Meet Franesca Makana | Teacher and Travel Blogger

We had the good fortune of connecting with Franesca Makana and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Franesca, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
When I first started as a teacher, I brought a lot of work home with me and would answer emails at any time. I stayed late and tried to make everything perfect. However, after the first couple of years, I realized that it was important to have some “me time” in the evenings. Once I started my blog, I had to get even better at balancing in order to have time for everything. Now, I set aside some time to work on blog tasks and also set aside some nights just for fun.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
I always knew I wanted to be a teacher and I have always loved to travel my entire life. During my undergraduate degree, I studies history and education and had the opportunity to study abroad in Salzburg, Austria. This sparked by my want to travel even more. During this time, I also learned how to effectively plan trips on a budget.

After finishing college and my masters degree, I landed a job teaching middle school.

Once I taught for a couple of years, I decided I wanted to start a travel blog focused on helping people, especially teachers travel on a budget. I always had coworkers asking me for travel advice and were also confused as to how I could travel so much on a teacher’s budget.

Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges?

My first year of teaching was really difficult as it is for more teachers because you are getting your footing and learning new curriculum. However, with the support of colleagues it has become easier. Once I started my travel blog, it was then all about finding the balance to ensure I had time for both. The weekends and evening are now dedicated to blogging while my contracted hours are spend lesson planning and teaching.

What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way.

I have learned many lessons about traveling along the way.

First, be open to where you want to travel to. Some of my favorite trips have been because I booked wherever airfare was cheapest. For example, I once found $425 round trip tickets to South Korea. We had the BEST time and have some pretty awesome memories from that trip.

Second, do not be afraid to try something new. When I first started my travel blog, I was worries that I would not be a good enough writer and photographer. Each year, I continue to grow in these areas.

Third, get out of your comfort zone! When traveling, interact with the locals and get to know about the area. Do not just stay in the touristy areas and do not be afraid to ask locals for their favorite places.

What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?

I am a big proponent of everyone being able to travel. It can even be more local travel and day trips. As a history teacher, part of what makes people more interested in history is seeing it in person. You can talk about a place all your want, but for some people until you see it, it may not come alive for that person.

My goal is to get people to see that travel does not have to be expensive and if you are flexible and open to locations, you can go on several trips a year.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
There are so many fun things to do in Southern California! I am so lucky to live in a place where there are such a diverse range of activities. I am a big theme park fan, so I would definitely take people to Disneyland or Universal Studios. That is a classic SoCal experience everyone needs to have.

I also love wine tasting, especially along the central coast, so a couple days would be spent in that area visiting some wineries and taking in the views while driving up Highway 1. Wine tasting in that area is seriously underrated.

Another fun and unique experience is going to a show taping. Some shows are more difficult to get tickets to, but if you are open to which show you go to, you can easily get tickets. I have had some super fun experiences doing that.

Los Angeles also has some pretty fun museums like the Getty, the Academy Museum, and the Giffith Observatory. All of them offer cool views of LA as well. Lastly, I would also include a hike to the Hollywood sign because that is a fun experience as well.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I am thankful for the support and encouragement from my family and friends, especially my husband.

Website: https://www.homeroomtravel.com

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