If you are like me, sitting around is not for you. I was very worried about what I was going to do with all of my time since I am not allowed in to work in Scotland for an undetermined amount of time. Rules of the Fiance Visa state that I am not allowed to work, go to school or claim public funds. Many of my friends at home were urging me to just relax and enjoy the time off. I tried this. Relaxing is not really a strong suit of mine. I came from having three jobs to having none in the matter of one week. I tried to relax but after rearranging the entire flat, alphabetizing all of the books and dvd’s, scrubbing all of the walls in the flat a few times and cleaning the kitchen floor on my hands and knees for the second time in two weeks I realized this was serious… I needed a job.

I had not even thought about volunteering because it is not something that you hear much about at home. There are opportunities for young people to do things to get credit for community service for school or the odd Habitat for Humanity outing, but nothing that I would have been aware of that was regular. As I began to speak to “family” and friends over here I kept hearing about volunteering as an idea to get me out of the apartment, keep me busy and to meet new people. I thought it was a great idea but where? I began looking at http://www.volunteerscotland.org.uk/ and http://www.volunteerglasgow.org/. These websites are great but I was daunted by the prospect of having to get disclosures/clearances completed. I thought that if I had to go through the disclosure process it would be worth it to pick a job that may be a good reference for me when I am applying for a job that pays in the future.

I went through the sites several times, nervous about applying as an American for some reason. I kept seeing one that caught my eye and at the urging of Jamie I finally submitted the interest application. I applied to Yorkhill Children’s Foundation because I love working with children and live close to the hospital so I thought it was ideal, even if it was just for an office position. The auto-email stated it could take 7 to 10 business days to hear back. This was a great first step, I became a bit more comfortable with getting out there and trying to find something. Where had my confidence gone in such a short amount of time?

I decided not to put all of my eggs in one basket while I waited to hear from Yorkhill and walked into The Mitchell Library to see if they had anything available. I could have had a home visit position but I would not have been able to start until August due to training and disclosures. This was of no help to me as I would still have 5 months of doing nothing and this is what I was trying to avoid. I felt like I was never going to get a job that I could enjoy and would offer a good reference for my work ethic and skills.

A few days before The Royal Wedding I was walking around looking in local charity shops for the perfect hat to wear to a wedding fizz party. I was in The Heart Association shop when I saw on one of the dress tags that they were looking for volunteers. I wondered why I hadn’t thought of this before. At home all the Salvation Army stores have paid workers running things so I think I must have assumed it would be the same here. A whole new world of volunteering opportunities that didn’t need disclosures was opened up to me in that moment. I went to many shops to check them out and then I realized that there was one that I loved and that I knew I would enjoy working for. Oxfam Books.

I applied to Oxfam books and Oxfam Music shops on Byers Rd about a week after the Royal Wedding. I was so thrilled as I managed to have a really good conversation with the assistant manager of the book shop, James, when I took in my application. He expressed interest in me helping at the shop and said they would be in touch the next week, so I waited…and waited. A week went by and nothing. I am not one to give up easily when it is something that I want so I called the shop on Friday. I spoke to James again expressing my interest in volunteering and to show that I was serious. James assured me that he had spoken to the General Manager, John, already and was waiting for him to make the move. He gave me John’s email address and I wrote to him immediately.

Saturday, Jamie and I were doing our usual grocery run to Waitrose and as we passed the book shop I hesitated. I asked J if he minded if we stopped in so that I could approach John. He said sure even though I am sure he would have rather gotten the groceries home. I went in and asked to speak to John and out he came. I introduced myself and expressed continued interest in the shop and he apologized and said he was going to get back to me. By the end of the conversation I had the job and I was to come in the following Wednesday to start. Yay! I had a “job”.

I had still heard nothing from Yorkhill so I decided to take 2 days a week at the shop and this worked out well for them as some of the student volunteers were leaving. Now I am nearly one month into working at Oxfam and I love it. Volunteering at Oxfam Books is something great to do with my time and I feel that I am good at it since I love books and have experience working for a big chain bookstore at home. I still am taken aback when one of my managers comes and asks if I want tea or coffee but I am getting used to it.

Having said that… Karen with Yorkhill finally called me! I hesitated calling her back and spoke to Jamie about it a few times. I was happy but was I doing enough to keep busy? My social calendar had really bloomed but was I fulfilled? I feel some days like I am getting lazy, so I called Karen back today and I am going in later this week to meet. I figured what could three more hours a week hurt?

I thought for a while that I didn’t like to work for working sake. I thought I liked to work for the money, but now that I have the opportunity to give my time for free and to keep busy I understand and have come to believe that working for free is perfect for me right now. Everyone that is a volunteer is there because they want to be not because they have to be. Happiness breeds Happiness… and I am happy. x heather