There’s an unspoken rule amongst working holiday makers overseas that when you are in a different country you can, and should, talk to absolutely anyone and everyone. Having an accent works wonders, other Australians will talk to you because you remind them of home, locals will talk to you because you’re from somewhere fascinating, far away and other travellers will talk to you because they are operating under the same rule of – talk to everyone.
What this ultimately leads to is stacks of new friends and often…something even more.
Before I departed for the UK my mother’s biggest fear wasn’t terrorism or that I might end up in hospital somewhere, it was that I was going to meet a nice English boy, settle down and not come home ever. Luckily for her that didn’t happen but finding love on the road has definitely altered many a traveller’s life.
IEP’s very own Marketing and Web Coordinator, Shannon, met her boyfriend of 4 years when she was on the Work USA program working at a ski resort. When the sparks flew they both knew they didn’t want to leave the romance in the States but problems arose as Shannon is a Kiwi and her boyfriend is an Aussie. Needing to complete her degree in New Zealand they embarked on the less than desirable, long distance relationship. After a year and a half he transferred to a uni in NZ and then after a year there they both relocated to Australia where they are now settled. Four years on and this relationship is still going strong.
Love blossoming overseas seems to be a common theme amongst IEP staff.
When Pete (IEP’s Work Australia Program Coordinator) met a lively Scottish girl in the heart of Edinburgh he had no idea they would end up hitched and living back in Australia. After a couple of years in Scotland, a year together in Australia, a year together in Ireland, the two of them had pretty much exhausted every possible visa available and decided it was time to make it official. The two of them have just celebrated their two year wedding anniversary.
Not all overseas love stories have happy endings.
When you are on a working holiday, as much as it feels like real day to day life, it is not reality. You are away from friends and family who know you and your history and you socialise with a wide range of people from different backgrounds. You know that when the visa runs out you will have to return to back home to reality so you make the most of every moment. Sometimes when relationships are formed in this type of atmosphere they fail to stand the test of time, especially once the holiday is over.
A good friend of mine fell head over heels with an Aussie guy in the UK and when the visa deadline approached she made the decision to move to his home city, rather than her own. A few months back in Australia, reality hit and the honeymoon was well and truly over. She had to quit her job, transfer unis and move back to her parents to start again, nursing a broken heart.
Whether love blossoms while you’re away or you just plan to live it up as a swinging single as you hit the backpacker bars around the world – there is something deliciously exciting about the possibilities available when you are overseas. Live it up!
International
Exchange Programs (IEP) is a non-profit
organisation specialising in sending young Australians
on working holidays overseas, currently to Canada,
Britain, Ireland, the USA, South Africa, Cambodia,
Peru and Costa Rica. IEP also assists young travellers
from overseas on reciprocal programs in Australia.
With offices in Melbourne and Sydney and representatives
in other states, IEP is the largest non-profit,
work and travel organisation in Australia.
