What does it take to be a Girlboss? How do you travel like a Girlboss? What happens when you get a bunch of Girlbosses in a room together, or in a foreign country five-thousand miles away from home? Can ten Girlbosses even travel together successfully?
The internet says a Girlboss is “a confident, capable woman who pursues her own ambitions instead of working for others or otherwise settling in life.” And while it may seem counterintuitive to travel halfway across the world to meet nine other women for the first time ever, that is exactly what I did. For one week, I traversed the sprawling countryside, busy Medinas, and narrow walkways of Morocco with small business owners, entrepreneurs, and career-oriented women from all walks of life. We were strangers brought together by a common theme, and all we knew was that this was surely to be the trip of a lifetime.
Of all the things I learned from my time in Morocco, these are the things I will never forget:
1. Do it now.
We tried camel sausage in the Medina in Fes. It looked like sausage and smelled like sausage, and it’s not something that’s readily available in the states, so we had to “do it now.” Not unsurprisingly, it tasted like sausage.
Much like that sausage, we came to realize in our week together wasn’t necessarily the most convenient to our busy schedules. There were deadlines some of us left behind in the hands of others. There were responsibilities that we were happy to escape, but knew would be waiting for us on our return. So many of us on the trip committed to traveling regardless of these real-life situations. No one made us travel. It was a yearning that came from within. We couldn’t stay home if we tried. Much like our ambitions and careers, our most successful and delightful moments in life have come from leaps of faith and doing it now.
2. Find the wonderful.
I look for the similarities when I travel. It’s like a private joke when I discover some little universal truth. I shared a moment with a German couple a train once where we both thought our stop had been skipped. We had the exact same look on our face when we realized it hadn’t in fact been skipped. These moments of sameness make me chuckle to myself. We are not so different at all.
However, I revel in the idiosyncrasies of people. This newness and strangeness gives me the same satisfaction of learning a new language. When the puzzle pieces begin to reveal themselves as something more whole rather than disparate. Putting together the map of a city, the rhythm of a day, the way people move through familiar streets, and the things they take for granted that I’m seeing for the first time ever is an experience full of wonder. Getting lost is a great way to find things out. Getting lost with a new friend is a great way to build closeness quickly as well.
3. Take in the details.
You won’t find iconography in any Muslim country, but you will find an infinite amount of winding, intricate, familiar but just-so different series of patterns around every corner. Morocco is rich with them. They are carved into woods, made from mosaic, woven into tapestries, and etched into bronze. It is a feast for the eyes. More often than not, these patterns are replicated from memory that has been passed down over generations and tells the story of that particular tribe or community. One of the reasons I purchased a Berber rug in Morocco is because it is literally one of a kind and was made from a woman’s memory of the shared traditions passed down by the women in her life.
A lot of what we encounter in the US is manufactured and replicated thousands of times over. Everything in Morocco is made from tradition and memory. There is a love and care put into every object and building. I couldn’t get enough of every pattern I saw in Morocco, and if I couldn’t take it all home with me, I could at least take photos.
4. Be a local.
There are traditions for everything in Morocco. From the way bread is made and how the baker keeps track of who’s dough they are baking to how you wash your hands before and after a meal. One tradition that the other Girlbosses and I could not skip out on was going to a local hammam, or a gender-separated public bath.
For thousands of years, Moroccan women have been gathering at hammams for a weekly bath where dead skin is scrubbed from the skin and oils and spices are applied to sooth and scent it. Traditionally, hammams were the only baths available to both women and men before individually plumbed houses. They were a social gathering place for women to gossip and sing and build community. This add-on experience to our week definitely solidified our little Girlboss community and deepened our appreciation for all Moroccan women who most certainly are the original Girlbosses.
5. Goals aren’t just for work.
Sometimes we need to give ourselves a gift. Time. Relaxation. A massage. A break. Just like the gifts we give friends and family on holidays and at special milestones, we also need to make time to give ourselves a chance to reset, restore, and grow. Having a goal to travel, for whatever reason, should never be something that feels selfish or less important than other career or life milestones. When I look back on my week in Morocco, I view it as a huge milestone in my ability to connect with people, to work hard for something I want just for me, and to plan for my future.
6. Discuss your work.
On one of our first nights in Morocco, our road-weary group settled into our Riad after a long day of travel, touring, and exploring. We could have gone to bed, but instead, we exchanged dresses and jeans for PJs and hoodies, grabbed a seat on some pillows in a circle and started talking. The conversations that I’ve had with women since I was a teenager haven’t fundamentally changed all that much. We talk about our hopes and dreams and our fears of failure. What remains constant is the support of women who want to see you be the best version of yourself, who want to open their network and brainpower to help you find an answer or lend a different perspective. It’s a powerful thing to sit in a room with ten women who believe in you after knowing you for 48 hours. Asking for ideas and help is nothing to be ashamed of, and this trip only reinforced for me that we are so much stronger when we lift each other up.
7. Get up early. Stay up late.
I don’t think I will ever regret the bags under my eyes because they mean that I have given it my all, I have conversed longer than I planned, I got up to go see the sunrise and the city come alive. One of my favorite memories of this trip was getting up just as the sun was rising over the blue city of Chefchaouen, Morocco to watch the light play over the streets, see the vendors and artisans open up their shops, and to take photos in the winding streets while reminiscing on our travels up to that point. There is nothing like watching a city wake up and equally, nothing compares to telling stories and talking about the future and your goals with newfound friends in the dead of night.
8. Travel smart, but be vulnerable.
In particular, one of my favorite parts of the Acanela Girlboss trip was our tour guides. I am an adventurous person without a doubt, but I also know my limitations. I could have planned a trip to Morocco all on my own. It would have taken months of research, probably several international phone calls through a language barrier, and countless emails. Knowing that Acanela takes the time to source the best local vendors and artisans to partner with gave me peace of mind when booking my trip, and allowed me to be open to the new experiences that came my way when we arrived at each destination. By having a guided experience, I was able to be fully present on tours, when talking to locals, and during our learning experiences, like cooking authentic Moroccan salads and tagines.
9. Find kindred spirits.
Travel can hold so many unknowns, no matter how well you plan. In this instance, I planned to meet virtual and literal strangers. I embraced the often scary notion of “what if I don’t fit in?” I should have already known that a trip titled #GirlBoss was going to feel like coming home.
I had the pleasure of spending a week with nine brilliant, diverse, inspiring, and full of life women in Morocco. They are all a breath of fresh air and have taught me so much already about being a stronger role model in my own work and life. We laughed so much and slept so little, and I cannot wait to explore more of the world with them soon. I am truly a better person for having these fierce role models in my life.
10. Share your experiences with others.
So many women can feel like travel is out of reach for them. For whatever reason, something has taken away travel as an option. This is the furthest thing from the truth, but we have to continue to share our travel experiences with each other to inspire women to go after their own travel goals. You can be in a relationship or married and travel without your partner. You can own a small business, a new business, a nonprofit business and travel. You can have a high-powered, high-pressure job and step away from it for a week or two or more to travel. You can be nervous to go somewhere by yourself and still travel.
You do not have to be a business owner to be a Girlboss. You just have to be authentic to yourself, be supportive of other women and have a desire to follow through with your passions.
Post written by Gillian Salerno-Rebic