HELLO
Welcome to our May newsletter, packed full of stuff from... well, you lot! We're chuffed to have so many user contributions this month, from questions, to tips, to travellers' tales, to free stuff - and even some PRAISE! There's heaps to inspire you, including interviews with real people like you, who've gone out and done it. We especially love this quote: "I thought it was only cool people who did that kind of thing!"
Plus, there's a thing at the end on the dreaded GDPR - but do read on, because it's NOT what you expect! And there's a little something in it for you too...
So what are you waiting for? Grab your matcha latte, pour it down the sink, refill your cup with proper tea, and get stuck in!
FREE STUFF, DISCOUNTS AND COMPETITIONS
City guide to Bangkok is available free on Kindle Unlimited, £2.99 on normal Kindle and £5.99 in old-fashioned paper. Cheers to the lovely Melvin (who runs Traveldudes) for giving us the heads-up on this.
Japan Travel is a free ebook by uber career breaker Pete Martin. You might remember him from our blog, he had a really rough ride before he went travelling but did it anyway!
Free calls and texts with Dingtone - and cheap international rates too!
Hollieguard is a free personal safety app - it's designed mainly for vulnerable people but can help you feel safe when you're on the road too.
SOAR is a free app to help you overcome your fear of flying (iOS only)
Free travel guide to Vietnam by our friends over at MapTrotting
Free USA travel planner from Visit America, to help you make the most of your visit to this wonderful country (we're biased cos we're a half American company!)
Win a Mission Impossible trip to Hollywood - you have to buy £30 of Shell V-Power petrol to enter
Free currency exchange with the Revolut card (we haven't tried this so if you do, please give us your feedback so we can pass it on!)
NEW ON THE SITE
We love our career break courses. There are so many to choose from - ski instructor courses, snowboard instructor courses, yacht crew, sailing, windsurfing, game ranger, farming, even a marine internship! Lots of the courses come with help finding a job so you can work your way around the world, and some even guarantee it! A career break course not only gives you a qualification that can help you get paid work abroad, but it also increases your confidence, proves you can still learn, and is a fantastic experience!
See all our career break courses here.
ON THE BLOG
Oooh, we've had a busy time of it on the blog this month, with not one, but 2 fab interviews to share with you!
The first is with a lovely young Scouser called Rebecca, who Skyped us from Australia. Read what she has to say here - she talks about how her working holiday to Australia has changed not only her relationship, but her whole life!
Our second interview was with one of our favourite clients, Sophie Hollis at BUNAC. She gave us loads of insider info, because she's done their Summer Camp programme (which they advertise on this site) THREE times, AND she works there! But we got sidetracked and started gossiping about her love life - it's all in her interview which you can read here!
Our third post is titled: "You need a career break- here's why". It tells you all the ways a career break can help not just your career, but your relationships, your life and even your self-confidence. Give it a read!
We're currently looking for real career breakers, travellers, industry experts and bloggers to share their stories on our blog. If you want to be famous and featured, drop us an email.
PHOTO CORNER - YOUR MONTHLY DOSE OF INSPIRATION
Smithsonian magazine runs a photography contest every year and although this year's winners haven't been announced yet, you can see the featured entries here. There's a real mix of stuff so you're bound to find something that moves you!
VIDEO CORNER
Oooh, we really like this month's video! Super cool traveller Steph Jeavons spent 4 years riding her motorbike around the world and condensed her experience into this fab 4-minute whirlwind tour. [Contains brief non-sexual nudity]
TIP OF THE MONTH
Today's tip is a guest tip from avid traveller and chocolate afficionado George Gensler, known as chocophilenyc on Twitter. She (yes I know, it's her real name too!) says:
"I have a new, important travel tip. Be very careful buying "smart" luggage. Some airlines/airports won't allow you to bring them onboard unless the battery is removed. The last thing a traveler wants to have to do is buy a new suitcase and repack at the airport, not to mention losing the money on the first suitcase. Also, I keep a box in my suitcase now, too, to protect breakable items, like pasta, chocolate bars, truffles, crisps, etc."
That is a great tip George, thank you very much! If you have a tip for us, email us or tweet us.
MESSAGE OF THE MONTH
This came to us via email, we don't have permission to share his/her name. They ask:
"I am looking for some advice, if I go on an unpaid sabbatical am I able to do an unpaid internship?"
The answer is, normally yes, but you have to clear this with your employers first. Every workplace has different rules about unpaid sabbaticals and although normally unpaid work is fine, you are still technically an employee of your company so they have the final say on what you can or can't do. Unpaid or volunteer work is usually allowed and you can still get expenses, a stipend or an allowance from this. Paid work is usually not permitted.
Hope that helps, enquirer with a unisex name! Good luck with your sabbatical and let us know how you get on!
If you've got a question, feedback or just want to share your flapjack recipe, get in touch! We never reveal your name (unless you want us to!)
JOKE
**STOP PRESS** We got a message this month that said, and we quote: "The jokes are definitely improving." Such effusive praise should not go unrewarded, but... er... this time it will be. Unless you consider this month's joke to be reward enough? Let's see...
Why did the scarecrow win Employee of the Month?
For being outstanding in his field.
FINALLY
You might have noticed that there's no GDPR nonsense in this email, and we haven't sent you one of those awful desperate pleading emails either, like the kind we used to send our exes. And why? Because we were already compliant! Basically, we treat you how we want to be treated, which means we asked you for your email address to send you this newsletter and that's literally all we do with it.
If you'd like to forward this to a mate who needs a career break, and get them to sign up here, you'd be doing us and them a big favour, so thanks! If they get in touch and tell us you sent them, you might be in line for a cheeky little freebie from us!
Until next time,
Love,
The Career Break Site
xxx