Why traveling for work is not all that glamours.

When I tell people my job is to travel and develop business offices around the world, they automatically say "how awesome you get to travel!" and yes it is awesome but I'm here to tell you there is a dark side to it that nobody thinks of or tells you. So let me tell you how it works in reality.

Cons:

There is a big difference in traveling for leisure and tourism vs traveling for work. When you travel for work it usually consists of breakfast, office meetings, lunch, office meetings, dinner and back to the hotel. By the time you make it to the hotel it’s late, dark and not much time for sightseeing.  Do this all the time and you will begin to get quite lonely which can lead to a mild depression if you don't do anything about it. Other than the tv, and sometimes decent internet, it can get really mundane. When your home you don't realize how entertaining cleaning, doing laundry, or taking the trash out can be! Seriously, trust me! So in order to make time go by faster I suggest finding a hobby that can keep you preoccupied and entertained. For instance, blogging and making YouTube videos is my outlet. This is what keeps me distracted and focused on my time off. For others it can be reading, going to the gym, or drawing. You decide, just find something otherwise you can drive yourself a little crazy in a four walled room with nothing to do.

Homemade food becomes the best thing ever when you get home.  Try eating out 15-21 times a week, it takes a toll on your body, physically and mentally. Everything starts to taste the same and you have minimum control of how they cook the food and what they put in it. Did I mention you also gain weight easily? I would know, BOO! So every time I go anywhere I try to buy a small grocery of fruits, nuts, and water. This helps me ease my cravings and also much healthier then chips, soda, and candy.

The words steamed, broiled, grilled, and salad on menu's should be your choice of meals, this way you can have somewhat of a healthy diet. For breakfast stick to yogurts, granola and fruit not the greasy bacon, sausage, and over salted eggs.

Did I also mention you eat alone a lot? My solution, get one of these bad boys! My husband got this case on Amazon for me and it is amazing for eating alone. You don't have to balance your phone on cups.  It props your phone up this way you can catch up on emails, YouTube, or Netflix at restaurants.  When abroad just ask the restaurant for the wifi, password and most places will have it for you.

Birthdays, girl night outs, movie premieres, your little cousins recital are events you don't get to go to a lot of the times. The world around you doesn't stop and you don't realize how much you miss out on because you have to travel for work.  So these simple events we take for granted actually become treasured moments when you are in town. Since I do miss out on a lot of these things I make a huge effort to spend as much time with family and friends. Whether you’re just going to a park, happy hour, or just having people over your house to watch Scandel, these are ways to make up for loss time.  This is especially important to keep friendships and staying in the loop with those you care about. And just an FYI this is when you discover who your true friends are because those who accept and understand why you can't make it will always be there for you no matter what. Those who don’t, well lets just say you should never blame your job for it.

Sick days are hard to come by.  Unless you are on your deathbed the show must go on.  I have had two occasions where I had the WORST cold ever.  I had a fever, strep throat, headache, running nose but I still had to work. It also doesn’t help airports and airplanes are the most germ-infested places ever!  So vitamin C gummy bears are my best friends to keep the sickness away.  I also make sure to have hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes for whipping down my seat on the plane.

These really boost my immune system. When ever I feel a sickness creeping up I just take this and it fights the germs.

This is the Multivitamin I take, clearly I love gummies lol

Pros:

Now one thing is for sure, the good will always out weigh the bad! From traveling so much you become an expert at it.  You learn all the short cuts, in and outs to make your travel experience fast, easy and convenient.  When joining airline alliances you begin to earn miles that can buy you free tickets in the future.  Not only that but when you gain status, that gives you access to VIP lounges and free first class upgrades, which I might say are pretty awesome! When boarding the plane those with certain statuses get to go on the plane first, making sure you have storage space for your carry-on and not have to wait forever to get on the plane.  If you can get a credit card that allows you to get points do it!  This way you can get free hotels, plane tickets, or even rental cars.  On my trip to Scotland and Ireland because I had so many points I never paid for a hotel room for the whole week I was there, SCORE!  It's not everyday you can stay at a castle for free!

This is the Dalmahoy Marriot Hotel in Scotland we 
stayed in for free because of my credit card points!

Cliffs of Moher in Ireland

--->Giant's Causeway in Ireland<---

--->Edinburgh Castle in Scotland<---

One of the best perks is the fact that if you ask nicely, most of the time the company you work for can extend your trip longer so you can do some real tourism after working, saving you a plane ticket! And in some occasions you can fly out anyone you wish to join you, like my hubby for instance joined me in Aruba after a week of work for our 5-year anniversary.  A lot of the times I will have one extra day to do some sight seeing around the city.

--->Aruba<---

--->Panama Canal<---

--->La Popa, Cartagena, Colombia<---

--->El Volcan de Lodo El Totumo, Outside of Cartagena, Colombia<---

Los Andes, outside of Santiago, Chile

--->Middle of the World, Quito, Ecuador<---

Food is one of my favorite pros.  Traveling abroad, you get to eat some of the most amazing meals everrrrr! Like these enjoyable delicacies.

You also make some amazing friends in different places so when you want to come back and visit, a local is able to show you around and take you to the best restaurants and places in town!

So whenever someone tells me how awesome it is I get to travel for work, you know for me it has its good and bad but would I change it? Never in a million years! It’s not everyday you get to experience these adventures.  

--->San Juan, Puerto Rico<---

Cordillera, Outside of Santiago, Chile

--->Cancun, Mexico<---

--->Jose Cuervo distillery tour in Tequila, Mexico<---

Do you travel for work? Comment below what are some pros and cons you experience.  I'd love to know! Remember, dream big, be brave, and explore life.  Until next time! MUAH!