I went to college thinking that I was going to eventually become some sort of globe-trotting, internationally savvy business woman who could make business deals in multiple languages. I wanted my passport to be full of stamps and my conversations to include statements such as...
I took the red-eye and just got here this morning.
Por favor, llévame al restaurante en la esquina de Curzon y Salazar
I know the best little espresso place in Santiago.
So I studied hard and got a business degree with a specialty in international marketing. I did study abroad trips in Mexico and in Europe. I tackled internships during the summers. I interviewed like crazy my senior year. And when I graduated, my bags were packed and I was ready to see the world.
My first job out of school was at a software company with a lot of clients across North and South America. My travel bug was happy. I lived out of a suitcase, saw so many incredible sights, tried new things, tasted new foods, and met people that I could have only dreamed of meeting. My stack of postcards was growing each week. It was super fun... for about 2 years.
Then 9/11 happened. After that, it dawned on me that I was missing more weddings/birthdays/family dinners than I was attending. My fridge was chronically empty for I was never in town long enough to eat any food that would go in it. And my apartment was really more of a glorified storage facility.
I still enjoyed seeing new places and meeting new people, but I was burnt out. And travel was not fun at all after 9/11. Plus once you have seen the inside of a hotel room/airport/taxi, you have seen them all. I was craving time with the special people in my life. I was craving routine and home cooked meals. I was craving roots.
I made the decision to leave that job while sitting on the beach in Rio De Janeiro. While the scenery around me was breathtaking, what was the point if I had no one to share it with.
It is funny how life works out. Those brief two years definitely helped shape me into who I am today. Sometimes I think about what my life would have been like if I had made a different decision on that Brazilian beach so long ago.
Do I still get the travel bug? Absolutely. But now when I travel, I get to bring my favorite people with me. And that makes all the difference.
I took the red-eye and just got here this morning.
Por favor, llévame al restaurante en la esquina de Curzon y Salazar
I know the best little espresso place in Santiago.
So I studied hard and got a business degree with a specialty in international marketing. I did study abroad trips in Mexico and in Europe. I tackled internships during the summers. I interviewed like crazy my senior year. And when I graduated, my bags were packed and I was ready to see the world.
My first job out of school was at a software company with a lot of clients across North and South America. My travel bug was happy. I lived out of a suitcase, saw so many incredible sights, tried new things, tasted new foods, and met people that I could have only dreamed of meeting. My stack of postcards was growing each week. It was super fun... for about 2 years.
Then 9/11 happened. After that, it dawned on me that I was missing more weddings/birthdays/family dinners than I was attending. My fridge was chronically empty for I was never in town long enough to eat any food that would go in it. And my apartment was really more of a glorified storage facility.
I still enjoyed seeing new places and meeting new people, but I was burnt out. And travel was not fun at all after 9/11. Plus once you have seen the inside of a hotel room/airport/taxi, you have seen them all. I was craving time with the special people in my life. I was craving routine and home cooked meals. I was craving roots.
I made the decision to leave that job while sitting on the beach in Rio De Janeiro. While the scenery around me was breathtaking, what was the point if I had no one to share it with.
It is funny how life works out. Those brief two years definitely helped shape me into who I am today. Sometimes I think about what my life would have been like if I had made a different decision on that Brazilian beach so long ago.
Do I still get the travel bug? Absolutely. But now when I travel, I get to bring my favorite people with me. And that makes all the difference.
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