My First Job Abroad

On 24 April 2009, I left for London Heathrow Airport to start the greatest 2 years of my life.  Of course, with the rand to pound exchange rate being what it is, as excited as I was to be in London, the pressure was immediately on to find a job.  I was expecting to be living and working in Taunton, Somerset, but this didn't work out so within a week and a half I found myself back in the greatest city on earth, London.

I had originally joined an agency who I, naievely though were really going to get me a job.  They sent me off on a day of catering training but I quickly discovered that their idea of a guaranteed job was waitressing to the fine diners of London, with shifts starting on the opposite end of London at 4am.  I decided that this is not what I flew halfway across the world to do, and that I was going to find a job myself that would be something I would enjoy doing.

I went for a couple of interviews with teaching and nanny agencies, also advertised on gumtree for work.  I landed a job in the Kensington area, nannying a baby boy and 4 year old girl for an amazing salary.  However, after giving it some thought, I figured that since I knew nobody in the country, nannying was probably not going to be the best job to do if I wanted to meet new people, so I turned it down.  I also got another job with a lovely South African family in Hauinalt, but they weren't offering me a liveable salary, and I also didn't see the point of living in London if I was going to be working for South Africans.

Then, by a stroke of luck, I got an interview with Contiki holidays.  I was so nervous and didn't know what I should wear or if I should prepare at all.  However, when I got there, it went great.  I felt really happy with how it all went.  4 days later I got the call which shaped where a large part of my time in London would go.  It was the manager of the Contiki Basement London, telling me that they would like to offer me the job if I was still interested!!! Was I still interested??? Hells YEAH!!!!

I had about 2 weeks before the job was due to start, so I called up the South African family and offered to help them out until I would be starting at Contiki, which they accepted, so I spent a week with an 18 month old boy called Heinrich and spent the day taking him to the park and playing with him at home.

Then on 29 May 2009, I started my first day at Contiki!  I was so nervous, but I quickly felt like part of the team.  The other girls who worked there seemed lovely and made a real effort to help me feel welcome.  I quickly settled into the Contiki lifestyle which consisted of veeeeeeeery early mornings for the early shift and many laaaaaaaate nights spent at our 'local', the London Pub.  One day, my collegue Roxy, suggested that we go to the pub that night but I didn't have anything with me to wear.  So in my lunch break I ran down the road to New Look and took the cheapest t-shirt that I could find, which happened to have a multi-coloured dinosaur on the front called ''Discosaurus''.  It provided much amusement at the basement and I got a compliment on the t-shirt from 2 people at the pub.  Good investment that 8 quid was :)

I had so many fantastic nights out with my Contiki friends, such as Ministry of Sound, the Original Bus Party at The Albanach in Trafalgar Square, bowling at Bloomsbury Bowls, Basement Lock ins.  Too many to mention.  One thing is for sure, Contiki definately gave me some of the best times of my life!!