travel | Mastery of Health and Happiness

Jan
07
2013

I did it!! by Holly

I took a gap year from university and decided to travel. I asked friends to come with me, but no one was able to so I went to Australia by myself. I landed in Sydney, made my way to Melbourne and I looked for a job. I had decided to do a combination of working and backpacking. I am 22 years old. This was my second time travelling like this without my family. I found a job packing fruit outside of Melbourne on a farm and did that for 3 months. Exhausting! I met great people. I made $6000 and then I travelled for 6 months. I backpacked everywhere and found out I’m really good at budgeting. When money got low I stopped in Darwin and worked as a waitress for 6 weeks. They trained me which was great. Then I travelled more. I met wonderful people and they have become wonderful friends.

I thought I was going alone, but I was never alone. Making decisions in the past has been hard for me. I had to make a lot of decisions.

Bev talks about building muscle – well that’s what I did. I felt anxious, but I walked through it.

I did it!!!

Tags: alone, anxious, Australia, self-growth, strength, travel
Posted in Inspirational, Learning to Adapt, Self Growth | 8 Comments »

Jan
03
2012

My Trip to Georgia: Learning to Adapt and Change in a Strange New Place by Holly Jarrett

The following article is written by my daughter, Holly. She’s is an amazing young woman who recently spent some time overseas. If you would like to share your own stories of travel and change, I’d love to feature them in my newsletter. Please email me at bev@beverleypugh.com.

My name is Holly and I am 22 years old. Recently I took a year off university in order to travel and experience life in other countries. I didn’t have a career plan yet, and I wanted to expand my horizons. I learned about a volunteer program where you have the opportunity to live in Georgia in Eastern Europe and teach English. They pay your airfare and set you up with a host family. I immediately said “yes”!

So in September I boarded a plane ready to experience 4 months of life on the other side of the world. To say it was an amazing experience is an understatement. It was without a doubt equally the most terrifying and exciting thing I have ever done. I learned very quickly that absolutely everything is different – from the food to the language to the culture. My comfortable Canadian lifestyle was far away. Every day opened the door to new challenges and adventures.

What I realized almost immediately was that if I was going to get the most out of my trip, I needed to be willing to let go of my need for structure and control and learn to be flexible. A great sense of humour and an ability to laugh at myself was essential. Communicating became a combination of Charades, the little bit of Georgian I learned, and the little bit of English my host family learned. It was a challenge to say the least, but we had a lot of fun with it.

When in Georgia I would often joke about ‘Georgian time’ because if I needed to get somewhere it required a lot of flexibility, a lot of time, and often wouldn’t happen despite my best efforts. Public transportation would randomly shut down. Even booking a taxi ahead of time wouldn’t mean anything. After a time I did get comfortable with their way to doing things and I actually found it a little boring to resume my life when I came back to Canada. After all, at home order and routine are a way of life.

I still keep in touch with my host family and remember fondly the strange sights (a lady carrying a sheep in a plastic bag) and sounds (not understanding the conversations around me). Would I ever do something like this again? Absolutely! It has changed who I am (for the better I think). It has opened my eyes to a different way of life. I am a lot more accepting of the people I meet, and I’ve learned that life is better when you can go with the flow.

Tags: accepting, Bev Pugh, Beverely Pugh, culture, Eastern Europe, flexible, Georgia, Holly Jarrett, let go of control, life experience, travel
Posted in Learning to Adapt | No Comments »

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Take a timer and set it for 3 minutes. Allow for 3 deep breathes Breathe in through your nose, and out through your mouth. Imagine you are breathing out all stressful thoughts and emotions. Allow the exhalation to be longer than the inhalation, and slightly pull your stomach in out at the end of your exhale. Now, keep repeating “a story less mind” over and over. Slowly, look around you and notice what’s good - it could be a cup, a rug, water, or another person. Go that extra distance and before you end. Open your heart to gratitude.

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I did it!! by Holly

My Trip to Georgia: Learning to Adapt and Change in a Strange New Place by Holly Jarrett

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