Hi everyone, I’m back the nameless onion, after a stressful time of revision, and taking my GCSE’s (which by the way I passed with flying colours) and completing my bridging work for sixth form I am so happy to return to my blogs, I may be a bit late with this one as summer is nearly over but remember it for next year.
A lot of looked after children have not had the luxury of going on holiday in this country let alone abroad so when the opportunity arrives that we are able to have a holiday how do we feel? For me it was a mixture of excitement and anxiety, excitement because I was about to experience something new and anxiety because I was going away with a family I had only known a short time, I knew I would be safe and my looked after family had shown me pictures of where we would be staying and the beach and what we would be doing, but I had just got used to my bedroom and now I was about to sleep somewhere else. I was 7 years old, we went to St Ives in Cornwall, I can remember going on the beach making sandcastles and playing in the sand I had never felt sand before and I just kept picking it up and letting it run through my hands, I buried my feet and slowly lifted my feet up, it was at the time a odd feeling and then smell and taste of the sea was like nothing I had ever experienced before, we bought a dinghy and had a lot of fun. I was so tired at the end of the day I was not at all worried about sleeping in another bedroom, one memory that I will always treasure from that holiday was going to a bear factory and making my own bear, I named him Rory because he he roared, and I still have him 10 years later and hopefully I will still have him for another 10 years. Fun memories.
Travelling abroad, as with a holiday in the Uk all the arrangements must be made with our social workers, but international travel requires advanced preparation, firstly everyone involved in our lives has to agree that we are allowed to go, then a passport must be applied for and this can be a long process, a social worker has to write a letter of consent because we are travelling with adults who have a different name, I remember on one holiday abroad I was asked by a policeman at passport control if I knew the people I was travelling with, he was very nice but I did feel a little intimidated. Then depending on where you are travelling a risk assessment may have to be done. But wow it is worth it, my first time on a plane was so exciting, I was given a teddy bear from the airline with his own passport, I still have him too. I now love travelling abroad, going to different countries, and experiencing diverse cultures. Foster carers remember before you book your next holiday either in the Uk or internationally remember:
- Try not to book a holiday where you have all previously been and built memories, as this may make us feel left out, book somewhere that new memories can be made as a family with your looked after child.
- Prepare us for holidays, what should we expect?
- Talk about international travel, different cultures and languages, social behaviours.
- Maybe all go to a restaurant prior to your holiday where you can sample some of the food, for example if you are going to Spain, you could all try a tapas meal.
- Watch a film or a travel programme on the country / area you are going to.
- Introduce some foreign ideas in the safe environment of your home, we had great fun doing this.
Whatever or wherever you decide to go remember have fun and make memories.
The nameless onion.
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