For years they have wanted to travel the world, and in 2021 they flew with the aim of making their dream come true. At a time when the different countries were still shaken by the covid-19 pandemic, they steeled themselves, and they began their adventure.
Ania Peri and Fiorella Bresesti left family, friends and jobs, and They left without defined plans but with a goal to fulfill: to get to know as many countries as possible and soak up their culture. With only nine months of travel, they can already cross three destinations off their wish list because they lived in Spain, France and Ireland.
According to the travelers in an interview with Coffee & Businessboth wanted to live an experience like this for years, but there were different obstacles to overcome. It was only in 2021 –in which they felt a particular exhaustion of the routine in the country–, that came the change of life that –looking at it in perspective–, the couple does not regret.
“We were not satisfied with the life we were leading, although we were as well off as an average Uruguayan. Today, we love it,” Peri said.
What does this life consist of? For the time being – and it is important to clarify this, because the constant change of countries makes the proposals very dynamic –, in doing volunteer work that allows you to travel low cost (low cost, in Spanish) or work in customer service.
“What we like the most is being immersed in the culture, not being simple tourists,” Bresesti said.
On November 5 they landed at the Madrid airport, and thus began their new life. Installed in the house of a relative living in the old continent, they began to apply for a volunteer concept different from the Uruguayan through platforms that specialize in options that allow almost free travel, because they exchange the service for free stays or paid expenses. After ten days they had already obtained an offer in France.
They signed a two-month preliminary contract, and began working as pet sitters for families when they were out of the country. So they had accommodation covered – the houses of the pet owners – with basic services, but in this case the food was at their own expense.
They liked volunteering, and the experience that was going to last two months ended up being six. But due to the constant desire to see the world and get out of the comfort zone, they did not make the longest stay. They started looking for new experiences and after getting a new volunteer job, they chose to move to Ireland.
They arrived in May at a farm in that country where they began to work as animal rescuers: “We lived in the country with animals and a fabulous group of volunteers,” Bresesti said. “We had room and board, we didn’t need anything else,” he added. But a month later they left the farm to start working in a hotel, this time for cash.
“It was extremely easy to get the job.Bresesti noted. He explained that the country needs labor in the service sector, so they ask “please” that people work.
Asked about his role in the hotel, They said they work as housekeepers (housewives, in Spanish) and are especially dedicated to cleaning rooms. For this, they charge €12.5 ($515) per hour, and the work schedule is eight hours, five days a week. Then, per month, they earn approximately €2,300 ($95,800).
“The salaries are very good, recontra is enough to live in Ireland”Peri said. Although Uruguayan women earn just two euros more than the minimum wage established in the country, it is enough to meet their fixed expenses –rent of € 1,000 and food for the day to day–, to which they add going out to eat and going for a walk, and all this without facing the uncertainty of not reaching the end of the month.
In addition, with a month and a half of work, they have saved in cash the same amount with which they had left Uruguay.
“We can enjoy from economic tranquility”, Peri stated.
Travelers yes, influencers?
In the account @dosuruguayasporelmundo the Uruguayans invite people to travel through the cell phone, and currently they already have a community of more than 11 thousand followers who do so.
According to what they said, the Instagram account grew without them realizing it. Their goal was to reach 10,000 followers to start collaborating with different brands, and they expected to take at least a year to attract that many people. However, in nine months of travel they already fulfilled it.
Thanks to this, Uruguayan companies contacted them to offer them a gift, but in a timely manner and without financial aid.
“We are trying to contact some brands, especially medical insurance, which is a large fixed cost, and clothing because we travel with very little luggage.Bresesti noted.
a new destination
In less than a week, the couple moves again. This time they are going to leave the old continent to reach the destination that they had as their objective when they left Montevideo, and that they did not comply with due to the restrictions of the pandemic. They go to Australia.
“We applied six months ago because there is a lot of demand for work and you earn very well”Peri pointed out. The idea in his stay is to work and be able to save and then continue traveling. To achieve their mission, the travelers –Bresesti and Peri, respectively– they acquired a visa for work vacations and another for study and work.
Asked about their work plans in the new destination, they highlighted that the consumer services sector is also in great demand.
Peri wants to continue working as they do in Ireland, while his girlfriend said that she would like to work in the field in which she was trained.: marine biology. “In Australia I would love to practice my profession because I feel there is a lot to do, and I like my career,” she said.
After living in Australia, They do not know where they are going to go, but they do know that, for the time being, they do not plan to return to Uruguay. They feel that they still have a lot to do, and therefore they find it hard to think about being back.
“We are at an age in which we can travel the world and work in areas that are not those of our profession. That is our choice”, concluded Bresesti.
The motivation
Fiorella Bresesti
Since he came of age, he has been working in the hostel business, and that is where his interest in the life of the traveler arose. Since then, he has wanted to travel the world, but whether for tertiary studies, family, or other reasons, he postponed it until 2021.
“I began to see different cultures mixing, and my head exploded,” he told about his time working in hostels to Coffee & Business.
When he met Peri, he met a person who was on the same page. And after a couple of months, they decided to jump into the water: “Between the two of us we pushed each other, it was now or never,” she said.
Ania Peri
He traveled to Asia for two months and met a group of Argentines who changed his perspective. As he told Café & Negocios, being able to make the trip cost him a lot of labor: “I had to take on more work to save and be able to travel.” And while in Asia, he met Argentines residing in Australia who told him that they worked there for three months and then traveled the world for another three. So, he decided that he wanted to try that lifestyle.
In addition, he explained that the trip opened his mind in terms of different cultures and different places: “That also prompted me to make the decision to leave,” he stressed.
