So it begins. The familiar feeling of restlessness and excitement building as you plan your next trip. The ridiculous amount of time you spend on Google or with your head in travel magazines, searching for routes and ideas. The uncontrollable glee you feel as you book the flight to the next destination. The anticipation to cram as much as possible into your luggage – even though you KNOW you’re gonna leave most of it behind in various hostels and hotels. The nerves as you arrive at the airport, scanning for your flight number, clutching your passport with enthusiasm. Culminating in the whirlwind of curiosity, eagerness, apprehension and pure ecstasy as you step foot out of the airport and into your new adventure. And this is just the start…

I’ve been back in London for 4 months and already I feel like my passport is screaming at me to take it abroad again for the millionth time! Addicted to the unknown, I thought I’d try something different. I’m used to travelling round from place to place with my life in a backpack, volunteering here and there and spending every last penny in my bank account before I come home, save up and do the whole cycle all over again. This time I’ve decided to do a working holiday – I’m going to be an Au Pair in America.

Paid to look after children over in The States, I’ll be the modern-day Mary Poppins. Immersing myself into American life with the help of a very kind family taking me under their wing. I have a ‘want to do’ list as long as the distance from London to The States and I Can. Not. Wait!

The planning for this trip is gonna take way longer than normal. Normally, I pick a destination, book my flight and have a rough itinerary within a couple of months – while the packing is always without fail done the night before I leave! This time, visas need to be obtained, driving tests need to be passed, health checks need to be done and families need to be matched. I have 8 months to go and I’m practically counting down the seconds before the day I can get on the plane.

Every single trip I do, I swear to myself I’m gonna document every tiny detail – the taste of my first real Indian curry, the noisy hustle and bustle of the markets in Marrakech, my thoughts as I witnessed the first immaculate beach in Mexico, my view as I reached the top of Mount Machu Picchu in Peru. But, every single trip, without fail, I’ve come home with a blank notebook and an insurance claim for whatever phone I have at the time (containing ALL the trips’ pictures) that has been lost or stolen. Yet all of this is overshadowed by a head full of memories that I’ll never forget. However, this time, seeing as I’ll have a base location and my laptop, I think (and hope) it could be different! Only time will tell…

249 days to go….. ❤