Jetting Educated

Working Lapland is quite different to other seasonal jobs that I have done. For one, I've never been this tired in my life. When I worked in the Alps I could comprehend the reduced energy levels: we were living at 1850 meters above sea level which is always reason to eat more, plus I spent loads of time exerting myself on the ski slopes.          But here I actually feel more exhausted and all I'm doing during the day is talking to people. Plus we're barely at 400 meters so the altitude is not much of a factor. After work we never exert ourselves- we'd sooner watch a film or sit in the sauna. So why the endless tiredness? Well I've been thinking about it and come up with three reasons that working in Lapland will eventually put you into a coma. Hannah heading to work in the dark, at 9am Firstly we've gotta mention the darkness situation.  Its been said that Finland's high suicide rates could be linked to the mischief that the...

I'm still in Lapland and loving living in the snow. Since arriving I have had some classic Lapland experiences and its been exciting getting to know the the area. One of my favourites has been being pulled around on a sled by the huskies. There are 120 dogs in the husky farm and the owner knows them all by name. The dogs love to work hard all all go nuts when the sled is getting ready to depart.  A blue-eyed beauty As well as riding the husky sleds myself, I've also worked by the husky track at our activity centre. The guests get to drive a husky sled around a track that takes about 11 minutes. That may sound short but its a good amount of time as the wind chill from the dogs' speed lowers the temperature a lot. While the adults get a briefing, I'll be entertaining the sprogs and following that I'll be petting the dogs on the sideline who are taking a break from running (yes its very easy 'work'). Once the dogs race off with the guests,...

I can't help but noticing that its beginning to look a lot like Christmas . Towns throughout out the UK have had washed up celebs turning on the lights, festive adverts have been on TV for weeks and Christmas tat has been cropping up in shops as far back as September.   This part of Finland is just inside the Arctic Circle Not that I don't love that stuff- I do! But this year I have been working at a resort in Lapland, trying to have a bit of a different Christmas. The resort does its best to distance itself from the cheesy and provide a more down to earth winter holiday.  It does achieve this largely, but as I'm only here for 39 days I've been focusing first on trying to quickly get used to the strange wonderland before I have to leave it. Due to the harsh environment up inside the Arctic circle there are some things that you'll just have to start finding normal. The average temperature has been about minus eight centigrade (17 degrees Far...

[I am back in England now, of course. I did find this forgotten post, and thought I would publish it posthumously (the season's dead, not me)] On Thursday I will be coming back to England. During the past fortnight especially, I have been really looking forward to getting back. But now that I have done my last shift with the guests I know I'll miss the place, the people ad my great job.         I've been thinking about the start of the season fondly. Looking back on my first week from the distance of the final one is pleasant as it was a time of great adventure, yet so much has changed within that time. When we had just arrived, we were very excited (I was so hyper but trying to keep it on the down low a little since people didn't really know me yet)- a new place to explore with friends we had only known a week. All the had to do on the first week was clean the childcare rooms and play with the toys to, you  know, make sure they weren't bro...

Just a quick one as its fairly mental here with not much time being spent on the computer. We are focusing on learning about our jobs, making friendships, having fun and trying not to get sent home before we even start the season. (I think five people have been booted already).  We have been here for a few days, and this coming Monday we will be heading off to our resort of La Rosiere. My initial feelings are that is going to be an amazing experience- its like being at uni for the first time, with a few differences. The similarities are easy to spot; we are a group of people from a range of backgrounds, thrown in to an unfamiliar location, who know that we are going to be spending a lot of time together in the future. I would say that the biggest difference to the first week of uni is the lack of drinking. There is a bar where we are staying but I have been having about one beer a night  (and bear in mind this is a modest 25cl in France). This is re...