MANNER travel
A
one-way
ticket
Cliona Elliott shares why
setting off with no plan and
a rucksack is one of the best
things she's ever done.
M
y eyes were glued to the
Skyscanner page as I
checked over the flight
details for the fourth
time. The only thing left
to do was click confirm
payment, but my finger lingered over the mouse
as I realised what I was about to do. ‘Ahhh that’s
it, I’m going to Vietnam!’
I’ve had a burning desire to travel since I
can remember, and as I studied English at
university, doing a TEFL (Teaching English
as a Foreign Language) course made sense.
With a bank balance corresponding to that of
a recent graduate, it was also the best way to
travel on a shoe-string budget. I was going on
this adventure with my best mate from uni, and
it felt like a life-time of researching, planning
and organising everything. We managed to
secure jobs with the same language centre,
and they arranged all the important stuff
(visa, teaching contract and accommodation)
before our departure. This dissolved some of
the butterflies in the concoction of nerves
and excitement that brewed in my belly. The
countdown was on. After some teary farewells
and bone crunching hugs from the family, I
was off. I did that melodramatic thing, which
I’m sure most people do discreetly at the start
of a journey, when you gaze intensely through
the plane window, pondering all that’s past and
all that may be. Apart from a one-way ticket,
a rucksack and a three-month probationary
teaching contract, I had no set plan, and it felt
wonderful!
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