An Evening with the Colonel

TweetThe Colonel leaned back against the sofa and orchestrated conversation around the large living room. During his thirty years of service in Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi army this man had within my lifetime twice been the enemy of my country. But sat in his house sipping tea served by one of his sons it was difficult not to see anything other than a courteous and respected man happy to have retired to his beloved Kurdistan.

Paid and Volunteer Work Abroad

TweetA compilation of all our jobs abroad and volunteer work articles, plus links to useful information on our other sites

Though our sites are dedicated to helping those who otherwise couldn’t afford to travel widely by providing information on finding jobs abroad and volunteer work, we consider The Working Traveller to be as much a travel site and centred on the reason we are looking to work overseas in the first place. Take away the desire to explore Europe or experience daily life in Chiang Mai, Cusco or Cape Town and we might as well stay at home where wages are generally higher and jobs more secure.

WorldWideWorker: Katie Wilter, Superyacht Stewardess

TweetRhodes graduate Katie Wilter is a graphic designer and social media enthusiast with itchy feet. Now a super yacht stewardess she is seeing the world from a porthole and blogging about it. When we spoke to Katie she was heading along the east coast of the USA from Nova Scotia back down to Florida.

What experience or qualifications do you have for this position?
You need to do a one week STCW 95 course which includes Fire Fighting, Sea Rescue and First Aid. You also need an ENG 1 Medical to state that you are fit and healthy. There are also other courses that you can do such as a Stewardess course, Power Boat 2 course but they are expensive and not essential if you have some prior service experience.

Dear Children of the World: Why I Won’t Give You Money

TweetI used to give you money. I was young and naive and a soft touch but now I think giving you money does more harm than good. Here’s why I won’t give you any money:

You know how to say ‘money’ in English but not ‘thank you’
I think it’s sad the only word of English you know is ‘money’.

You were rude
Knowing how to say ‘fuck face’ is not a vast improvement on only knowing how to say ‘money’.

You are dressed better than me
FFS, get real. I’ve got a soggy sock from the hole in my shoe and you’re wearing Nike trainers and Armarni jeans.

12 Cheap Ways to Volunteer with Animals

TweetWhether cuddly or creepy crawly everyone has a favourite animal. From bats in Australia to Wolves in America, here are 11 opportunities to work with animals and one chance to work for them (cats).

Bats
Tolga Bat Hospital, Australia
Making banana smoothies for the furry flying mammals is one of the many tasks assigned to volunteers at the Tolga Bat Hospital. Situated in a Queensland forest valley, volunteers are needed all year round for a minimum of one month and should expect to pay for their food and accommodation.
www.tolgabathospital.org