Working for Xpress-Yourself Dance and Travelling the World in 2025! 🌍

Hello, I am Amelia, and I have been the Administrator Assistant for Xpress-Yourself Dance CIC for almost a year, while also pursuing my passions for travel. During my time at Xpress-Yourself, I have visited Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia whilst keeping on top of all our lovely dancers’ orders, emails and queries. Yes, that’s right, the email I responded to you back in February was from the other side of the world!

When I first approached Faye with the question ‘How remote is the role – how does Japan sound?’ I could see a slight moment of panic across her face, but here we are with only a few dodgy WIFI’s along the way, I still have the job!

So off I went, September 2024 to Japan!

I spent 4 weeks in Japan travelling all over the country, Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Nara, Yokohama and many more stops via the bullet train! 🚅 Japan is a country of complete different culture, with highlights of Mount Fuji 🗻 Tea ceremonies 🍵 and meeting the bowing deer 🦌

My first hurdle I faced was leaving the laptop charger back UK! A very important factor when your whole job is online! Trying not to panic, I rushed around every tech shop in Tokyo (and believe me there was a lot!) and finally found a charger that, when you propped it at a certain angle, charged the laptop, and a huge weight was off my shoulders!

Working whilst travelling in Japan worked really well, my work started at 4 pm Japan time with a quick dinner break and then finishing at 10 pm Japan time just in time for bed!

My trip to Japan was a breeze to work alongside due to high-tech WiFi covering most of the country. I did 8 shifts during my trip and I returned mid-October back to reality in the UK…

When it came to the end of 2024, like most of us do, I began to ponder what the new year had in store for me. Reminiscing on my wonderful adventures in Japan, I decided the travel bug hadn’t left me just yet. And with 2 weeks’ notice, I decided I was off again, this time with a one-way ticket to Thailand.

Once again, I briefed Faye on my plans to take remote working to a new level! I asked Faye what her fears about me traveling whilst working, heres what Faye had to say:

• ‘One of the biggest challenges I anticipated with you working remotely while travelling abroad was the reliability of Wi-Fi in more remote parts of the world. But it turns out the world is far more connected than I expected!’
• ‘Another concern was the time difference across continents—yet you managed to navigate that with impressive ease.’

Now, I too had these concerns, especially as I was travelling in Southeast Asia in some remote areas and some rather dodgy-looking hostels, trying to make new friends and experience everything whilst holding down a job that was helping me to fund my travels. The time difference didn’t faze me at first, knowing that I could complete work in my evening times – it just meant Mondays and Thursdays were not spent in local karaoke bars!

My first stop was Thailand! Travelling to the other side of the world on my own was nerve-racking but as soon as I settled in and met my first roommate and had my first Pad Thai, I knew I had made the right decision to travel.

During my Thailand adventures I met and fed rescued elephants🐘 went to an authentic cooking class🍳 and visited local villages to learn about their culture🛖 It is a truly incredible country with the most amazing food, Pad Thai and Massaman Curry are now two of my favourite dishes, not to mention the Thai Tea that was served on every village corner!

My main struggle when working in Thailand was often activities overran – especially the elephants, I just didn’t want to leave!- leaving me apprehensive that I wouldn’t get the registration to your lovely dance teachers in time! The way I overcame with this was if I knew I had an activity that day I would process half the orders in the morning when the UK was asleep! This allowed me to know I was half way there and then any extra time I had when I got back meant I could start earlier on the next task.

All in all I don’t think any register was missed the whole time I was there, I definitely couldn’t process orders on a zipline above the trees!

My next stop was Bali, I mainly went to Bali to take part in the Shanti Toya Yoga Retreat in Ubud. This was a lovely family-run Yoga retreat with 2 yoga classes a day, massages, cooking classes, and music nights all whilst meeting a lovely group of 15 like-minded individuals from across the world.

The highlight of Bali was definitely taking the Balinese Dance class. Balinese dance is a rich and expressive traditional art form from the Indonesian island of Bali, deeply intertwined with the island’s religion, culture, and community rituals. It’s characterized by intricate movements, vibrant costumes, dramatic facial expressions, and symbolic gestures (called mudras). These dances are usually performed during temple ceremonies, festivals, or as a form of storytelling.

Perhaps, Faye could implement Balinese Dance into our Keep Dancing classes! – Trust me, it’s a lot of fun!

Luckily I didn’t face any issues working in Bali as I had time booked off to fully immerse myself into the yoga lifestyle 🧘

Namaste!

My next stop was Australia! – One of my favourite countries in the world!

This was my second time travelling to Australia, and it was truly as special as the first! I mainly went to Australia to visit my best friend, who had moved out to Perth in 2024! I am sure many of you can agree that seeing a loved one again after a while is a priceless feeling!

As I know from our ‘Wish You Were Here’ segment in our newsletter, some of our lovely dancers have also visited Australia, I would love to hear your favourite things about the country!

My highlights include the wildlife: kangaroos 🦘, Koalas 🐨, and Crocodiles 🐊. I loved learning about all these animals. At the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, I learned that Koalas sleep 18–22 hours a day because eucalyptus leaves are low in nutrients and hard to digest, so koalas conserve energy by doing almost nothing. 🛌💤

I surprisingly found Australia one of the hardest countries to do my work in, this is due to time difference! Especially as the time difference across Australia changes itself, so I often found myself rather confused! I was often working up until 1 am, which when Aussie, day starts at 5 am for beach runs and coffees, often left me a tad sleep deprived. Good job, there were plenty of beaches for an afternoon snooze 😴

After Australia I had no set plan so it was off to google to find a cheap flight somewhere…

I found myself in Vietnam and wow, I am so glad I went, my favourite country I have ever visited!

Vietnam is a country of beautiful landscapes, bustling cities, and incredibly friendly locals, as a tourist I have never felt more welcome!

I took a whole month in Vietnam, travelling from south to north, making some amazing friends along the way. That was where it was tricky with working and travelling, explaining to friends that I had to work. Vietnam was the first country where I made friends that I ended up travelling around with for a while, rather than just being “hostel friends” which lasted 2 days.

Luckily, the friends I made were super understanding, and one girl even said it gave her time to add to her travel journal whilst I spent my evening working! And believe me, we made up for our working nights with many a trip to a themed bar – the best was a Mr Bean themed bar showing episodes and having Mr Bean posters all over the walls, in Hoi An!

The highlight of my Vietnam trip was the Ha Giang Loop which is a 4-day 3-night motorbike tour around the mountains in Ha Giang with over 200 other people, it was truly magical! A lot of breathtaking moments as we whizzed round the sides of mountains – often a little too close to the edge for my liking!- with riding to the Chinese border being a completely unforgettable moment.

Vietnam also was a country for facing my fears! A small step to overcoming my fear of birds was becoming a ‘Duck Leader’ in Phong Nha. After a lot of encouragement I took part and got all these ducks to follow my lead! I think the traditional hat helped a lot! This is your sign to feel the fear and do it anyway! 🦆

The next stop on my list was historical Cambodia, a country I knew very little about, but I found incredibly fascinating. I spent hours exploring the awe-inspiring temples that are all over the country. The highlight obviously being Angkor Wat, where I went on a sunrise tour. Even at 5am, it was the busiest temple I have ever visited.

In Cambodia, there was an abundance of amazing coffee shops with specialised working spaces so I found it incredibly easy to complete my tasks as well as indulge in some delightful drinks! There was, however, an issue when it came to Koh Rong Sanloem an incredible island off the coast of Cambodia where there are only a few towns, mainly covered with hostels and restaurants, to accompany the vast beaches. When I , travelled to the island, it was the beginning of the wet season and, unknown to me, a summer storm! This meant that the internet connection was really limited!

When I came back to the mainland, I was straight on the hostel WiFi, back to work with an Amok Curry by my side, catching up on any missed work. I feel very greatful that during my whole trip, lack of WiFi only happened once, and this was 3 months in! The world is more connected than I realised.

My last stop for my trip was Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. I was only here as flights back to Manchester were incredibly cheaper than flying back directly from Cambodia. But my few days in this country were amazing and I definitely will be back!

Seeing such beautiful sights such as the Batu Caves with the Rainbow steps just as the sun was rising really gave me time to reflect on my amazing trip!

I had one last abroad shift in Malaysia, and it was most definitely the easiest – after months of hostels, I decided to treat myself to a hotel (still only £30 for 3 nights!) with superfast WiFi and a desk! Absolute luxury in all departments!

After 5 months, and all my pennies spent, I began my journey back to Manchester!

Overall, I think working at Xpress-Yourself while traveling the world worked well. I still felt part of a team even on the other side of the world. Due to the insane connectivity all over the world, I was still able to be productive, complete tasks and stay in touch with our amazing dancers!

Here’s what Faye thought as my boss:

“Our team was always informed and prepared, for every keep dancing class even if it meant you working during the evening hours of your day. I genuinely believe that the success of your remote working experience is largely down to your dedication, determination, and strong communication. It’s been inspiring to see how well it’s worked.”

Does this mean I can book another trip…?

Stay tuned to find out where I go next!

Thank you for taking the time to read my ‘Working for Xpress-Yourself Dance and Travelling the World!’ blog. I am truly grateful for Faye’s support and allowing me to pursue my travel dreams!

Xpress-Yourself Dance CIC run weekly Keep Dancing classes, suitable for older adults across, Birmingham, Solihull, Walsall, Sandwell and online. Keep Dancing will teach you dances from around the world with no need for a dance partner. Find your nearest Keep Dancing class here.     

Xpress-Yourself Dance CIC also runs classes to support carers in Birmingham thanks to Funding from Forward Carers CIC. Find out more about our Keep Dancing for carers here

To find out more about Xpress-Yourself Dance CIC follow us on Facebook.     

Keep Dancing 💃