Jill is on the Changing Worlds trail in New Zealand

We have sent Jill Baughen to New Zealand and Australia this year as part of the Changing Worlds team.

This is the first time Jill has been to this part of the World.

Whilst doing some work for Changing Worlds Jill, and her husband Jeff, are clearly enjoying their four week trip. This is the first of their despatches:
Our first observation has to be that NZ is a long way away; the second is it's worth it! Our first stop was Auckland, where NZ's America's Cup success is clearly in evidence as is all things sailing. It is a lively, modern city with a steady, enjoyable pace.

We moved on up to Paihia on the first C part of the trip where we met the CW representatives, Roger and Carol. We chatted about the NZ side of the CW operation and some wider issues, including beef farming and NZ politics. It was a pleasure to meet Roger and Carol, having heard so much about them.

Next part of the process was meeting up with Lyndsey, who is working at the horse trekking placement, together with Claire, the owner. Claire was most welcoming and her explanationof the nZ Quality Mark Award, which the trekking centre has been awarded, was really useful and very relevant to the CW operation.

The really fun part was going out riding with Lyndsey; I don't know who ached the most by the end of the 2 hours - me because I haven't ridden in a long time or Lyndsey who had taken a fall the day before. Lyndsey is thoroughly enjoying her placement - she is staying in accommodation in a beautiful location very close to where the horses are kept and riding every day.

She has also had 2 parachute jumps since being in Paihia. Lyndsey loves flying (and obviously the thrills of parachute jumping too!)

Paihia is a delightful place but since moving on, we have seen more stunning scenery visiting Tauranga, Rotorua and Lake Taupo. I am now in the library in Masterton and will be visiting Marise, Emily and Hayley at the stud this afternoon.

More to follow probably from the next library on our route!'

More to follow.

New format to our newsletter from March 2009

Changing Worlds are proud to update with our new and simple format to our newsletter.

Regular features will include updates on our volunteers in their placements, reviews by our Changing Worlds reps and profiles provided by our ambassadors (returned participants).

We hope you find this news letter informative and entertaining and be willing to make contributions now and again.

Best Wishes
David

Fancy dress to raise Gap Year funds

Hi all,

We have always given our volunteers fundraising tips and a volunteer called James has just had a fancy dress night at work. He's off to Ghana and had a Ghana themed evening.

There's all sorts of things people have done in the past from quiz nights to packing bags in supermarkets.

Gap Years are usually organised at least a year in advance so that gives you plenty of time to work and raise some funds, even cover the whole cost of your trip.

If you can show on your CV that not only did you do something really worthwhile on your Gap Year but you raised all the money yourself then you are given yourself a great boost to a future career as it shows commitment, organisation and desire.

If anyone has any fundraising tips or stories of their own we'd love to hear them.

Have a great weekend,

David

The answer to the language barrier when travelling

We've all been there...you're trying to ask where the nearest cash point is, or where the toilet is in a bar. Your language skills have failed you and it's reached the point where sign language is necessary.

Have a pack of these handy and you'll never be stuck again!
http://www.touristpicturecards.co.uk/

Take a healthy break

In a recent article listing the top 10 healthy holiday Australia at 81.2 years came out 6th!
"Known as a nation of sports fanatics, Australians’ enthusiasm for health and fitness ensures them a place in the top ten. The climate certainly helps visitors to enjoy the great outdoors too, with surfing, scuba diving and sun tanning popular pastimes."

Read the whole article, click here






We know from over a decade of sending Gappies to work on farms in the outback, zoo's in Brisbane and to help with outdoor education teaching at schools in Melbourne that Australia is a great place to live, even if only for a few months.

Don't just take our word for it, join our Facebook group and ask ex-volunteers about their experiences.

The best of India

There are so many reasons why you should go to India; the people, the colours, the culture, the buildings, the food, the weather, the poverty and the need for volunteers. This site also highlights some of the geographical reasons why India shouldn’t be missed:

http://www.indiamarks.com/guide/The-Best-of-India-Geographical-facts/2701

From mountains to rivers and even glaciers, India has some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world.

We have volunteering placements in Southern India where you can work in orphanages, teach English, even work on an Indian newspaper. Once you have been eased into their way of life and immersed into the cultural values Indians adhere to you can then take that knowledge and travel round the rest of the country. Having that experience of India behind you will really help enhance your backpacking and give you greater confidence to see and do anything and everything.

Go to our website http://changingworlds.co.uk/ to find out more about our placements in India, and please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us should you have any questions. We would be delighted to help.

Volunteer Update - Thailand

At Changing Worlds we offer a highly personal service to ensure you make the most of your Gap Year. Over ¼ of our volunteers come to us from recommendations so what better way than to let a couple of our volunteers currently teaching English in Thailand tell you more:

“The teaching is going well; we have been given more English lessons to run and have been doing lots of P.E. There is talk of us maybe organising our own English camp for Souncha (ages 5-10). That won’t happen until the end march, but will look great on the old c.v. The kids and teachers are great and really friendly making teaching a breeze. This is a pretty poor school so it’s great helping out there. It’s a beautiful school perched in the mountains of northern Thailand, surrounded by views that never fail to take my breath away.”
Jamie aged 18 from Bromley, London

“Next Thursday, we are off to Bangkok with the school on a school trip. We had to pay 500 baht (so about 10 pounds) for accommodation and the bus, but so cheap. We have been told we are going to the grand palace and last night we were told that when we go to the grand palace, we won’t have to pay the 200 baht entrance fee as we are 'school teachers'. We will also get to see inside the grand palace and the government building, which if we went as tourists we would not get the chance to see!”

James aged 18 from Bromley, London

To view details of our placements in Thailand click here

Join the conversation!

As of 11:39 am on the 10th March we had 236 followers on Twitter!

We are delighted by the interest being shown in Changing Worlds and in what we have to say. You can see a feed of our updates on Twitter on the right hand side of our blog page, or follow the link above to view our profile.

This along with 730 fans on our Facebook page puts us very close to having 1000 followers across social networks. If you could tell your friends about us, or mention us on your pages then that would really help get us up to 1000 global followers which would be amazing.

We are planning to start a monthly newsletter that will provide updates about our volunteers all round the world and will feature reports from our reps in the countries we have placements.

Being a small, family run company we are delighted to be in conversation with a global audience and reassured that the current economic climate is not all doom and gloom.

So thank you all for your support and friendship!

Kindest regards,

David

Superb Twitter Application for Travellers

This looks like it would be a great way to gather together peoples opinions on a holiday destination, find out things to do there or even meet up with fellow Twitterers when you're there!

I wil be recommending it to our volunteers to stay in touch with a quick soundbite about what they're getting up to, as well as when they head off backpacking after their placement ends.

Completely free as well!

I'll use it next time I go away.

http://twttrip.com/

David

Claire is soon to return from volunteering in India

This is an extract from an email we have just received from one of our volunteers, Claire, and it shows how much she has enjoyed her gap year experience:

"Hi guys, Just a little note to remind you that we're coming home!!! YAY! Cannot tell you how mixed up my emotions are right now as are the other two girls. We are so excited to have completed our placement and that we are coming home but at the same time absolutely devastated that we have to leave our new home."

"We are all very attached to India and have huge ties here including friends and new families. I will be returning to SOS (the orphanage) for a day before I leave if possible to say goodbye to my friends there and my Indian mother who took care of me while I was there. I am still in contact with a number of people including several volunteers."

"I cannot begin to tell you how amazing this experience has been. I know you hear it from every single person who becomes part of the team but I do really mean it. Nobody really understands what it means when they say a gap year changes you. Now i understand."

If you want to find out more about our placements in India email david@changingworlds.co.uk or go to our website: http://www.changingworlds.co.uk/default.aspx?qlink=india

Thinking about taking a Gap Year in Australia?

This is a great sounding book that you should read if you have been, or are thinking about going to Australia:

Description taken from the publishers site:
Life seemed quite straight forward for John Watters; finish school, do a degree and get a job. Then, one day, he read about a country with so much space that nuclear explosions occasionally take place in the middle of it and nobody really notices. Immediately, his adventurous soul had been released. Obtaining a job deep in the isolated Australian Bush, John attempts to explore the country from the inside out: first as a native, then as a tourist. From this perspective he is able to portray the real Australia with truly hilarious consequences before joining his fellow backpackers on a bus journey pilgrimage along the country’s eastern coast. With a heart-stopping skydive over The Great Barrier Reef, a close encounter with a crocodile, a humorous day out in the bizarre world of Aussie Rules football, and some of the most extravagantly exuberant characters on the planet providing a magnificent stage, Bonza Voyage truly captures the enchanting spirit of the long distant traveller.

You can buy it direct here: http://www.lulu.com/content/2548568

Have a look at the placements we offer in Australia where you can experience the amazing way of life yourself, and perhaps write your own book?! http://www.changingworlds.co.uk/Default.aspx?qlink=Australia