A letter to my younger self

A year and a half since my time in London came to an end, I thought I’d write some things I wish I knew before embarking on this adventure.

Save, save, save!
Another night out in Melbourne with all the same faces at the same venue will be nothing on a weekend away in Europe. Save those pennies now so you can travel as much as possible when you get over to London.

It won’t be easy
Saying goodbye to your family, jumping on that flight and getting off in a foreign city will be hard. It is one of the bravest things you’ll ever do so don’t underestimate yourself. The first few months will be the toughest, but after that, it’ll all be worth it! Make sure you persevere through those initial challenges of finding somewhere to live, making friends and navigating your way around a new city and remember that everything happens for a reason!

Say yes to everything
In order to meet what will now be your lifelong best mates, make sure you say yes to everything and put yourself out there. Your London family will be what makes your experience so special and those friends won’t fall on your lap. You’ll be out of your comfort zone and going out with randoms on your own might seem a bit daunting, but it has to be done. Once you form those friendships, and it won’t take long, you’ll wonder how you got through life without these people in it.

But what about teaching…
Teaching in London will be a bit of a roller coaster ride. You’ll have tough days, easy days, funny days, crazy days and days where you walk away feeling accomplished. That’s all part of the fun of teaching abroad so take each day as it comes and remember that you’re doing a great job so don’t be hard on yourself.

Book those trips in!
Your time in London will be over before you know it so make sure you get onto that bucket list and book those holidays. You might think that a weekend in London will be cheaper than a trip to Europe, but you’re wrong. It is a long and expensive trip from Australia or NZ to Europe so you want to make sure you don’t have regrets about places that you never went to, but always wish you did.

This will be the best thing that you ever do!
You are about to quite literally have the best time! Your time in London will shape the rest of your life. From the friends you make, your career developments, your experiences and the memories you’ll cherish forever. Make the most of it while you’re there because you’ll never experience anything like it again!

If you would like to have a chat to me about teaching or teaching assistant work over in London, even if it’s just an enquiry for future reference, please don’t hesitate to contact me on ashleigh.g@anzuk.education or on (03) 9249 2444 (ext 238).