Third season going strong!!!

By Melissa Chauvet

I’ve been back in the States for about a month and a half now and I have to admit, it feels good to be back. The weather is lovely out here, not too cold and surprisingly much hotter than anticipated. Its been great to see all the familiar faces and places again, getting to meet the new staff who joined this season for the first time and specifically getting to see in person all the new changes that has been made to the club.

The opening of the club has been spectacular, show casing the renovations that has recently been made to the esplanade, pool area, gym and the restaurant. The club looks beautiful, with everyone in awe every time they grab something from the revived restaurant or go to the gym for a quick work out. The atmosphere around here has been different, the members and staff seem to be happy and excited…bet the renovations has something to do with this…

I can continue waxing lyrical on how beautiful the club looks and all the wonderful things taking place and crowds flocking in to spend their holidays here, but you have to see and experience the spirit during the festive season at the club for yourself… an experience from out of this world…

Let me end off by saying that I have already started joining in on all the festivities happening out here. Recently celebrated Thanksgiving, which was amazing but it doesn’t end there, still having to buy gifts, parties to attend and friends to celebrate traditions with for the rest of the holidays. Looking forward to these special times and what the New Year has in store…

Happy Holidays…xxx….

Life in Florida!!!

By Schae Spurway

Straight out of High School and now we are in Florida?

In January 2016 I found out about an amazing program called Workaway International. I had never travelled to America and thought this would be a great idea for a gap year as I would be earning dollars and would be seeing new places. I decided to convince my two best friends to apply as well. We all applied hoping we would all be accepted and not only accepted but at the same place as we wanted to work and live together. Thankfully we were all successful.

It was our first time flying and we had an amazing journey to the USA together.

We have now been in Florida for about two weeks and we are loving every single minute. We have learnt so much in just two weeks such as time and money management and for youngsters like ourselves just coming out of High School we are doing pretty well. I highly suggest young people do this program after school as you learn so much. You will become disciplined and you gain so much experience and you earn a lot of money.

We have been here for two weeks and have already done so much such as, going to the beach, to the hot tubs daily that our accommodation has, going to the mall and fancy car rides in West Palm.

Not only are we seeing amazing places we have also met so many people and have made so many friends. I know it has only been two weeks but we do not feel home sick at all as we are always busy and there is always something to do! Actually too much to do with too little time!

We are truly loving each and every single moment and we highly suggest you apply and do this program. 

It's truly an opportunity of a life time and each and every single one of us do not regret coming on this program and in fact we are considering doing another season.

Thank you so much Workaway for such an amazing opportunity!

I am settled in so what now?

By Marvin Seekoei

Hi fellow Workaway participants. By now your homesickness should be gone and everyone should be well settled in at work. Most of you have had a taste of how busy it can get with Thanksgiving and for the next couple of weeks it should maintain a steady pace up until New Year’s Day?

So what now?

Now is the time to set up some little goals for yourself.

First goal should be to save some money. Whether you’re going north or back to South Africa, saving a little bit of money would not hurt you. For most of you there will be between 12 – 15 pay checks. Putting away $75 per pay check would end up getting you to +/- $1000 and of you add in your tax return you could end up with a handsome amount.

Second goal should be to buy yourself some nice clothing items. I would recommend you shop at stores like Marshall’s or TJ Maxx. I even buy clothes online where you can get some nice items very inexpensive like on E Bay and Amazon. I think you could spend approximately $50-$60 each pay cycle and you will be amazed how much you end up with.

Third goal should be to travel and explore this beautiful country. If this is your first season then I would recommend to just focus on Florida for now and whether you come back or go up North you could explore more States. For example you should do a cruise to Bahamas, spend a day or two in Miami. Sleep in a Hostel and not a Hotel when visiting Miami. You could also go to Naples to swim with dolphins on the West Coast. Just rent a car from Enterprise with 4 friends and it will cost almost nothing. Lastly you definitely would want to go to Orlando to visit Universal Studios and Disney World and watch at least a basketball, football or baseball match. It’s a lot of fun! Also look out for some of your favourite artist who loves to come down to Florida for concerts and music festivals. Just check Google for all information.

All these things are possible in the next few months so good luck with your season and I want to wish you a Happy Holiday!