So it's been a while. The last thing I posted was that I was going working abroad for 3 months, and I apologise that you never heard from me again!
If you follow me on any of my social media you'll see the huge adventure that I went on. Even when I was writing that last blog post I think deep down I didn't think I'd stay the whole summer and sometimes I didn't even want to.
This summer has literally included some of the best and the worst times of my life, but my gosh it was the best experience for me so far!
I wrote a diary everyday about my whole experience and it's literally filled my whole book but it's really nice to read now when I get the chance.
I was so nervous about the flight there because I've never flown on my own before. It was an afternoon flight so my mum and best friend drove me to the airport and luckily I didn't cry which was good! Luckily I sailed through check-in and security and finally I was on the other side on my own. I went to Burger King for food and luckily a new episode of Pretty Little Liars was out so I watched that to pass the time. I then just sat and waited for my plane to come in, watching Mrs Brown's Boys on my new tablet that I'd bought, the Hudl 2 from Tesco. The show really got me through that, and I watched it on the flight too because it always makes me laugh. I was sat next to a lovely couple though so I felt a lot better. The flight time to Mallorca is only about two hours and twenty minutes so I just occupied myself. Then I realised my suitcase wheels were broke when I collected it and it was so heavy that I ended up dragging it through the airport trying to find my transfer. Luckily I was the only one on the minibus so it took me straight to Alcudia, where I was working. All the boys I was working with came to meet me so that was nice and I met the lovely owners too. They showed me where I was staying and obviously it wasn't the nicest flat in the world but it did for the summer, I had everything I needed to live.
The boys had to go to work so I went with them as they kind of showed me what my job was going to be. I then met up with my friends that I'd made who worked in the hotel I stayed at when I was on holiday and stayed at one of their flats because I was exhausted from my flight.
The next few days were kind of a blur to me. I did my first real shift which really freaked me out. I think everything kind of hit me at once, that I was alone in this place with all these people I didn't know. The boys made me feel right at home though, staying with me when I was upset and obviously my mum was always on the other side of the phone. But the first week was one of the worst. I wasn't eating properly, maybe a mixture of the heat and also my anxiety, so I felt sick all the time. And my sleeping pattern was messed up too because now I was working 8pm til 5am so I slept most of the day. I tried to get out as much as I could during the day but the boys always slept in so I had to just do my own thing.
It did take a long time but I actually started enjoying it. The nights were so much fun because colleges and universities had just finished so there were a lot of people my age on group holidays there so I made loads of friends which a few I still speak to. I got closer to the people I was working with too, especially the bartenders girlfriend Karen, who also lived with us. She was the only other girl around and it was so nice having her there. We also had a new girl coming over to work there called Emi.
But it all went back the night that she came. Karen worked in a restaurant for some of her summer so after she finished she'd go back to our flat, get changed and then come to The Prince Of Wales to wait for her boyfriend, Ash, to finish. So she noticed someone on our balcony and thought it was Liam, the guy who was off that night, so went up looking for him but found no-one so thought nothing of it. So she got ready then came down and asked Liam about seeing him but he said that he hadn't been to the flat. So a few of the boys went to the flat and saw that we'd been broken into. Various things were stolen including a PS4, phones, money, my tablet and iPod were taken. We were all distraught and then Emi showed up and we had to tell her all this. The next night was my night off so the guys hid the rest of their things in Ash and Karen's room because it had a lock on and went to work. I stayed at a friends flat that night and when I woke up I had millions of missed calls and texts saying we'd been broken into again. So I rushed home, not being able to get hold of anyone, and saw there was no-one in the flat. All the windows and balcony was open and all the lights were still turned on. I freaked out a bit, packed a bag of stuff and went to my old hotel to wait to hear from someone. Eventually I heard from Emi and they'd gone back and Karen and Ash's door was kicked down and literally everything was taken. They'd all stayed at the flat above where we worked instead. That really caused tension between us, one person quitting over it. It affected us all quite a lot but we got on with it. We got locks on literally everything so no-one could possibly even get in this time.
The owners were great though and helped us always in every way possible. I got on really well with them because they'd come and help if it was busy or just sit and chat if it wasn't. They had millions of incredible stories that I loved sitting and listening to.
Emi left about a week after that though so I was back to doing stuff on my own again. But luckily I contacted my best friend who was supposed to fly out with me in the beginning but never did to see if she still wanted the job and she booked a flight. Before she came I was so ready to come home, I'd had enough and it was all just too much for me. But with Alex coming I knew I'd be able to get through it. So I agreed to stay the whole three months instead. Along with Alex came another girl too from Essex that we got on really well with so we became like a power group. We did more stuff in the day, beach and pool days, we hired a pedalo too which was a great day.
Food was hard though because we were just eating rubbish most days because we only woke up about 1/2 so missed most meals. Whatever I did eat couldn't have been good for. At the end too we all managed to get a horrible cold and if you've never had a cold abroad before, I can tell you they're not fun. I was sniffling and coughing all the time, was tired, felt ill, it was really grim. To be honest I still don't think I've fully recovered, even when I got back I think everything just hit me at once.
There was also this group of people that just caused trouble every single night they came to the Prince. They caused arguments and fights and one of them was the cause of the biggest panic attack I've ever had. They hit someone right in front of me and I don't know what it was but it just set me off. I ended up sitting on the edge of the canal as it absolutely thrashed it down with a storm. I just couldn't calm down until Alex came to the rescue because she knows how to deal with me when I'm like that. It just wasn't a good night overall.
But it wasn't all bad! I had way more good days than bad. I had one amazing day where we went to a place called Bonaire to go cliff diving. So we just chilled on the rocks and then when we jumped in it was scarier than I thought. I'm not really one to do this anyway but I thought the drop was smaller than it actually was so it's a weird sensation when you think you'll hit the water but you actually don't. All the sea water went up my nose too which wasn't fun. But we bought some goggles and I bought a case for my phone that you can use in water and we got some amazing pictures and shots. There were fish everywhere and even when Alex claimed she saw a jellyfish we didn't believe her, but we really should've. I was sat on a rock with my legs and belly underwater and I felt a really bad pain on the back of my calf but I thought I'd just scraped it along the rock. Turns out I actually did get stung by a jellyfish because it really flared up and was so painfully itchy! But was still an experience and it didn't ruin my day either.
That day my parents and brother also flew out for a holiday which I was so excited for because I hadn't seen them in nearly 3 months! My bosses were also nice enough to let me off work whilst they were here so I actually had a really nice holiday at the end of it with them. I flew home a few days after they left.
So no I didn't make loads of money working abroad, but I met some of the most amazing people and made some unforgettable memories. I got closer to my best friend and learned some life lessons that have made me such a better person. I feel like I've come out of my shell a bit because I honestly didn't think I was the type of person who does this kind of thing, and neither did my friends and family. But they're so proud of me and most importantly I'm proud of myself. I could've come home after that first awful week, and had a rubbish summer working a job I didn't enjoy with horrible weather. Instead I stuck it out and didn't give up, even though sometimes I wanted to.
I'm so glad I stuck to it because I would've just remembered it as an awful week abroad but I feel like I can accomplish much more things after doing it. I've learnt to take chances and do things way out of your comfort zone.
So I know this has been super long but I really want to be able to remember this forever. I filmed a few things too so when I've edited all that together I'll definitely put a link somewhere in here.
Thank you for being so patient with my blog, there's more to come! I'm also getting a new camera this weekend so there will be much more YouTube videos to come too!!
Most importantly Stay Happy
Sarah x
A few pictures I got whilst away
The incredible people I met!
