Ally living and working in Medellin, Colombia. Interview

Introduce yourself – Where are you from? Where in the world are you currently?

I’m Ally – a sloth-obsessed modern languages student from Stamford, UK, currently living and working in Medellin, Colombia herunterladen. As part of my degree, I’m required to spend a minimum of 16 weeks in the countries of the languages I study (Russian, Spanish & Portuguese). So far I’ve been to St Petersburg, Moscow, Medellin, Cartagena and Santa Marta (this academic year!).

 

2 hallo eltern app herunterladen. Tell us about your first trip abroad? What first attracted you to a life abroad?

My first trip abroad that really stood out to me was a tour of Southern Spain with my family- it was the first time I felt confident enough to use my (very basic!) language skills in their country of origin and it felt fantastic! To be understood in a language distinctly different from my own was a buzz and it has motivated me to travel more and more on my own and/or with friends nero app kostenlos downloaden.

 

3. What kind of traveller are you? Backpacker? Long-term traveller? Short term? Other?

Since starting my year abroad, it has made me realise how little you can accomplish in a 2 week holiday herunterladen. I’m definitely a converted long-term traveller. I’d say the minimum you can really have in a country is 3 months: you want to get a flavour of the language, the weather, the people, the humour, the fashion and of course, the food!

 

4. How do you fund yourself when travelling?

At present I’m living off funds that I raised by working 2 jobs whilst at university and dedicating all my summers to working at festivals (in car parks- totes glam, right?) kostenlos downloaden spielen. As I’m interning, I’m not earning a lot of money whilst I’m abroad and creating a rather large hole in my savings account. One that will hopefully be remedied when I get back in time for August festivals in the UK (groan!).

 

5. Your favourite place you have been to? And why?

Its incredibly hard to choose, so I’ll limit it to my travels this year alone download android faster. Living and working in St Petersburg was honestly one of the best things I’ve ever done and the closest I’ve felt to being at home whilst abroad. I had the freedom to get around the city on my own, to witness some earth-shattering laws and protests and develop a love of a suprisingly warm nation in minus temperatures herunterladen! Its a beautiful city that shouldn’t be overlooked on a “European” trip.

 

6. Your least favourite place you have been to? And why?

I’ve had so much fun this year that I can’t pick one place I’ve been too recently that I loathed. In previous years I visited Turkey in an overly rainy November crossfire europe. My whole family got food poisoning, we couldn’t see some of my favourite archeological sites due to the rain (Troy included) and walking down the street was really unnerving as you stick out like a sore thumb (and people aren’t ashamed of staring at certain parts of your body). I was also vegetarian at the time so that certainly didn’t help my mood!

 

7. What advice would you give to other people looking to travel firefox ältere versionen herunterladen?

Let go of your preconceptions of a place as soon as possible, try to learn at least a few basic phrases in the language, make sure you have a savings account that won’t matter if you dip into it occasionally and say YES to everything you get offered to do (obviously, within reason!). I’ve done things and met people I would never have dreamed of a year ago and it has improved me as a person no end!

 

8 microsoft word 2019 kostenlos herunterladen. What is left on your bucket list for you to accomplish/see?

Too much to say: I haven’t had sufficient time whilst managing a full-time job to see South America and I would love to come back some day. Learning more languages is always on my list (and it improves your memory!). My time abroad has also made me appreciate England a lot more and the fact that I’ve not seen nearly enough of my home country! A city tour is definitely on my list of things to do.

 

9. When did you start your blog? Why should people read it?

My first ever blog was called “What´s Alexandra Waring?”- a fashion blog defining me by my interests. I recently closed it down in search of pastures new but started my current blog (geared towards my year abroad) in August 2013 before I set off to Russia. It includes tips on what to pack for the fashion-concious lady, tips on interning (and how to get some fab placements!), fashion abroad, insights based around cultural concepts (Nostalgia, Choice and Conformity to name a few) and some outfit pics from my time reporting at fashion week in St Petersburg (and Colombia soon too!). http://wheres-alexandrawaring.co.uk

 

10. Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?

Hopefully working in a creative industry somewhere metropolitan but not necessarily London. I’d love a job in New York, San Francisco, Mexico City, Madrid… somewhere big and multicultural!

 

11. What is the biggest difference to life overseas compared to life at home?

No one day is the same as the last- something or someone will always shock you, make you laugh or cry. You appreciate how lucky you are to come from a 1st world country whose way of life is totally different to your own- it also makes you realise just how sheltered you were beforehand. It makes you love harder, become more curious and open to the varied ways of the world.

 

Twitter: @allylovessloths

Instagram: allylovessloths