Sabbaticals: the options
21.07.2023 - 07:56
/ roughguides.com
/ Ros Walford
Taking a sabbatical often requires meticulous planning and a little bit of courage. In the third of this four-part series, Ros Walford provides a little inspiration by giving the lowdown on just some of the many things you could do during a career break.
What would you do if you had the opportunity to take a career break? Learn to hang-glide or speak Russian? Write a bestseller? Travel the world by boat? There are as many options as there are fish in the sea and deciding on an itinerary is all part of the fun. Here are some ideas to get you started:
Imagine swanning from lecture hall to classroom in a baroque centre of learning in Rome, notebook tucked under one arm. Each day after your Italian class, you hop onto your moped and scoot off. You meet your friends, Luigi and Maria, in a tiny trattoria around the corner from the Fontana di Trevi where you dine and parlare Italiano the whole night long before returning to your rooftop apartment. You have not a care in the world except for which form of subjunctive to use.
Night view over fountain di Trevi in Rome © trabantos/Shutterstock
Ok, so this may be a romanticized picture of life as a foreign student, but it could be close to reality if you make the right choice. If enrolling at a university is too much commitment, check out study holidays run by tour companies. They offer everything from cooking classes in Thailand to jazz workshops in the south of France, photography courses in Kenya or art classes in northern Spain. Be sure to find out if the course is suitable before you book – for example, is it aimed at beginners? How big is the group? What is the ratio of students to teachers? You can search for holiday courses around the world on golearnto.com.
Sabbatical leave could be your chance to put the skills you already have to good use. How wonderful to have the time to write that novel that you’ve had burning inside you for years! Take yourself off to a remote Greek island, where the only distractions are the azure Mediterranean Sea and the lure of a local taverna.
Relaxing on a hammock © soft_light/Shutterstock
For academic types, this is the opportunity to carry out a research project, such as examining family genealogy or carrying out scientific fieldwork (see the Royal Geographical Society vacancies bulletin for fieldwork opportunities).
If you’re seeking adrenalin, take an adventure challenge. Perhaps you have always wanted to climb Everest, join a polar expedition, or circumnavigate the globe by unicycle. Whatever challenge you aim for can be done, if you’ve got the determination to see through your convictions. Help others at the same time by raising money for charity. Check out charitychallenge.com for some inspiration.
The easy one: make a