While She's Away

I've been MIA for a few weeks I know but with a good excuse! I've been settling into hostel life again, balancing freelance work, hostel work, and enjoying Mexico City. So needless to say, I needed a little break from the podcast, but alas we are back!

Welcome to another episode of the While She's Away Podcast! I had the joy, honor, and privilege of getting to interview Alexis Dean for this episode.

If you don't know Alexis, she is a plus-size traveler, who is taking her life on the road! She's worked in hospitality/tourism for 10 years, living in Alaska for a big part of that time, and is now living the digital nomad life in the midst of a 12-month adventure around the world. 3 years ago she started her blog Have Curves Will Travel with the goal to demystify travel as a woman and bring representation to the plus-size travel community. Now she is a trip leader for a boutique women's travel company and has been working on venturing into content creation full-time!

In this episode, we chat about:

• How Alexis started in hospitality in Alaska
• What it means to be an ask person
• Her experience working in hospitality in Alaska
• Alexis representing plus-size travelers
• Navigating being a plus-size traveler
• Alexis's trip around the world
• Prepping for a long-term trip
• Packing tips for plus-sized travelers
• Being a more flexible traveler

Connect with Alexis and I on socials:

• Alexis Instagram
• Alexis TikTok
• While She's Away Instagram
• While She's Away Tiktok

Travel Resources:

• 25% OFF TrustedHouseSitters Membership
• $10 OFF Worldpackers Membership
• Get up to 40% OFF Hostels All Over Europe
• Thank you to our sponsor: OZZI Travel Safety OZZI is the best app for solo travel before and during a trip. I have found safer places to stay and saved hours of time researching with just a few taps. I highly recommend an OZZI Travel Safety Membership for your next trip! Right now, you can get 20% off your OZZI Travel PRO membership when you use WSAPOD on their website. Use this link with the code WSAPOD for 20% OFF your Ozzi Travel Pro Membership. Here's a link with instructions on how to redeem the discount: Click Here

Hi darlings! Welcome back to another episode of the While She's Away Podcast!

On this weeks episode we are talking about what it means to be a queer traveler. I haven't shared much about my sexuality on this podcast, but I identify as bisexual (or possbily pansexual- still figuring that out), but I thought it was really important to release an episode about what being a queer traveler can be like because representation matters!

I will say I am fully aware that Allyssa's experience as a lesbian traveler is not all-encompassing of what every LGBTQ+ person will experience on their travelers.

I had a lovely conversation with Allyssa Leaton! Allyssa is a fellow solo traveling girlie in her 20's. She's currently venturing her way through Latin America. Allyssa is a proud member of the (L)GBTQ+ community and is eager to share her experiences about traveling as a queer woman with you! A goal of hers is to create and share content including things such as what countries are the safest and most accepting for LGBTQ+ travelers, what dating and affection is like as a queer traveler in foreign countries, and overall bringing representation to the heteronormative travel lifestyle.

In this episode you will hear...

• How you to find lgbt+ community while traveling
• Queer friendly areas of San Juan, Puerto Rico
• Alyssas experience as a queer traveler
• What is the lesbian masterdoc ??
• Safety tips for LGBTQ+ travelers
• Tips for finding queer inclusive hostels
• Queer friendly countries Allyssa has visited

Connect with Allyssa & I...

• While She's Away Instagram
• While She's Away TikTok
• The Lesbian Passport Instagram
• The Lesbian Passport TikTok
• https://www.thelesbianpassport.com/

LGBTQ+ Resources Mentioned: https://www.equaldex.com/

Travel Resources:

• Thank you to our sponsor: OZZI Travel Safety OZZI is the best app for solo travel before and during a trip. I have found safer places to stay and saved hours of time researching with just a few taps. I highly recommend an OZZI Travel Safety Membership for your next trip! Right now, you can get 20% off your OZZI Travel PRO membership when you use WSAPOD on their website. Use this link with the code WSAPOD for 20% OFF your Ozzi Travel Pro Membership. Here's a link with instructions on how to redeem the discount: Click Here
• 25% OFF Trusted House Sitters Membership
• $10 OFF Worldpackers Membership
• Get up to 40% OFF Hostels All Over Europe

Happy International Women's Day to ALL of my lovely and beautiful women who listen to this podcast!

I thought today would be the perfect day to release a Women's Travel Fest Recap since we are celebrating women today!

In this episode I talk about...

• What is Women's Travel Fest
• Some of my favorite speakers and talks
• Being a volunteer at Women's Travel Fest
• My favorite part of the conference
• What I learned and gained from attending
• Why YOU should attend too
• And moreeee

Connect With Me On Socials:

• While She's Away Instagram
• While She's Away TikTok
• Women's Travel Fest Instagram

Travel Resources:

Thank you to our sponsor: OZZI Travel Safety OZZI is the best app for solo travel before and during a trip. I have found safer places to stay and saved hours of time researching with just a few taps. I highly recommend an OZZI Travel Safety Membership for your next trip! Right now, you can get 20% off your OZZI Travel PRO membership when you use WSAPOD on their website. Use this link with the code WSAPOD for 20% OFF your Ozzi Travel Pro Membership. Here's a link with instructions on how to redeem the discount: Click Here

• 25% OFF TrustedHouseSitters Membership
• $10 OFF Worldpackers Membership
• Get up to 40% OFF Hostels all over Europe

Hey There and Welcome back to another episode of the While She's Away Podcast!

In this episode I got to chat with Alessandra all about her experiences volunteering around the world. She shares the good, the bad, and the ugly after having done over 12 volunteer opportunities over the past 3 years! Check out this episode if you want to learn how you can volunteer around the world as well!

In this episode we chat about...

• Her paragliding fiaso in Spain
• How one gap year turned into 3 years
• The value in taking a gap year
• How she discovered volunteering
• Pros and cons of volunteering
• Finding volunteer opportunities that are right for you
• How to send the perfect first message
• What backup plans to have in place just in case
• Her negative volunteer experience and how she handled it

Want to volunteer around the world? Check out these...

Workaway

Wwoof

$10 Off your Worldpackers Membership

Connect with Alessandra & I on Socials...

• While She's Away Instagram
• While She's Away TikTok
• Alessandra Instagram
• Alessandra TikTok
• Alessandra Youtube

Thank you to our sponsor: OZZI Travel Safety OZZI is the best app for solo travel before and during a trip. I have found safer places to stay and saved hours of time researching with just a few taps. I highly recommend an OZZI Travel Safety Membership for your next trip! Right now, you can get 20% off your OZZI Travel PRO membership when you use WSAPOD on their website. Use this link with the code WSAPOD for 20% OFF your Ozzi Travel Pro Membership. Here's a link with instructions on how to redeem the discount: Click Here Get 25% off your TrustedHouseSitters Membership Get up to 40% OFF Hostels All Over Europe

Hey All! This week I'm doing a little pod swap with one another awesome travel podcast called The Culture Cult Travel Show! Marie Walker is the host of the podcast and that name might sound familiar because I had Marie on While She's Away Episode 32!

The Culture Cult Show:

Travel Story: Bad Breakups but Good Times

Today's travel stories features a ratchet spring break cruise trip together and we end on a fan travel story of a girl who had to flee the country after a heartbreak.

We also throw in discussions on relationship talk, Zoom ghosts, aggressive seals in South America, and how it's all of our duty to continue our families' heritages and stories.

Check out the link below to see how these seals in South America are no joke!

https://youtu.be/AJrTO76A4sk

Find more about show notes, sources and travel tips from this episode on our instagram: @culturecultshow

Send in your travel stories, corrections or comments to [email protected]

Travel Resources:

Thank you to our sponsor: OZZI Travel Safety OZZI is the best app for solo travel before and during a trip. I have found safer places to stay and saved hours of time researching with just a few taps. I highly recommend an OZZI Travel Safety Membership for your next trip! Right now, you can get 20% off your OZZI Travel PRO membership when you use WSAPOD on their website or this link https://ozzi.app/while-shes-away-podcast/?sld=wsapod Get 25% OFF TrustedHouseSitters Membership $10 OFF Worldpackers Membership Get up to 40% OFF Hostels All Over Europe

Welcome to another episode of the While She's Away Podcast! This week I got to have a thoughtful and enlightening conversation with Yaysa about her experience living in Kyiv, Ukraine during the war.

Yasya is a Ukrainian student from Kyiv, who was in Ukraine the entire time from the start of the full-scale invasion until November, living, working and studying in conditions of air raids and lack of electricity. And ready to tell about life in the city during the war. I met Yasya when I was in Berlin, Germany. We had alot of meaningful and difficult conversations about her life during the war and I knew I needed to have her on the podcast.

What we talk about in this episode...

• What life looked like in Kyiv before the big invasion
• The struggles Yasya and her family experienced living through the war
• How it effected her mental health
• How Kyiv changed during the war
• How Ukrainians have held onto their joy and sense of humor

I hope this conversation gives you some perspective on what continues to go on in Ukraine. Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode don't forget to leave a rating and review it or share it with a friend!

Travel Resources:

• Thank you to our sponsor: OZZI Travel Safety OZZI is the best app for solo travel before and during a trip. I have found safer places to stay and saved hours of time researching with just a few taps. I highly recommend an OZZI Travel Safety Membership for your next trip! Right now, you can get 20% off your OZZI Travel PRO membership when you use WSAPOD on their website or this link https://ozzi.app/while-shes-away-podcast/?sld=wsapod
• Get 25% OFF TrustedHouseSitters Membership
• $10 OFF Worldpackers Membership
• Get up to 40% OFF Hostels All Over Europe

Connect with Yasya & I on Social:

• While She's Away Instagram
• While She's Away Tiktok
• Yasya Instagram

Welcome to another episode of the While She's Away Podcast! This week I got to chat with Marie all about her journey to becoming a digital nomad.

Marie is the host of the Culture Cult Travel Show, a comedy podcast sharing untold stories from 197 countries! Marie is on a mission to create more travel and freedom in her life, by starting her own freelance business as a podcast editor.

In this episode, we talk about...

• Some of the challenges Marie is facing around creating her dream life
• Limiting beliefs around creating a life as a digital nomad
• What impact your friends and family have on your mindset
• Being patient with yourself through the journey
• Deciding to take action instead of just dreaming

Thank you for supporting and listening to the podcast! If you enjoyed this episode don't forget to leave a rating and review it or share it with a friend!

Connect with Marie and I

• While She's Away Instagram
• While She's Away Tiktok
• Culture Cult Show Instagram
• Culture Cult Show TikTok
• Listen to the Culture Cult Show

Thank you to our sponsor: OZZI Travel Safety

OZZI is the best app for solo travel before and during a trip. I have found safer places to stay and saved hours of time researching with just a few taps. I highly recommend an OZZI Travel Safety Membership for your next trip!

Right now, you can get 20% off your OZZI Travel PRO membership when you use WSAPOD on their website. Use this link with the code WSAPOD for 20% OFF your Ozzi Travel Pro Membership. Here's a link with instructions on how to redeem the discount: https://ozzi.app/redeem-a-promo-code-on-our-web-store/

Here is a link to get more information on OZZI: https://ozzi.app

More Travel Resources

• Get 25% OFF TrustedHouseSitters Membership
• $10 OFF Worldpackers Membership
• Get up to 40% OFF Hostels All Over Europe

Welcome to another episode of the While She's Away Podcast! This week I got to chat with Chelsea about what it's like to run a business while traveling full-time.

Chelsea Riffe is a Mindset and Podcast Coach, helping creatives, coaches, and entrepreneurs launch, grow and monetize their podcasts. She hosts the top-rated podcast "In My Non-Expert Opinion", covering the rollercoaster of entrepreneurship, the fun, and chaos of travel, internet culture, and the remote working lifestyle.

In this episode, we talked about…

• What is Remote Year and how it works
• Chelsea's experience with Remote Year
• How setting boundaries in your business makes your business BETTER
• Actionable tips for how to find a balance between work and travel
• What running your own business is like while traveling
• Prioritizing your needs and values while running a business

Thank you for supporting and listening to the podcast! If you enjoyed this episode don't forget to leave a rating or review AND share it with a friend!

Connect with Chelsea and I

• Chelsea Instagram
• Chelsea TikTok
• Chelsea's Website
• While She's Away Instagram
• While She's Away TikTok

More Travel Resources

• Get 25% off TrustedHouseSitters Membership
• $10 off Worldpackers Membership
• Get up to 40% off Hostels All Over Europe

Hello loves and Welcome to a lil bonus episode of the While She's Away Podcast!

Since arriving back in the states almost 3 weeks ago (time is flying- it's insane) I've been wanting to record a little episode sharing some ways that I cope with being here. I also mention in the episode that if anything I say resonates with you and you don't have someone in your life to talk about this struggle with then my DM's are always open and I'm always ready to give a virtual hug!

In this episode I dive into:

• Two main reasons why coming home can be challenging
• My personal difficulties with coming back to my hometown
• Helpful ways to cope with the challenges of being home
• Why the states isn't a place I like to be

Connect with me on social:

• While She's Away Instagram
• While She's Away Tiktok

Helpful Travel Resources:

• Get 25% off TrustedHouseSitters Membership
• $10 off Worldpackers Membership
• Get up to 40% OFF on Hostels All Over Europe

Welcome back to another episode of the While She's Away Podcast!

This week I had a chat with Kasey Dellapenna!

Kasey is a 28-year-old digital nomad from the US. She's been budget traveling around the world for over 8 years. She shows people how to travel around the world for longer and cheaper! Kasey works in social media as a creator and a consultant and she recently set up a home base in Guatemala!

In this episode, we talk about...

• Her journey from working in corporate America to becoming a full digital nomad
• How she secured a part-time social media position by using her personal TikTok as a portfolio
• Advice on starting as a content creator
• Difference between being a creator vs a consumer
• Realities of being a content creator
• Working with Brands
• The difference between sales and marketing as a content creator
• Her move to Guatemala
• What having a home base is like after traveling full time
• Details on what moving to a new country looks like

Join Kasey & me on Social Media:

• Kasey TikTok
• Kasey Instagram
• While She's Away Instagram
• While She's Away TikTok
• https://msha.ke/whileshesaway

Travel Resources:

• Get 25% off TrustedHouseSitters Membership
• $10 off Worldpackers Membership
• Get up to 40% OFF on Hostels All Over Europe