Turning the Page

School is OUT!

It’s official; I am done classes and am now only 160 practicum hours away from receiving my Advanced Travel and Tourism Diploma from the Canadian Tourism College.

Over the last 8 months I have learned so many different aspects of the business, ranging from the fundamentals of the travel and tourism industry, selling skills and world geography, to domestic and international airline tariff & ticketing, consolidator net fares and airline reservations global distribution system (GDS) training (Apollo, Sabre, and Amadeus).

It’s been weeks and weeks of hard work but it has also been incredible fun and amazingly rewarding.

And after all my hard work I have been nominated as Class Valedictorian. What an honour. While it was not something that I was aiming for, it is nonetheless flattering and rewarding to know that my hard work has not gone unnoticed.

My passion was engaged and became alive while in the classroom, I was inspired on a daily basis and my desire to excel and learn became more pronounced than ever before.

It is truly amazing what age and wisdom do for someone who is pursuing further education. In high school I could have cared less about grades and even attending class. College was just one long excuse to party and socialize. Now, 12 years later it is clear that I have come full circle.

And as much as I am somewhat scared and nervous about leaving the comforts of the classroom and what my future career may hold for me, I am eager to jump in with both feet and see where the ride takes me.

It is time to turn the page and start the next chapter.

My Theme Song

As lifted from the Long Way Round:

Remember me my love, I'm the one you're dreaming of.
Going for a ride, I'll keep you warm inside.
I'm Gonna roll up the sidewalk, I'm gonna tear up the ground.
Comin' round to meet you, The long way round.

Bah, Bah - rah - rah - rah! etc.

Sooner or later, I'll get me off this track.
Gotta do what it is that I do and then I'm - coming back.
Got sun in my face, sleeping rough on the road.
I'll tell you all about it, when I get home.
Gonna roll up the sidewalk, I'm gonna tear up the ground.
Comin' round to meet you, The long way round.

Bah, Bah - rah - rah - rah! etc.

By: The Stereophonics

First Aid

I've come to realize that I want to take and also feel I NEED to take my first aid certification before I leave.

Somehow just the thought of me being able to to react properly and deal with even a minor situation while away is comforting.

Add it to the list ...

Ewan Says it Best

7:20 to 7:80 -> This was precisely the sentiments which I experienced on Monday.

It's all becoming real ...

Inflation is part of the Game

With World Cup just around the corner, the biggest sporting event in the WORLD (yes, its bigger than the Olympics), I am shocked to keep reading on message boards that people are still looking for accommodations, transportation and the like.

Sure, I over plan and maybe think a tad too much about getting things in order for any of my travel adventures, but when it comes to attending a global event where there the expectation is for the population to swell by some 400,000 people, I like to think that getting your plans in order is not a bad thing.

And then you read things like this and it makes even more sense to get your act together in advance:

Inflation of prices, especially on accommodation and transportation, are part of the Olympics and World Cup, but the South Africa 2010 World Cup may be different, as South Africa Tourism’s campaign to keep a price freeze during the South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup is yielding results.

According to a press release by the body, hoteliers in the Eastern Cape part of the country have promised to freeze prices.

SA Tourism Update Online has compiled a database of tourism suppliers that are not price gouging, which can be accessed by their inbound tour operators. The rates they consider fair will be loaded into the frequently updated database.

While its nice to see that the things are trying to be corralled and controlled so that gouging is not out of control, its still makes for finding a reasonable price on accommodations a hard tickets at this point.

Good thing we have our hostels and family members booked and ready for us!