The most interesting thing I have done as a Local Guide: becoming one!

While growing up my mom always took the lead to take my siblings and me to as many new places as we could. Since she was scared of flying, we were very fond of road-tripping and visited many neighbor countries. Growing up in such an environment made me the traveler I am today, always wanting to explore unknown territories. That’s precisely how Google Maps became my biggest ally.

My first picture review: But a little over a year ago, a friend of mine invited me to spend the holidays at her grandma’s house in Caoling, Taiwan and forever changed how I interacted with Google Maps. My friend’s family runs a traditional style bathhouse and a small cafe. I remember I had such an amazing time and decided to snap some pictures and wrote a little review to show them my appreciation. Not long after that, I got an email from Google Maps saying that my picture was making a difference and that it already got over 1k views. I was shooked.

Writing English and Spanish reviews in Taiwan: I have been living in Taiwan for over 3 years and every time I check a new place the reviews are naturally in Chinese. That is why I try to review the places I like in both English and Spanish to be able to cater to the international audience either visiting or studying in Taiwan, so they can also enjoy the hidden jewels of this amazing island. I am so happy to see that in only one year my opinions have been read by almost 20k people and my pictures have been viewed by more than 45k users. Moreover, it is really something being a Local Guide in a foreign place.

Helping small places thrive: in my quest to find new places I try to visit small eateries and food stalls as well. That’s how I found Jessie and Claire’s ice cream shop in Kaohsiung. The flavor was so amazing and creamy that I gave them a nice review in English, next time I visited, the owner recognized me and told me my comment had a great impact and has treated me with complimentary ice cream ever since. He totally deserves all the attention his ice cream shop is getting and how quickly it has gained a great reputation.

Google Maps was always a source of information and a way to get to new places, I never thought I could also contribute to the app and actually have an impact on the community. Being a journalist, I am able to create content in feedback format about the places I love around the world and those small bits of information can help grow our community by helping users make the most of their time in their local environment as well as discovering new places outside of their comfort zones, just by reading our valuable and honest opinions.

Thank you Local Guides for every bit of information you have shared because it has been tremendously useful to me. That is why the most interesting thing I have done is trying to give back all that love and help to our community. I really hope my opinions have made an impact on the way you travel as well. I am very proud to be part of Local Guides, helping you fellow guides and entrepreneurs grow and hope I can meet some of you on October 14th during my birthday.

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