Travel to learn

During the summer of 2022, while travelling in Wellington, New Zealand, I had the opportunity to attend a tech meetup organized by Trade Me, a company similar to Gumtree or Craigslist. The event focused on female engineering and product leaders and provided a great opportunity for me to meet local people and learn about the tech culture in the area. New people tend to inspire me and I become more open and perceptive to new ideas. This is one of the reasons I love travelling.

The first speaker claimed that she has become a better leader as she started looking after her work-life balance being a first-time mother. She revealed that she had been a workaholic and expected the same from he r staff, which transferred her stress and unbalanced work life to her team. However, her manager's intervention helped her to prioritize her well-being overwork, leading to her becoming a better leader and a happier member of her family. She felt fortunate to have someone who promoted her well-being when she was not even thinking about her own well-being. We, human beings, share our energy with others naturally. It's important to be surrounded by the right people if we want to be happy and positive. Also, I remember one phrase from “The Dalai Lama’s Cat”, my favourite book, that when people allow the well-being of others to become their motivation, the results are simply immeasurable. I appreciate her for sharing her stories and vulnerabilities with numerous attendees at the meetup.

The second speaker, a great storyteller with positive energy, was from Kuwait originally and experienced gender inequality in her workplace when she was working as an electrical engineer in her home country. This experience triggered her to move to New Zealand, and now she's a successful data specialist. She's very happy with her life in New Zealand. That unpleasant experience in her home country was a silver lining for her in the end. I am a strong believer that life happens to us after all, and her story is a great example of it.

Overall, the meetup was a valuable experience that allowed me to learn from the experiences and perspectives of inspiring women in the tech industry. I will hold onto the valuable insights I gained and look forward to future opportunities to learn and be inspired by others.

I travel to learn and get inspired.