The People You'll Meet at Meet, Plan, Go!
We have asked all of our Meet, Plan, Go! hosts to hold casual meetups in their cities in the months leading up to our nationwide event in October.
Why? Because having an in person support group is important when you are deciding to take a big leap into the unknown or taking on big changes in your life. Whether it’s a career break, running a marathon, or moving to another country as an expat; we all need people to keep us accountable, energized, and focused on our goals.
And that power of the in person meetup proved true at a recent San Francisco event, which Sherry Ott attended. Here are some of the encounters she experienced.
The Surprise Sabbatical
Two women (A & M) who met for the first time talking about travel and how they’d love to get away and take a break. “A” talks about how she’d like to take a career break, but is fearful of leaving her job. “M” tells “A” how she’s planning a traveling career break for the future because her company offers a 6 month leave where you can take a sabbatical.
“A” says “ Oh, you are so lucky that your company offers such a program. Where do you work?”
“M” answers, “Wells Fargo.”
“A” looks shocked and exclaims, “I work for Wells Fargo too! I had no idea they had such a program!”
The conversation moved into laughter, exchanging information, and sharing details on how to find out more about the program.
The Shoulder to Cry On
Jen leaves in two weeks with a one-way ticket to Indonesia on her first career break. She looks frazzled – I know that look. She’s excited and scared at the same time. This is some big life change that she’s undertaking, flying off into the unknown - solo.
I looked at her and said…”you know – I remember when I was two weeks away from going – I was a basket case…I would cry at least two times a day”. She looked at me surprised, and somewhat relieved. She said in a meek questioning way, “really?”.
My good friend Amy, who was one of my friends whom I started my career break with, was there and overheard the conversation. She recounted the story of me crying on the plane on my way to Africa (we were flying to Kenya to begin my year career break and Amy was going for a two-week vacation).
I had been scared of what lie ahead of me, yet excited at the same time. It was a weird feeling and Amy was there to witness it all. As we both talked to Jen further, you could tell she felt a little better about her own fears – simply knowing someone else went through the same thing was comforting.
The Unplanned Reunion
Carol keeps saying I look familiar…but can’t figure out how she knows me. I assume it’s from my blog or something she’s read about MPG and we go on socializing around the event. She comes back to me with a mission and asks me if I ever went to Egypt. I assume she’s asking if I would recommend Egypt so I told her that I indeed did go to Egypt as part of my career break but that it wasn’t my favorite country and I much preferred Jordan over Egypt.
She paused, looked a bit confused and plodded forward and asked, “Did you take a tour in Egypt?” I said – yes I did take a small group tour with Intrepid Travel because I didn’t want to travel solo through Egypt. A big smile came across her face and she said, “I knew it! I knew I had met you before! I was on that tour with you!”
I could hardly believe that four years later our paths crossed randomly around our love for travel. The world is truly small.
Our local meetups are in full swing now with events already happening in San Francisco, Boston, Chicago and NYC; and scheduled for Portland, Seattle, New Orleans, and LA. Come join in and get travel ideas, share stories of your planning, ask questions of people who have done it, or simply share a beer.
Leah on Mon, 6th Jun 2011 8:12 am
I really enjoyed reading your post. I am thirty-two soon and have itchy feet that are ready to try out foreign soils.
It is a fear of leaving the security of the day to day grind of paying the bills and living a safe and non-challenging way of life that has put me on hold for some time.
I hope (as it has I) your post will inspire others to go and follow their bliss – Leah 🙂
Patricia GW on Mon, 6th Jun 2011 8:54 am
Travel and experiencing a new culture really has put it into perspective, and filled that void with purpose (and joy).
In three weeks I’ll be moving to Paris myself for one month. I have the same feeling – the incredible surreal realization that I’m going to be living there…. it’s thrilling!!
Abby on Mon, 6th Jun 2011 2:11 pm
Oh, Jenny! Escargot isn’t palatable — it’s delicious! I love your writing style; it’s so fun and energetic. Can you believe how far we’ve come? Everyone, Jenny and I were in the exact same industry and have known each other online and via work emails for years and years. But we’ve only met once, many, many years ago. And one of those jobs she was sleeping next to her BlackBerry for was one I’d just left. And now she’s 33 and living abroad, just like I was last year. Kindred spirits. Jenny, you’re a true inspiration — I can’t wait to see how your adventure unfolds!
Debbie Beardsley on Mon, 6th Jun 2011 3:22 pm
Your life in Paris sounds ideal. It is nice to read about people who follow their dreams instead of wishing they had! Enjoy the rest of your journey.
Terriaw on Tue, 7th Jun 2011 1:40 pm
Wow, fabulous and well said! I love your new outlook on like. After experiencing career burnout and feeling a little lost and purposeless lately, you have encouraged me. I look forward to seeing Paris someday!
Jenny on Tue, 7th Jun 2011 6:50 pm
merci for all the sweet comments! @abby we are soooo kindred spirits! well except when it comes to our differing feelings on escargot…;) and congrats patricia on the move! thrilling indeed!
shawna on Thu, 9th Jun 2011 1:32 am
you’ve reawakened my travel bug. must. return. to. france. (someday.) eat a croissant for me!
Weekly Travel Blog Links — LandingStanding on Mon, 13th Jun 2011 6:16 am
[…] how badly I want to go to Paris… If only we could afford living there for an extended period of time during our travels! Any […]
G. Michael Schneider on Sun, 19th Jun 2011 3:36 pm
I am a firm believer in living and working overseas, just as you described. However, many of us actually like our jobs and our homes and are simply looking to renew and refresh our lives, not change it. However, you can have the same type of cultural experience without having to reach into your own wallet and without having to quit your day job–by taking what I call a “working vacation.” My wife and I have done this 15 separate times, from Australia to Zimbabwe, Turket to Tibet, Mauritius to Mongolia. I describe how to do it in my blog otherguysdime.wordpress.com and via Twitter at @otherguysdime. Learn how to have fun without having to have burn any of your bridges behind you.