Meet Megan Arzbaecher, Greenheart Travel’s Salesforce Administrator!
Born and raised in the Midwest, Megan is a lifelong traveler with her first international trip happening at only 12 years old. Ever since then, she has been fascinated with studying, working, and traveling to foreign countries. Megan studied History and International Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also participated in a 4 month around-the-world educational program with Semester at Sea, which opened her eyes to the need for culturally conscious education and global sustainability.
After graduating from college, Megan continued her dedication to life abroad by working in Chile, hiking Mount Kilimanjaro, and backpacking through the South America and Asia. In total, she has visited 41 countries! You can read about some of her adventures on her personal blog. When she manages to stay in one place, Megan enjoys biking, going out to eat, reading, watching football (Packers and Badgers, of course!) and playing with her two adorable cats.
Read on to learn a bit more about Megan’s favorite international city, a special travel “aha” moment and why she loves working at Greenheart Travel.
Q: Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin but I spent lots of my weekends in Chicago because all of my extended family lives there. It was an easy transition to move to Chicago for my job at Greenheart Travel.
Q: What is your favorite international city?
I love, love, love Istanbul Turkey. It is such an interesting, historical and cross-cultural city. There is so much to see & explore, and I love that you see such a mix of people. Plus, they love cats!
Q: What is your secret talent?
I can closed-mouth smile without looking creepy!
Q: If you could eat only one country’s style of food for the rest of your life, which would it be?
This is such a hard choice. As a big foodie, it’s so hard for me to imagine limiting myself to one cuisine because I love so many of them and love to experience new food. I think I would probably choose Italian or Indian, but I also love Mexican and Japanese.
Q: Complete the sentence: When I grow up I want to __________.
I still don’t have an answer for this question and I am a “grown-up”. It changes all the time, and I’m not sure I’ll ever truly answer this question. My wants & desires change and morph as I experience more in this life.
Q: What is your spirit animal?
Leopard.
Q: What is your favorite travel “AHA! moment” or memory?
Taking a sunrise boat ride on the Ganges river in Varnasi. It was one of the most powerful moments of my life. Seeing people washing their clothes and bathing, next to funeral fires and dead bodies floating down the river felt like juxtaposition of traditions. It was unlike anything I have ever experienced. You could just feel the power of this place and the energy in the air was palpable.
Q: What is your favorite thing about working for Greenheart Travel?
The office culture! We’re all travelers ourselves, so we care about each of our participants having a positive and transformative experience abroad. It’s fun to see people loving their time abroad! What I think is really unique about Greenheart Travel is that we curate a personalized experience for each of our participants rooted in transparency, support and trust. Each program manager here finds joy in getting to know our participants, and we genuinely get excited when people post pictures from their programs. I’ve actually huddled around a coworker’s computer to look through participants’ Facebook albums or Instagram feed!