My Experience with Workaway International

If you want a change of scenery, experience a new country and meet the most incredible people - then Workaway International is for you.

In October 2018, I embarked to the USA to work as a server at Gleneagles Country Club. I stayed in an apartment with four Irish girls who I quickly befriended. The rest of my fellow South Africans lived across the lake and there was always a great vibe there.

During my stay in Florida, I visited many well-known places. My favourites include:

South Beach Miami, where I got to enjoy the lifestyle as well as an exhilarating basketball game;

Peanut Island, where I got to snorkel with the fishes;

Disney World, where I got to experience the magic;

South Florida, where I learned to be brave on a roller coaster 

Working at the country clubs requires hard work but this program has changed my life for the better. It is all due to the kind, caring and loving people I met, who eventually became family.

I am so excited for the next season. Thank you Workaway International!

Home is where the heart is!

Sonia Marques

The last 2 months at home have gone by so fast and I wish my time at home did not have to come to an end. I have thoroughly enjoyed being back with my family and friends. However, it is always exciting to go back to work in Florida.

It felt like just yesterday that I was arriving back in South Africa. I was nervous about seeing all my family and friends. Now the nerves are back, but they are here because I am getting ready to leave home again. As many times as I go back and forth, the goodbyes never get any easier. It is important to remember that being nervous and anxious before leaving home is completely normal. You are leaving your comfort zone and having to settle into a new environment in a different country which is quite an adjustment. Even when I am back home, it takes a couple of weeks to settle back into my environment after I have become comfortable living in the USA.

Before I leave for Florida in October, I am travelling to Portugal with my mom to visit my grandmother and other family members. I am beyond excited for this trip, as it will give me the much-needed quality time with my mom and gran. We will be staying in Lisbon and we will be spending a week in Lagos, Algarve - which has some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen.

My love for traveling comes from having family around the world and being blessed enough to be able to visit them. This passion has only grown since working abroad and has opened my eyes to a variety of cultures and a whole new perspective of the world.  When you travel, you learn that the world is not big enough to keep loved ones apart for too long.

“Home is where you leave everything you love and never question that it will be there when you return.”

~ Leo Christopher

With Love,