Over the course of many conversations with sixth form students, I realised that one of the things deterring them from taking a Gap Year was starting university a year late. For a lot of the people I spoke to, many were adamant that they were going to start the year with peers of their own […]
What Being Away for 7 Months Taught Me
“You were on your Gap Year last year?! It feels like years ago now!” Those were the words of my sister a few days ago. It really doesn’t feel like it was last year and I’m going to keep saying this, but did it even happen? One thing that confirms that it did is what being […]
One Year Ago: Reflections | Gap Year Travel
On Wednesday, I woke up and opened the Facebook app on my phone. I was presented with a screen which said ‘One Year Ago’ and the following picture from my Gap Year: View this post on Instagram A post shared by V I O L A (@violahelen_) Wednesday marked exactly 365 days since I landed […]
Our East Coast Australia Route | Gap Year Travel
I get numerous questions from many friends and YouTube subscribers alike about where exactly Alice and I went along Australia’s East Coast and which places we would recommend. Here’s the full breakdown of where we stopped off at and which places you can’t miss. Melbourne – Cairns 1. Melbourne We first flew into Melbourne which was by far […]
Why I love Ubud | Gap Year Travel
Out of all the places we happened to visit in Bali, Ubud was by far our favourite city. It’s rich in culture, arts, beautiful landscapes and incredible food. We planned to stay only four days but in the end extended it to a full week. Here are the reasons why I love Ubud… 1. FOOD […]
Learning Mandarin intensively | My Experience
I am currently six weeks through university and the majority of what I have been doing is learning Latin intensively. I have one hour every single day at 9am sharp (apart from Thursdays, thank god for Thursdays!) with a class of about ten others. Studying Latin intensively makes me reflect on my time studying Mandarin intensively. […]
I Jumped out of an Aeroplane!
Let’s talk about the time I jumped at 14,000 ft… When Alice and I were planning the activities we would be doing in Australia, skydiving was definitely on the agenda. Unlike Alice, I’m not a definite adrenaline-junkie but if I was going to do one in my lifetime at all, Australia would be the place to […]
Bali in a Nutshell | Gap Year Travel
For some frequent readers of my blog, it’s probably quite strange that it’s taken me this long to write a sole post about Bali. You see, I had a love-hate relationship with Bali and I’ve thought about writing a post before now but I just had other things I wanted to write about more. But I’m […]
How much did my Gap Year Cost?!
The post you’ve all been waiting for *gasps*… So after spending a few hours (literally) going through my receipts (yes, I kept all of them!), my online bank statements for both my Barclays account and my STA Cashcard account, flight bookings, accommodation bookings and email confirmations/invoices, I have finally calculated the total costs of my Gap Year. And guys, […]
Seven months of adventures around the world | Gap Year Travel
I wrote this article back in April 2016 for an adoption magazine which will be published shortly. I really enjoyed writing it and I thought I’d share it with you all. Some of the things in the article I want to expand upon (an adoptee’s view on going back to China for one) but otherwise […]