About Miriam
From Münster to the world! How did I get here?
The Early Years Or How It All Began…
I grew up in Münster, a beautiful university town in the North-West of Germany. I was never one of those kids who knew from an early age what they wanted to be when they grow up. As the end of my school time drew closer there was no way out of having to make some decisions. The longer I thought about what I wanted to do, it became clear I was interested in languages and I wanted to study abroad.
Spreekt U Nederlands?
Decisions had to be made and with my wishes in mind, I ended up studying Regional Science Netherlands-Germany (yes, it’s a thing!) in Münster and in Nijmegen, Netherlands. As it turned out – I really enjoyed it! I learned the Dutch language as well as the history, economics and politics of the Netherlands. As my major, I chose communications and marketing, so I got the vague idea that I would be working in this field in future. As I had wanted to, my studies brought me to live in the Netherlands for a year where I met a group of friends from all over Europe. Together, we thoroughly explored Nijmegens nightlife and other social activities. It was a fabulous time.
After we all left Nijmegen and went back to our respective home countries, we stayed in touch for quite a while and used to visit each other quite regularly. I guess this is where I got infected with a case of travel-fever, wanting to explore more of the world, meet people from foreign places.
Why Not Venture Out Further?
While I was writing my thesis in 2004, the pesky question came up again of how I would spend the rest of my life earning money. While my studies were great, I didn’t feel equipped at all to enter the professional world. I needed some work experience! The obvious answer was therefore to do an internship. But why not combine the useful with a bit of adventure and do an internship abroad?! This time I was aiming for a destination slightly further away from Germany than the Netherlands. My choice fell on Cape Town, South Africa where I had lined up an internship at a Dutch company organising weddings in South Africa.
I love Cape Town!
I landed in Cape Town on 8 January 2005 and it was love at first sight. I was hooked. My stay in Stellenbosch, the heart of the Cape Winelands, during my internship turned out to be the best time ever! I met new people and made friends with locals as well as with other international interns. The weather was amazing and there was so much to explore. I felt a freedom I never felt before!
It was therefore no surprise that I decided to extend my original 4-months stay by another two months. But all good things come to and end so did my time in Cape Town. It was time to return back to Germany and face the real world. It took only a few weeks back home and I applied at the Lufthansa Call Centre in Cape Town. I travelled back for my interview, got the job and started working there shortly afterwards. The decision was made – I would live in South Africa!
Miles and More to go!
After 2 years of working at the Call Centre for Lufthansa, it was time to move on. I got a job at the student placement organisation that had arranged my internship back when I first arrived. Here I got my first taste of planning and running weekend trips around Cape Town for international students as well as negotiating rates with accommodation and transport companies. I was writing the weekly newsletter, picked up students from the airport and was the general mother hen for the interns in town. In 2009, I landed a job at a local tour operator company, learning the ropes of tour planning in Africa. The requests were mostly for tailor-made tours for groups and individuals. From designing the trip to costing, booking, writing trip notes for the guides to overseeing that the trip would run smoothly – it was a lot of responsibility! As stressful as it was, I learned a lot and made many important connections – professionally as well as personally!
On The Road To Personal Success
From my role in reservations, I advanced to a sales position at a different overland tour operator. With this company, I had already tasted life on the road as a German translator on two overland trips. These trips were probably the best experiences I could have made. Exploring Africa in a big truck, getting a taste of the ‘real’ Africa, looking after the customers – I had the best time ever! It was hard work, but so much fun. I first went on a 3-week South Africa Camping trip from Cape Town to Johannesburg. Just a few weeks later I went on my second 3-week camping trip, this time from Cape Town to Victoria Falls. It was not only an amazing adventure but also helped me to properly understand what happens on the road. I felt therefore best equipped for my new sales job! My new role had me selling the overland tours to the travel agency partners – mostly overseas in Germany and the Netherlands – but also in South Africa. I got the chance to attend big international travel shows, trade events and roadshows as well as do sales calls all over South Africa, Europe and once even the USA. I had a fantastic team and I would still count this as my best professional experience.
Big Changes
I loved my time in Cape Town, my job, my friends – everything I had worked for. The 4-month internship had somehow merged into 9 years of living and working in Cape Town. The natural question, I guess, had been looming in the back of my mind – ‘what comes next?’.
The answer came in form of my Australian born husband. We met through work in Cape Town and started dating – I guess that’s what you kids call it these days – a few months later. Not long after, my husband was asked by his company to move from South Africa to Bangkok, Thailand for a great job opportunity. He asked if I would move with him to Thailand and I said yes!
More than one night in Bangkok
I had never been to Asia, let alone Bangkok! While I tried to be prepared for the culture shock, it just hit me. Coming from close to nature, wine-country-on-your-doorstep Cape Town to the hustle and bustle of Bangkok with its high-rise buildings, heat and pollution. It took some adjustment!
Partly thanks to visa-related reasons, I used the first year in Bangkok to travel a fair bit to explore Asia. Say what you want about Bangkok, but it opens up a plethora of amazing travel destinations. I was lucky enough to explore Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Myanmar! As fun as this was, it is important to have a purpose in life, so I needed work. I picked up a job at a Backpacker travel agency and only after a year I advanced to a position at a Destination Management Company. Somehow 3 years went by quickly and I was finding my feet again in the travel industry, finding friends and generally enjoyed living in Asia. Things were good, things became comfy!
Going Down Under
Once again fate struck in form of another job opportunity for my husband, this time in Melbourne, Australia. The offered position was an amazing opportunity and decisions had to be made quickly. When life gives you a chance like this, you don’t say no. We, therefore, decided to pack up in Bangkok and settled a few months later into our first house together in Melbourne. For the first few months, I was able to keep my job in Bangkok, working from home still looking after the European travel agent partners. This arrangement came to an end though and while I was arranging my visa, I wasn’t allowed to work in Australia. Instead, I joined a gym to keep me busy and explored the city and surroundings as much as possible. Melbourne is a fantastic place with so many exciting things to discover. From the Great Ocean Road to the Mornington Peninsula, there is so much to expIore. My biggest adventure during this time was a solo road trip from Melbourne to Adelaide along the Great Ocean Road. What a beautiful drive that was!
Once in a lifetime experiences
After about a year in Melbourne, things changed at my husband’s work. He decided to leave the company he had worked for the past 15 years. He just had enough and was ready for a change.
What better opportunity to enjoy the fruits of all the hard work than to go travelling for 6 months?! Once again, we packed up our house, rented it out and started to travel from Australia to East Timor, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Dubai, Southern Africa, Iran, Sri Lanka, Thailand, China, Japan and back to Australia. What an adventure! Asked what the highlight was, it would be impossible to pick one destination as the best. All were amazing in their own right. More about that at another time!
Back to reality, back to Bangkok
As fabulous as travelling was, at some stage, we had to get back to reality and earn money again. We both landed a job at the same company and returned to – guess where? – Bangkok! Between February 2019 and March 2020 we were back in Bangkok with friends and jobs already sorted, we were looking forward to an exciting new part of our careers in the travel industry.
And here we are...COVID times
By mid-March 2020 the tour operator my husband and I both worked for had to stop all trips worldwide. I remember leaving the office on Friday, 13th of March, thinking I will return on Monday and I ended up never seeing my desk, this office or my colleagues again. Bizarre!
With all tours stopped and the offices world-wide closed, we decided to sit the lockdown out in Australia rather than hot, steamy Bangkok. We only packed a few things for about 3 weeks, because we thought we would return by about mid-April to pick up where we left off.
So, we left Bangkok and have not returned since. During the 5 months we spend in Sydney, we gave up our flat in Bangkok and our friends were kind enough to pack all of our belongings to move them to their house. I lost my job in March 2020 already, my husband in October. The global number of employees at our old company shrunk from about 900 employees to around 120. So many of our friends in the travel industry have lost their jobs and livelihoods. And here we are in 2021 – without a job or a steady address.
Exciting times ahead!
Overall, 2020 was a very good year for us! It surely turned out unexpectedly and was sad and frustrating at times. Looking back though, I had more happy than sad moments.
I was reminded to be grateful, to look forward to new opportunities and to take my life on a new path. My husband and I had time to slow down, spend time together, go for walks every day, eat better, drink less and spend more time with loved ones. Luckily everyone close to us stayed safe and healthy, which is the most important thing after all
We had a great time for 5 months in Australia! We spend time with family and friends and even managed a little road trip around New South Wales. In August we were able to leave Australia to visit family and friends in Germany for a while. We spent a month in Greece, we had a few days in Malta and did a road trip for a couple of weeks in Turkey. We were lucky enough to make our way to South Africa, where we have spent the last few months, resetting and starting all over again. I am excited, it feels like a reset button has been pressed and new opportunities are up for grabs. Let’s see what the future has to offer.
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Until next time!
