Our Story | YouTOOProject

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Can you imagine deciding to leave behind a monotonous life, tired of waiting hours and hours in traffic jams or being in unnecessary meetings? Can you imagine leaving it all behind and going to the other side of the world and living in one of the most wonderful places that exists in the world?

Well, that’s how YouTOOProject was born, from Marta Caparrós’ desire for change, a Spaniard from El Masnou (Barcelona) that in 2009 said godbye to her communication consultancy where she worked and she got on an airplane to Australia.

The Marta’s main goal was to improve her English and she did it until being completely fluent.

Although today that matters little, if we believe that along the way has lived an incredible adventure that has led her to settle in Byron Bay, a small town on the east coast whose philosophy could be considered that of “Neverland”, the island of Peter Pan.

But let’s start at the beginning…

Marta began by travelling across Australia from north to south and from east to west. She worked on farms, cleaned houses, looked after children, and even became a part-time taxi driver. And she decided to tell her day-to-day story on her blog, which, in the blink of an eye, became a mailbox of questions about how she got there, she talked about questions about the most interesting routes, or resolved doubts about the visa application process.

And that last thing made that a great idea came to her mind, realizing the interest people showed in both learning English and wanting to learn it in Australia.

And as could not be otherwise in view of the previous events, AUssieYouTOO was born in a garage in Byron.

“You know what? Actually, I envy you. I’d love to go back to that day when I found out about going to Australia. Those nerves before flying. The doubt of not knowing what’s waiting for you, what you’re going to find, who you’re going to meet… I’ve thought about it many times! I wish I could go back to that moment!”

̶ Marta Caparrós, YouTOO’s mommy.

From AUssieYouTOO to YouTOOProject ?

As we told you, AUssieYouTOO was born in Byron Bay to help students to start their adventure in Australia. But the project started to grow and we thought: why only Australia when you can travel all around the world? Then, New Zealand (KiwiYouTOO) and Canada (CAnadianYouTOO) joined, all under the YouTOOProject. Today Ireland, Malta and Dubai are also part of the team!

But let’s get on with YouTOO’s history

With friends’ suppOOrt, but mainly of Leti, her best mate, Marta gave shape to her baby. The principles and the image of the company were built up: an online support group for students that was born and grew out of very good vibes, with the spirit of hard work and long days of work, of course, in paradise.

Precisely to avoid the temptation to show up at the airport counter to buy a return home ticket, at YouTOOProject we decided to create the figure of the Collaborator. In most cases, it’s a former AUssieYouTOO student who is in charge of helping the newcomer through these important first steps: from opening a bank account or activating a SIM card to finding accommodation or learning how to move around on public transport.

Soon after starting, Marta realized one of the reasons people didn’t come to Australia was “the fear of being alone at the other end of the world”.

Getting to Australia can be tough. The explosive cocktail we get when we mix the nerves of the moment with the effects of jet lag can choke a little if, in addition, we shake everything with the peculiarities of the language (Australian English has a point).

Where to next?

Our history started like many others, with determination, courage and hard work. Leaving it all behind and starting to travel isn’t easy, though at the same time it’s difficult to find someone who has felt sorry about it.
And what about you? Would you like to write your own story?