Sarah Collins

Leaving: January 2008.
Programme(s): 4 weeks language school, Ecuador; 4 weeks giant tortoise volunteer project, Galapagos.
Employment Status: Redundant

Sarah departs in January 2008. Her first stop is Patagonia where she is taking part in a 15-day tour. She is then taking Spanish classes at our language school in Ecuador before heading over the Galapagos Islands to volunteer with giant tortoises. Sarah then plans to travel for a further five months in Latin America!

So, you are jetting off in January, but the language school doesn't start until February - what are your plans?
I'm off to Patagonia first, a 21-day tour and then fly to Quito from there. I don't really think I need my Spanish for that but I am going to go travelling after I have done the language school and the tortoise project and I don't speak any Spanish at all and I think it is really important. I've got a book and I'm trying to count to ten but can't remember much after five! I was hopeless at languages at school but it's something I've always wanted to do. A few of my friends have said I should have lessons before I go, but I'm having lessons there, so it defeats the purpose. After the projects I'm doing a five-month tour of Latin America, starting in Venezuela.

Have you ever done anything like this before?
I was made redundant about a year ago in October and I really wanted to go travelling as I'd never been anywhere by myself. My brother lives in Australia and I went to see him for about five months and I went via Thailand and Cambodia just to see if I could do this by myself and to see if I liked my own company. I feel quite confident, although I know it is completely different but that was to try myself out by myself. I got back in June and I've been staying at my parent's in-between. I meant to do this trip a lot sooner, but I just got caught up in stuff being back and seeing friends and all of a sudden time just starts to whiz past. I did actually get in a bit of a panic at the end of October as I had been back so long and time had gone so quickly and I had arranged this trip and just thought that if I don't do it now I will never do it. Ideally I would have liked to have gone before Christmas to get more of their summer, but I'm going now and that's all that matters really.

What was your motivation to take a break and go travelling?
When I left school I went straight to college and I never took a career break or a gap year and I just really regret not doing that when I was younger. I had been working for twenty years in offices and I was a bit bored and maybe having a mid life crisis and I just saw this as the most amazing opportunity. For me, I just thought ‘South America, South America'. It sounds so exotic and I remember learning about it at school. It was Brazil, Rio in particular, that I wanted to go to and it grew from there. Then I thought it would be good to learn Spanish, (although I know they speak Portuguese in Brazil), I'd always wanted to learn another language and I was so hopeless at school so thought I'd try again and Spanish for me was the one, and that's when Ecuador came into it.

I did the Australia thing, I did some volunteering there - animal conservation, and I enjoyed it so much so wanted to do that again and then I saw the Galapagos.  It's a lifetime dream if you are into animals to go there on a holiday, but to actually go there to volunteer is an amazing opportunity.

I few years ago I used to work for the Department of the Environment in one of their environmental protection departments and we used to have dealings with some of the projects running in Ecuador, it wasn't this one in particular, but it's quite exciting going out to see these things in action.

Why did you choose to travel with Gap Year For Grown Ups?
I don't know how I found out about these sorts of things. I think I saw it in the newspaper once and I thought ‘that looks interesting'. It wasn't this particular trip I saw, but I actually used Gap Year For Grown Ups before when I went to Australia - I booked the Jackaroo school through you. I had such a great time and I'd actually had this trip in mind before I went to Australia.

How was the Jackaroo school?
I absolutely loved it. I decided I wanted to learn how to ride a horse. I didn't fall off the horse although I wouldn't say I could ride! It was so much fun - the people that ran it were excellent. We did mustering and all sorts. Maybe I'll be able to use my skills in South America, you never know!

How do you feel now that you have booked?
First of all it was an initial relief because I'd got myself into a panic that I wasn't going to do it. I really am very, very excited and I must admit there is a little bit of nerves there because it is going to be so different and you just don't know what to expect at all. It's good nerves though and it's nice to step into the unknown.

It's all coming together at the moment. I'm quite organised from when I went away previously. I was in rented accommodation and I'd given up that last time and my stuff is still in storage. I considered sub-letting but I didn't really know how long I was going to be away for, so I bit the bullet and gave it up and I moved back in with my mum and dad.

What do your family and friends think of your plans?
My mum doesn't really speak about it - she's not very happy about it, as she was worried I was going to go to Columbia, although she's over that now! My best friend went to South America years ago for three months and so we've been talking about it a lot and I've made her feel quite involved, but she gets a little bit teary as I baby sit for her a lot and things, but she realises that it's one of those things I just have to do.  I think they are all getting a little bit bored of me at the moment as I'm just a bit over excited about it all really!

How do you think you will feel when it comes to saying your farewells to friends and family?
I don't know. I was thinking about it the other day and I felt a little bit teary. I was with my little nephew and I was playing with him and I just thought ‘ooh, I'm not going to see you for ages'. He's not even two yet and he's going to be so much bigger when I come back! When I went away before I wasn't teary at all, I was quite excited as I was going to see my brother. I don't know how I'm going to react, I haven't been thinking about it too much or the length of time.  My mum has said she will take me to the airport but I'm not sure is that is a good thing because if she gets upset I'll get upset. I don't like flying so I'm sure I will have tears, but it will probably just be the thought of the aeroplane!

What do you hope to achieve during your trip?
I want to prove to myself that I can do it. I'm not out to ‘find myself' I just really hope I have a good time. I want to be challenged and explore. I'm happy with myself as a person and I' m quite laid back - easy come easy go, and I can pretty much take anything that is thrown at me.

Sarah flies out to South America min January.  We will be catching up with her a few days before she leaves to see how she is feeling!