Reading Carolyn’s guest post about her time spent in Nicaragua, I got to thinking myself: ‘What’s
my dream job? What do I really want out of life?’ Actually, Carolyn directly asked me this question the other day when we were chatting on GoogleHangs. And…I was able to answer right away: “I want to get paid to travel the world and write about it.” So, as
you read Carolyn’s guest post, I encourage you to have the same question lingering in the back of
your mind! Beautiful, dynamic Nicaragua sets the stage just perfectly for this thought-provoking journal.
Work family = Real family
Two weeks ago, the Go Global team took off on an adventure. Complete with bug spray, backpacks and bandannas, we flew into Managua, Nicaragua and hopped into a van bound for Chinandega. Our time in Nicaragua was split between service and relaxation. We spent the first three days serving alongside the local community and staff of Amigos for Christ, then headed down to the beach at San Juan del Sur.
This week was incredible for so many reasons. We saw new places, learned about ourselves and each other and laughed till dawn. We came up with ridiculous names for each other based on our personalities, ate questionable grilled octopus and took surf lessons from Roberto. We attempted to navigate rural Nicaragua alongside our driver Oscar, relying on the help of friendly strangers to keep us on the right route to the airport. We devoured fish tacos with an absurd amount of chipotle hot sauce…
We talked about what’s ahead for Go Global and each of us as individuals. Most importantly, we bonded as a family.
If you are lucky, your colleagues are also your friends.
If you are incredibly lucky, your colleagues become your family.
No one mentions this when you are looking for a job, but I think it is just as important as the job itself. You may love what you get to do. You might like the location or the perks or the LinkedIn profile, but do you like the people you are doing it with?
I know that we are the exception to the rule – how many people get to travel with their coworkers all over the world? I’ve camped out in the Israeli desert with Joanna, served in the townships of Cape Town alongside Pierce and made Ecuadorian delicacies with Robbie and Courtney. While that may be an extremely high standard, I think that no matter what you do, the most important part is who you get to do it with.
So as many of you start to think about the “real world” and test drive careers with internships, I encourage you to think about your coworkers as your family. And if you all can sit down to a holiday meal together, then it’s probably a good fit.
Go Global really is a family. Experiencing the program as a student, and now being involved with the program as an intern and working alongside these people, I’m realizing more and more how incredible it is to have a team of people who are so motivational, encouraging, productive, and driven. It makes the “job” 100 times better! Readers, when you travel with us this summer as students, we promise that the family-feel of our team will be apparent to you right away, and will instantly make you feel comfortable, safe, and excited about what you are about to experience!
If you haven’t read Courtney and Pierce’s guest posts, covering other awesome angles of the staff Nicaragua trip, do so here. It’s no wonder that this place made the Top 15 Places to See in 2015!
Warm holiday wishes from our family to yours…
-Anna and the Go Global team
We talked about what’s ahead for Go Global and each of us as individuals. Most importantly, we bonded as a family.