How it all began.
At the beginning of last year (about a year ago in fact), I was checking on cheap flights to go back home to Edmonton from Vancouver. Skimming through my friendly neighbourhood Travel Cuts site Travelcuts.com, I noticed a little trivia contest. Enter and win it said. You could be on your way to an adventure of a lifetime it basically screamed. Win this and you get a SWAP registration to the UK for absolutely free!!!!!
Well...that sounded pretty darn good to me so I entered the thing. It consisted of finding the answer to some pretty obscure questions - it took HOURS to find them. Needless to say I did my little bit of Internet searching, answered the question and let the whole experience leave my brain.
Flash forward to April, three months later. I am sitting in a coffee shop with a couple of friends. A trendy little place called Starry Dynamo on Main Street in Vancouver which gave a little bit of free Internet to those who buy coffee. Sipping on my cuppa Jo, I plug myself in to the web to check my mail. SWAP? Who? Why are they writing me? And that's when I discovered it folks. Discovered a chance of a lifetime whilst with my coffee shop friends. The opportunity to take a plunge and see the world. I had won second place in the Travel Cuts SWAP to Britain sweepstakes.
This of course was my lucky day as only three people in the country won this fabulous prize. A 2-year working holiday visa (only available to us in the commonwealth - yeah Queenie!), accommodation at a youth hostel for the first two nights, and a place called BUNAC (the British Universities North America Club) that will help you with the job and accommodation search during your stay in the UK. Not bad at all!
Of course anyone can take advantage of this opportunity as long as they have a bit of cash. And fit the age requirements (some places go up to almost 30 but the UK SWAP program is only applicable if you are under 26) To be a part of the UK SWAP you need to have about $450 as a registration fee.
You also have to fill out a form, provide two letters of reference, a resume, a cover letter stating why you want to take advantage of the SWAP program, your passport and an additional passport-size photo. You also need a letter from your bank stating the amount of funds you have available. In order to get the actual visa you need proof that you have $1500 as support funds. $1500? That's what I thought until I found out that the other poor schmuks that try to take advantage of the working holiday visa without going through SWAP need to have proof of $2500. After hearing that, the $1500 didn't seem so bad.
What to Bring?
So. Then the fun begins. The shopping and the packing. It's the joy of trying to figure out what you'll absolutely need and want that'll all fit into one backpack to sustain you for two years. Of course things can be bought but then those things will have to be lugged about.
And what about the backpack? It better be a good one. That's what I thought so I bought a $250 backpack on sale for $200. A necessity. It is absolutely important to have a good pack so that you can actually enjoy your travels, not curse them. SWAP does give you a list but these things are quite crucial:
-A letter of intro for your bank at home (you CANNOT get a bank account in Britain without one so be prepared!!!)
-A clothesline and plug stopper (you can buy them in a pack together)
-Clothes that don't wrinkle
-Clothes that you can wear in an office if you're going to do temp work.
-Lots of socks and underwear (self-explanatory)
-A sarong (comes in good use as a pillow, dirty clothes carrier, wall-hanging, you name it)
-A good waterproof jacket (also make sure it's something you want to wear on interviews as well!)
-Lots of layers (just remember - you'll be carrying them in the summer when it's hot!)
-Runners and good shoes
-Lots of soap, shampoo, toothpaste, condoms, fem products, etc. (it's bloody expensive here for those things and until you're making some British coin, you can forget about it)
-Walkman and tapes (I had my friends make me tapes so I could think about them when I was gone. It's a nice, easy going away present)
-A money belt to hide your passport under your clothes for those traveling moments.
How was SWAP?
So far so good. They were a bit disorganized to begin with. I did give them a bit of problems by making them send my final package to Edmonton instead of Vancouver where I had started the whole process.
I didn't have to take advantage of the hostel when I got here cause I already had a place to stay so I don't know how that went. But let me say this: It's crazy at the BUNAC office. It's great that they have listings up but there are so many people coming in January that things go fast so it's something to look out for.
The slight advantage to the job hunt is that most of those coming here right now are Americans and they only have a 6-month visa whereas we can work for a full year (the other year is supposed to be devoted to traveling though you can break it up however you want). Also the hours are 9:30 to 5:30 weekdays and I work 10-6. SO if I need to go down there to pick up my mail or anything that's not going to happen. They do try to give options for that (they'll forward mail) but I'm finding it a bit inconvenient for me because I live so far away from the centre. They do host pub nights and excursions so you can make some more friends who aren't from England but hey it's better than nothin', right? So do it if you can and if you can afford it. Save up.
You can only take advantage of the SWAP UK program if you're under 30. SWAPs do take place to other countries but the guidelines are a bit stricter. Go down to your local Travel Cuts and pick up a brochure. Not that they're paying me to say this or anything. Actually, they aren't paying me so why am I saying this? Maybe they'll endorse my next trip - wait, what am I thinking. Student travel = not a lot of cash. Anyhow, check it out before time passes you by.
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