Couple who quit jobs for wanderlust now scrubbing toilets for money
The two are forced to do painstakingly hard and dirty work in order to travel and feed themselves
The two are forced to do painstakingly hard and dirty work in order to travel and feed themselves. PHOTO:INSTAGRAM
Wanderlust is a yearning that makes people do irrational things. Case in point: the couple from South Africa who quit stable advertising jobs for the love of travelling only to end up in the dumps, literally.
https://instagram.com/p/5T1FCerqFO/
Heading out to travel the world may sound exciting and thrilling but leaving your job without a back up plan has its consequences. The repercussions of this hasty decision turned out to be dire for this South African couple.
Cartell and Stevo Dirnberger, the couple who made headlines earlier this year after they packed their bags to see how far from home they could travel, are now scrubbing toilets to feed themselves.
https://instagram.com/p/3qNPzirqPV/
The couple chronicled their journey on a blog called How Far From Home. Since starting their trip they have posted snaps from beautiful locations all around the world. Recently in a post on their blog, Cartell wrote that she and Dirnberger realized that their social media posts about their trip are not really telling the full story.
https://instagram.com/p/2FsGkbrqJs/
“Browsing through our blog posts and Instagram feed, it seems like we’re having the time of our lives,” she wrote. “And don’t get me wrong – we are. It’s bloody amazing. But it’s not all ice-creams in the sun and pretty landscapes.”
https://instagram.com/p/ylghn1rqNq/
On the Instagram front, pictures of the two show that both are having the time of their lives, while in reality they are doing “painstakingly hard and dirty work".
Cartell shared the gritty details on their blog by showing the 'uglier' side of their trip.
"So far, I think we’ve tallied 135 toilets scrubbed, 250 kilos of cow dung spread, 2 tons of rocks shovelled, 60 metres of pathway laid, 57 beds made, and I cannot even remember how many wine glasses we’ve polished.
"You see, to come from the luxuries we left behind in Johannesburg, to the brutal truth of volunteer work, we are now on the opposite end of the scale. We’re toilet cleaners, dog poop scoopers, grocery store merchandisers, and rock shovelers," she wrote.
In order to travel and eat, the couple signed up at Workaway -- a website that pairs travelers looking for odd jobs with hosts in different countries who are willing to provide the traveler with food and accommodations in exchange for tasks.
https://instagram.com/p/3Zwl2ELqPR/
Despite doing back-breaking labor, there have been times, the couple had to go without basic necessities:
“Whilst visits to town with our new friends in Norway meant buying beer and bags of candy for them, we’ve been forced to purchase floss (because you only get one set of pearlers, right?) and nothing else. The budget is really tight, and we are definitely forced to use creativity (and small pep talks) to solve most of our problems (and the mild crying fits).”
https://instagram.com/p/0eu8uKrqC9/
This lifestyle is also affecting their health, Cartell mentions in the blog:
“I am not at my fittest, slimmest or physically healthiest. We eat jam on crackers most days, get roughly five hours of sleep per night, and lug our extremely heavy bags through cobbled streets at 1am, trying to find our accommodation (because bus fares are not part of the budget, obviously)”
And yet the couple believe that the challenges are worth it because they're getting the experience of a lifetime.
“It’s like heaven for us,” Cartell wrote. “Sure, wood needs to be stacked, and garbage needs to be taken out (it’s our version of a shit sandwich, as Mark Manson put it), but once that’s done, we’re free to explore, wander and be one with our meandering thoughts.”
Whilst life is tough for them, there are a few lessons they are learning:
https://instagram.com/p/6YNCKgrqCg/
“There’s nothing quite like swooping million-rand advertising budgets for toilet scrubbing to teach you about humility, life, and the importance of living each day as if it were your last,” she wrote.
https://instagram.com/p/5T1FCerqFO/
Heading out to travel the world may sound exciting and thrilling but leaving your job without a back up plan has its consequences. The repercussions of this hasty decision turned out to be dire for this South African couple.
Cartell and Stevo Dirnberger, the couple who made headlines earlier this year after they packed their bags to see how far from home they could travel, are now scrubbing toilets to feed themselves.
https://instagram.com/p/3qNPzirqPV/
The couple chronicled their journey on a blog called How Far From Home. Since starting their trip they have posted snaps from beautiful locations all around the world. Recently in a post on their blog, Cartell wrote that she and Dirnberger realized that their social media posts about their trip are not really telling the full story.
https://instagram.com/p/2FsGkbrqJs/
“Browsing through our blog posts and Instagram feed, it seems like we’re having the time of our lives,” she wrote. “And don’t get me wrong – we are. It’s bloody amazing. But it’s not all ice-creams in the sun and pretty landscapes.”
https://instagram.com/p/ylghn1rqNq/
On the Instagram front, pictures of the two show that both are having the time of their lives, while in reality they are doing “painstakingly hard and dirty work".
Cartell shared the gritty details on their blog by showing the 'uglier' side of their trip.
"So far, I think we’ve tallied 135 toilets scrubbed, 250 kilos of cow dung spread, 2 tons of rocks shovelled, 60 metres of pathway laid, 57 beds made, and I cannot even remember how many wine glasses we’ve polished.
"You see, to come from the luxuries we left behind in Johannesburg, to the brutal truth of volunteer work, we are now on the opposite end of the scale. We’re toilet cleaners, dog poop scoopers, grocery store merchandisers, and rock shovelers," she wrote.
In order to travel and eat, the couple signed up at Workaway -- a website that pairs travelers looking for odd jobs with hosts in different countries who are willing to provide the traveler with food and accommodations in exchange for tasks.
https://instagram.com/p/3Zwl2ELqPR/
Despite doing back-breaking labor, there have been times, the couple had to go without basic necessities:
“Whilst visits to town with our new friends in Norway meant buying beer and bags of candy for them, we’ve been forced to purchase floss (because you only get one set of pearlers, right?) and nothing else. The budget is really tight, and we are definitely forced to use creativity (and small pep talks) to solve most of our problems (and the mild crying fits).”
https://instagram.com/p/0eu8uKrqC9/
This lifestyle is also affecting their health, Cartell mentions in the blog:
“I am not at my fittest, slimmest or physically healthiest. We eat jam on crackers most days, get roughly five hours of sleep per night, and lug our extremely heavy bags through cobbled streets at 1am, trying to find our accommodation (because bus fares are not part of the budget, obviously)”
And yet the couple believe that the challenges are worth it because they're getting the experience of a lifetime.
“It’s like heaven for us,” Cartell wrote. “Sure, wood needs to be stacked, and garbage needs to be taken out (it’s our version of a shit sandwich, as Mark Manson put it), but once that’s done, we’re free to explore, wander and be one with our meandering thoughts.”
Whilst life is tough for them, there are a few lessons they are learning:
https://instagram.com/p/6YNCKgrqCg/
“There’s nothing quite like swooping million-rand advertising budgets for toilet scrubbing to teach you about humility, life, and the importance of living each day as if it were your last,” she wrote.