Name:
Miriam Ballesteros
What city do you call home?
Barcelona, Spain
What was a defining moment/situation that made you decide to travel/be adventurous?
Falling in love with my current boyfriend a year ago. And deciding to move to Columbus, Ohio, to be with him and expand my career here.
Where have you been/lived?
Barcelona (Spain), London (UK), Columbus, Oh (USA)
Can you share a memorable/funny travel story?
One of the first things we did when moving to the States was to spend a night in a nasty, creepy motel. It wasn’t a Motel6, but definitely was one of those you see in scary movies.
Motels are not a thing in Europe, so we thought it was a fun idea!
In the end, we did not enjoy the experience: it was super cold and dirty, and we didn’t dare to sleep in those sheets, so we placed the towels (that smell like bleach but at least we knew they were clean! Now have a story to tell, so cheers to that! 🙂
Share a story when something did not work out as planned while traveling
Traveling never (ever) works out EXACTLY as planned. Especially when it involves taking many flights to reach a certain place.
In order for us to get to Columbus, we had to take 4 flights. And with so many layovers chances were that some of the flights would be delayed – which they were.
We ended up sleeping on the floor inside several airports, eating during hours we didn’t know if we were supposed to, and overall – feeling very out of place.
So, bottom line? Focus on what you can control, leave what you can’t.
What has traveling taught you about the world or your life/ or changed your perspective on something?
It took me 7 years of travels and living in 3 countries to realize that at some point in one’s life, one needs to:
1. Make a blind leap of faith
2. Learn to deal with uncertainty
3. Take risks
4. Unconditionally trust someone with your safety, emotions, and affection.
5. Feel alive!
How do you balance travel with work/relationships/family etc?
Having a balanced life is kind of impossible sometimes. And truth be told, balance is something I don’t really want.
It doesn’t make sense to me to balance (meaning distributing my time and energy equally) on all things. Because what happens if there’s a point in my life I feel like traveling more and taking a leap year?
Sometimes you just want to prioritize your travels, or your work, or your relationship. And that is totally okay.
I just don’t want to let the idea of balance ruin it for me. 🙂
What advice/tips do you have to encourage people who want to travel?
I say spend $$$ on experiences, but for real: schedule vacation time on your calendar, buy a plane ticket, go somewhere you haven’t been before, and challenge yourself to be uncomfortable and meet new people.
Get out and make sh*t happen.
Where can people learn more about your adventures?
https://miriamballesteros.com/international-living/
