Just Smile
My life for the last several years had been like Ryan Bingham’s in Up in the Air. As a management consultant at Booz & Company, I was on the road on average 40 weeks a year. Every Monday morning (or Sunday night) I would pack my bags, kiss my wife goodbye, and head to the airport to fly to the client site, returning late Thursday night. Friends often asked me, “How did you do it?” and truthfully, it was not an easy job. The hours were long, and I spent a lot of time away from home. But there were some benefits, one of which was that I got to see the world.
My favorite project took me to South Africa – 17 hours from New York City to Johannesburg, via Dakar. My assignment was to look at auto parts manufacturers for our client, a large auto company. For a week I drove around Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town, seeking out meetings with local executives. Most were confused about why a US consultant would travel to South Africa looking for auto parts, but they were unfailingly polite and always offered Rooibos (red tea) to me and allowed me to explain myself. Fortunately most conversations turned productive after that and I could get the information I needed!
Wisely I timed my schedule to have a weekend in Cape Town. I spent 2 days wandering the city streets, visiting museums, and generally soaking in the atmosphere of such a magical city. Soaking was true as well, because it rained most of the time, which prevented me from hiking up to Table Mountain.
After wrapping up my meetings the following week, I looked at my schedule. Originally I was scheduled to fly to Dubai to meet with manufacturers from the Middle East. But after looking at myself, still jetlagged, haggard from visiting 4 South African cities in 9 days and running out of clothes, I made the decision to fly home to see my wife and swap out my suitcase. It was a long trip but I was delighted to see her and have my own bed to sleep in for a few days.
I don’t travel as much these days, but my years on the road exposed me to a lot of different cultural experiences on different continents – Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and of course across North America. It taught me that a smile and a friendly hello can get you a long way in a lot of places.
Michael Komarnitsky is the CEO of GoMiles.com, a site that helps travelers manage all their frequent flyer miles and other loyalty account information. After traveling non-stop for 3 years, he now stays closer to home with his wife and newborn daughter. Try GoMiles.com today!