling all sorts of interesting things. Some pretty spectacular buskers and a great vibe. Can get busy as HELL during the summer though. And it's right near Chinatown which is always worth a look.

BIG BEN/WESTMINSTER: Now, Westminster costs 12 pounds to look inside BUT if you go to a church service it's free! Even if you're not religious it's a great experience and hey... how many people can say they've been to church at Westminster Abbey??!

Shopping:

OXFORD ST: aka Tourist haven! If you're claustriphobic then avoid it like the plague! It's big, bolshy and completely and utterly mental. However, it is also home to a few flagship stores like Selfridges, Topshop and of course, stingy-person heaven, Primark!

WESTFIELD, SHEPARDS BUSH: Europes biggest shopping mall, worth a look just to check out the size. If you get there early (like 9/9:30) you'll avoid the crowds and it may even be quite pleasant :)

PORTOBELLO ROAD MARKET: This place is fantastic, The food part of the market is open all week. But the antiques/clothing section is only open during the weekends. Now, when I went I heard that the clothing section started closing at midday and that everything was buzzing by 8:30am. SO That's what I did, I was there by 8:30 and it was dead! Food stalls all set up and some antiques but everything else didn't really properly start rolling until about 9:30. So take your time! The antique section is fantastic, great costume jewellery. Some is quite pricey but you can find some good bargains, like any market though you have to be prepared to trawl!

CAMDEN MARKET: Another very popular market, I wasn't as taken by it. Most of the stalls had very similar stuff. But it's still worth a look.

The Plan

There is something you should know about me.

I like to plan.

Wall charts, colour coding, lists written in alphabetical order AND in order of preference. Ven diagrams, timetables by the hour, those little clouds with the title in the middle and things going off the side -you name it, i'll do it.

Usually, blogs i've had in the past have just been random musings... a funny joke i'd been told on the bus, a little anecdote involving my cat, the latest trip to A&E, that kind of stuff.
This time though, I really feel like I need a plan... this blog needs a purpose.

Step in, The Wayfarer. Yes, I will probably still share some little anecdotes concerning my cats, I will definately comment on current events that interest me, but I would primarily like to use this as a sort of travel related blog. I've done a fair bit of travelling, and those that know me will know how passionate I am about discovering other cultures. Those who know me will also know I LOVE shopping, but HATE spending money with a passion (I think it's the scottish in me) and will do nearly anything to get out of parting with my money.

So, I thought, why don't I combine the two things i'm best at (travelling and being stingy) into one 'how to' sort of guide!

So. There you have it. THE PLAN.

Coming up, the city I love to loathe (but will always love)... LONDON.

My gap year: A Retrospective

There comes a point in every young persons life where you have to make some decisions about what you're actually going to do with your life. 

Uni? Tech? Work? Travel? Nothing???

The red pill, or the blue pill. The first major crossroads in my life. Who knew such a seemingly straightforward decision could have so many consequences??

I am a planner. I like to know exactly what I'm doing. So when the time came to plan my future I already knew exactly what I was going to do, I was going to go to England. Work in a boarding school and live it up in the school holidays, from Berlin to Budapest I was going to see it all, do it all, and love every minute of it. 

I guess the first slight flaw in my plan was when I didn't get a gap placement. That completely threw me into chaos, and should have alerted me of things to come. However, I wasn't deterred. I mean, how hard is it to get a well-paid job (flexible for traveling of course) in london, right? I mean, I have no experience, but i'm enthusiastic, and that's all that counts.... right??!

Apparently not.

I worked crappy minimum wage jobs, was yelled at by drunk men, made sandwiches for pervy builders, and worked 75 hours a week cleaning other peoples shit and fishing used condoms out of toilets. And I still could barely afford to pay my rent let alone fund travels to far off exotic places. So while my friends were sunning themselves in Morocco and discovering the pyramids of Giza I was stuck in grey old England, dreaming of sunny weather and excitement.

I guess my GAP year was a bit different.  But would I change anything??? No way in hell. It changed me in so many positive ways and all my experiences outweighed the minimal crap I had to go through. Of course there had been times where I've wished that i'd been able to do the 'conventional' gap year i'd planned but doing it this way really made me a better person. I've learnt not to stress the small stuff, I can't control everything and don't want to. Plus, sometimes the most rewarding experiences can come from cock-ups. It also made me you can't rely on others to create your own success -having an aptitude for something doesn't equal automatic success which has given me loads more drive to make something of myself. I want to have a life full of passion and I want to live to work, not work to live.

So now i'm off to Uni, three years of hard slog. I would much rather be traveling but I know I need grab this opportunity while it's still around. I'll be nearly 23 when Uni is done with, plenty of time to travel and immerse myself in other people's cultures.

All i'm focusing on now is getting over the post travel slump!!

New Year, New Blog??

I'm hoping this one will last!!

4th time lucky, that's what they say right???