Exploring Tenerife with Rainbows and Tea.

The Abaco House is a renovated
and period decorated Canarian mansion

The rain surprised the thirsty island of Tenerife today, drenching the small group of British travelers on their way to their three course meal in the Canarian-style mansion. Björn and I had the pleasure to accompany the group as I check out the excursions in the TUI collection, focusing on elements of local culture and sustainability. According to the locals here, it only rains in the south of this particular Canary island about 4 times a year, leaving the rest in consistent, delicious sunshine.

To better appreciate the thirsty ground's celebration (and to have something to do since the rest of the trip up the volcano is impossible), we popped into a cafe. Palmelita's came to our rescue with a beautiful view, hot tea and clean, spacious inner and outer seating areas. Their cake and restaurant selections are just what a nice overlook on the sea calls for on a day like this.

The town is noted by Catholics as a place of veneration of the
Virgin of Candelaria, the patron of the Canary Islands

Just across the plaza, the basilica La Candelaria stands in all the glory of its rich past and serene present. Definitely worth the visit to the province of Santa Cruz and this little city of Candelaria, if you're up for an excursion to the north eastern coast.


Although, one of the best parts of the trip happened just as we embarked with a full shuttle and began our ascent along the western coastline; Los Gigantes stood below us with a perfectly-timed rainbow shimmering along its edges. The city is named after these rock formations which shoot out of the water to a height of over 2,600 ft (almost 800 meters), which is fitting as their Spanish name means "The Giants." The ability to explore the coasts and hear stories of the island's past and present definitely made this trip a great addition to the TUI Collection of unique travel experiences. However, I would've much appreciated getting off the shuttle more often to explore on foot, something that would've been possible without the spontaneous showers we incurred.

"Here I am. Here we go." September 9th, 2015; Hanover, Germany

Welcome to the town hall,
"Rathaus" that (mostly) survived
the bombing during WWII.

I sit here nestled in my duvets with the pattering rain on my window, a fresh coat of nail polish on my fingers, maps taped to the wall, and a smart casual outfit hung across the door of my new apartment. I’m in Hanover, the time is 9:38 pm; everything is ready. Tomorrow, my career begins. At 7:37 I will rise to shower briefly and meet my Dutch roommate, Valérie, -who is equal parts hilarious and brilliant- for a healthy breakfast and a brisk bike ride to our new corporate headquarters for TUI Germany, the office that handles all tourism and branding operations for the German-speaking source market. After four years of family events and parties with my boyfriend Björn, I have apparently picked up enough German language (with his patient instruction and correction) that my position begins with a 3 month assignment in Hanover.

Following the famous "Red Thread" that
was painted on the ground to showcase the
city's most interesting sights, we stumbled into
this beautiful café street. 

This journey begins promptly at 10 am (not bad for a first day) due to meeting schedules. Needless to say, butterflies have taken up residence in my digestion track over the last few hours. Their origin undoubtedly has something to do with the fact that walking into that building tomorrow will launch the next step in what will hopefully be a prosperous and fulfilling career in international business management. However, I must say that I am not daunted by the challenge. Rather, it invigorates me! Finally all my hard work is paying off. All of those sleepless nights of papers and projects, working two or three jobs to put myself through my undergraduate in the US and finally my graduate program in Europe. All of those applications for scholarships, visas, competitions, references and positions.

Here I am. Here we go. I am absolutely prepared and yet have no idea what tomorrow will look like. Therefore, I am simply reminding myself that I have always given my best and my hardest, that there is a company who went through the ringer with costs and effort to bring me here as the only American ever hired for the International Graduate Leadership Program here with TUI Group, and that I can do this!

For the last year, I have repeated this mantra to myself based on Sophia Amoruso’s famous quote; tonight is no different:

“If I believe what I am doing will have positive results, it will - even if it’s not immediately obvious.” 

My first training will take place at
TUI Germany's headquarters in Hanover