Billie Besos

So…..

I am back again with yet more excuses as to why I haven’t written a blog post for about two months. I won’t bore you with all of my reasons, but I have been in the process of moving to a new country which is a BIG DEAL. I have a few different posts up my sleeve that I hope to post as soon as possible: a Bali post including everything I did during my two weeks there in August, a solo vs group travel blog which I have developed over quite some time (and hopefully will have ready soon), and this post about my current situation.

This post is still obviously going to be travel themed, but it is going to cover a bit more of what I’m up to now. Where am I currently living? What travel plans do I have? Am I now broke post-travelling? Read more to find out.

It is mid-October, almost two months since I returned from my month of travel in Southeast Asia…

Yes it was absolutely beautiful and I can’t wait to share my Bali post with you

I’ll rewind a little bit. I touched back down in England in late August and it was all go. We were moving out of our family rental home in England because my parents had decided to make the big life decision to move to Portugal. Having returned from my travels and having had minimal success on my search for jobs in Barcelona, I thought the best thing to do would be for me to head out to Portugal with them. I knew this could be testing, considering the fact that I hadn’t properly lived with them for a while, but I also knew that my mum would love my support; moving to a new country can be tough.

So, we headed out to Portugal on the 8th September and road-tripped through France and Spain. The prospect of this seemed quite exciting to me at first, but when it came down to the nitty-gritty (four of us in the car, plus the cat and the dog), to describe it as an interesting experience would be an understatement.

This is Mila. She sat like this for most of the 3 day drive…

I am writing this whilst sitting on a golf course in the wind. This is my current job in the Algarve, Portugal. It’s slightly chilly today and was drizzly this morning but I’ve come prepared with a plastic sheet to cover my stock today! In summary, I basically sell tickets for this company that runs challenges on golf courses all over the Algarve.

I can think of worse offices…

Some Portugal images so far…

I feel like even though I’m not travelling at the moment, I’m on a similar kind of rollercoaster. Back when I was in South America, I went through stages of feeling extremely anxious (check out my post ‘Anxiety while travelling’). I was worried about money, about making future plans, and was experiencing fear of the unknown, restlessness etc. and to be honest moving to Portugal has brought about a similar mix of emotions. I have only been here about five weeks but it has felt like a lot longer. I have been trying my best to adjust but have put a lot of pressure on myself which isn’t generally a good thing. I was so lucky to land work at this celebrity golfing event in my second or third week here, which then led me to find my current employment, which has been ideal for earning money fast, and easing myself into living somewhere new. However, the job is extremely up and down; one day you can be so successful and then the next you feel like you need to re-evaluate your life because you sold zero tickets. But hey, it’s good life experience and I am so glad I have sorted this job, and am hoping to secure a more permanent job in the new year (I’m just currently in limbo waiting to see if this works out!).

Working hard or hardly working?

My new pal Victoria and I being paid to go to a fancy dinner

The living situation we’ve been in here has been hard as we’re currently renting (and it’s a bit of a dump…) whilst my parents look for a house to buy. If I hopefully find a way to kickstart my career here then I will be moving into an apartment with some friends I’ve made. Again this is all such a mix of fear of the unknown, restlessness etc. but recently I have been trying not to compare myself to others too much as I appreciate that everyone is on their own journey and there is no correct path. Sometimes I wonder if I should be starting a grad scheme in London, or doing a Masters somewhere, but then I realise that this is the choice I have made because I enjoy living in new places, exploring new cultures, picking up new languages and seeing what materialises. I have clear visions of the career I will eventually pursue but I am in no rush because I am learning so much from just living in the present.

Some more pretty pics of Portugal (these were taken in Monchique)

I’m getting into the flow of living here, although I still have so many logistical things to sort out. I have surprised myself though, because I had the original plan of working here until December (latest) before moving to a city in Spain to work in 2020. But I have actually enjoyed being here so far, and have realised that maybe it’s a good idea for me to stay here for the following reasons (these are in no particular order):-

1) I have the potential to learn a new language (which obviously is something I love)

2) I have already made some lovely friends and found potential flat mates for the new year

3) My parents are living here so I can visit them easily

4) The weather is great most of the year and I’m a sucker for some sunshine

5) I can keep up the surfing and actually keep improving!

6) I have the prospect of a career (tbc)

7) And there are many more things including the fact that despite not living in Spain, I am living near enough so that I can visit places I love like Seville (I just went there this past weekend!)

Sevilla mi amor

So there we have it, a bit of an update on the ups and downs of my life. I hope you have enjoyed reading about my journey up until now, and watch this space for future posts.

Thanks for reading!

Kisses x