GirlGI | Girl Gone International Issue 6 | Page 127

Money is another issue that caused me (and
many other GGI’s I’ve spoken to!) a lot of
stress. There is no such thing as being overprepared. You can never have saved enough
money, applied for too many jobs, or have
too many backup plans. Hope for the best but plan for the worst.
Of course you will have heard it before, but
you can never hear it too many times: leave
your comfort zone in the dust! Once you’ve
left it, never stop leaving it. Broaden those
horizons, you’ll only ever be rewarded for it.
Talk to people you never usually would, say
yes to invitations, go places by yourself, get
lost while you’re doing it - the best places are
often found where you would least expect.
Finally, I truly believe that learning the
language of the country you’re in is not overrated. I placed a very high priority on this, and
the avenues that opened up to me because
of it were well worth the hard yards I put in.
Don’t let shyness, laziness, or perfectionism
(my own personal barrier to overcome) get in
your way. If you only know a few words, use
them whenever you can. Resist the urge to
surround yourself with speakers of your own
language. Learning the new lingo will open
you up to interacting with so many more
people, and isn’t that the best part of going
international? Learning new things, meeting
new people and never being able to go back
to who you were before?

Get out there, learn, travel - and let
nothing hold you back!
Top Left: The chain bridge in Budapest looking towards
parliament on first trip to Hungary. Top Right: Tomorrowland festival in Boom, Belgium. Part of a crowd of 140,000
Bottom Left: The gazebo from the song “16 going on 17”
in the sound of music, taken on site in Salzburg, Austria.
Bottom Right: Friend from New Zealand visiting, dressed in
Dirndls for Volksfest in Stuttgart, Germany.