Behind the words: a glimpse into a Travel journalist’s writing process

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Here I am on one of the main streets in the legendary city of Granada in southern Spain, where I traveled last month with a group of fellow freelance Travel writers.

As you can see by the date of my last entry, it’s been a challenge to regularly write and post lately. With a full-time job and my freelance Travel writing, there always seems to be some deadline or priority competing for my time and attention. But I’m determined to get back to my regular conversations with you, which I’ve certainly missed. International travel is my true love—and sharing this passion with UrbanTravelGirl readers for the past five years (!) has been an honor and a joy. While I love sharing insights I’ve discovered through my travels, hearing about your global adventures keeps me encouraged and inspired. So I’m back, and looking forward to reconnecting!

Even though I often feel as if I’m moving 100 miles an hour, I was flattered when my friend and fellow freelance journalist Rosalind Cummings-Yeates invited me to take part in a “Blog Hop” that introduces bloggers from around the world to each other as they talk about their own writing processes—and how they uniquely share their perspectives. (Read about Rosalind and how she brings her words to life in this post.)

Going through this exercise and consciously thinking through what makes me tick—and how I move from concepts and ideas to a notebook or laptop to published articles and blog posts—has been a treat in itself. And I’m thrilled to introduce you UrbanTravelGirls to three other writers and bloggers I greatly respect—and who you’ll love getting to know. Please read on ….

What am I working on/writing now?

I recently visited the enchanting Spanish city of Granada, as well as its surrounding province, on a press trip for Travel journalists from the Midwestern United States. While in España last month, I also traveled to the capital city of Madrid and the much smaller but historically important northern city of León. I’m currently writing a series of posts for my Today’s Chicago Woman Magazine Travel blog and full-length articles based on that nine-day trip, from the incredible new Business Plus in-flight service offered by Iberia to the awesome cuisine offered at León’s Michelin-star Cocinandos to high-end experiences for About.com Luxury Travel.

Although I have a full-time “day job,” being able to still stay engaged as a freelance Travel writer gives me a way to maintain my creative muscle and endless sense of wanderlust. Obviously, I don’t have the time or flexibility to travel as often (or as far) as I’d like, so I’m delving more into scenes and stories closer to my home base of Chicago. Sometimes we’re so focused on exotic and far-away locations we miss rich adventures right in front of us!

How does my work/writing differ from others of its genre?

Because I studied journalism as an undergraduate at Northwestern University’s renowned Medill School and have had the pleasure of covering everything from fashion and beauty to popular culture and music as a newspaper and online reporter, I bring a range of insights to the Travel writing I do. I’ve done Corporate Communications for large multinational companies like Boeing, and have been fortunate to see much of the world while on work assignments in countries as diverse as Iceland and Saudi Arabia. I also earned a master’s degree in Theological Studies at a United Methodist seminary on Northwestern’s campus, where many of my courses explored cross-cultural ministry and world religions. Delving deeply into the fundamental ways people of all races, ethnicities and cultures experience the spiritual and divine has given me invaluable insight into what makes us wonderfully different, yet on some levels very much alike.

My writing is (literally) richly colored by my perspective as an African-American woman who grew up in the American Midwest, but who’s traveled to nearly 35 countries and territories on four continents and lived abroad in Florence, Italy, and in a charming village outside Paris. So whether I’m waxing poetic about the rustic Italian cuisine at a restaurant on Chicago’s North Side, offering tips on renting apartments when traveling abroad, or encouraging folks to check out houses of worship when they’re on the road, I infuse this sensibility into everything I write. And in fact, my personal background often inspires the topics I choose to explore in the first place. That’s the importance of bringing your “full self” to the table, regardless of your career.

Why do I write what I do?

Paradoxically, I’m never more comfortable than when I’ve chosen to be an “outsider”—and I’ve made the challenging decisions to live as an expatriate and an immigrant in two European countries. At heart, I’m all about exhorting and evangelizing about the life-changing aspect of travel, whether you do it in your own backyard or on the other side of the globe. I believe it broadens your worldview, makes you more tolerant and accepting of other folks’ perspectives and viewpoints—and gives you greater appreciation for your own.

That’s why I encourage my readers to occasionally take the road less traveled. To “do one thing every day that scares you,” as former American First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt is often quoted as saying. I’m adaptable and comfortable with ambiguity, and try to go with the flow as circumstances change and evolve. While moving to the other side of the world isn’t possible, practical or even desirable for most people, sampling the unfamiliar—whether it’s a cuisine you’ve never tried or checking out an ethnically different neighborhood in your own town—often leads to a much richer experience than you ever imagined.

How does my writing process work?

After more than two decades as a journalist, I believe that everything I write—whether for UrbanTravelGirl or my Today’s Chicago Woman Travel blog—needs to be professional-quality before I put my name on it. (Yes, my perfectionist Capricorn tendencies are as strong as ever!) I’m TOTALLY old-school about taking notes, scribbling furiously and illegibly (at least to others’ eyes) in narrow reporter’s notebooks when doing interviews or on the road. Once I’m back at my laptop, I need utter silence to write. No TV, no background music. While it drives me nuts, I’m a procrastinating writer—but I feel I do my best work with deadline pressure staring me in the face. Tortured or not, I absolutely love the work.

Whether I’m on staff as a reporter, freelancing Travel stories for publications such as CNN.com, or working full-time in Corporate Communications, I always define myself first and foremost as a WRITER and a storyteller. You know when people ask whether you’d keep working even if you won the lottery? THIS is the work I’d do for free, even if I didn’t get paid (and very often, I don’t!). Words help me make sense of the world—and hopefully, those I write help others do the same.

Here, please meet my fellow “Blog Hop” writers!

Rosalind Cummings-Yeates

Rosalind Cummings-Yeates is a freelance journalist, blogger and arts critic specializing in travel and lifestyle topics. She’s the author of Exploring Chicago Blues: Inside The Scene, Past and Present (History Press),  a guidebook to Chicago blues history and landmarks. Her other credits include Woman’s Day, Hemispheres, MSN, Salon, Brides, Yoga Journal, Travel + Escape, Go Magazine, Relish, Time Out Chicago, Mojo, Allmusic.com, Get Lost, Rough Guide to Women Travel, and the Chicago Sun-Times, among other publications. She writes a monthly blues column for the Illinois Entertainer, travel blogs for various publications and teaches journalism at Columbia College Chicago. She’s based in Chicago, from which she manages to escape during the Windy City’s six official winter months. You can read more of her work on her website and on her travel and culture blog, Farsighted Fly Girl.

Kelly E. Carter

Kelly E. Carter is a New York Times-bestselling author and founder of TheJetSetPets.com, the luxury travel source for pampered pets on the go. Her latest book, The Dog Lover’s Guide to Travel, was released in spring 2014 and marks National Geographic’s first dog travel guide book. Carter and her posh pooch Lucy, a longhair Chihuahua, have globetrotted together for 13 years, including a two-year stint in Italy. A popular speaker at travel conferences, Carter is also the pet travel expert for AOL’s pet site PawNation and Elite Traveler, where she’s a Contributing Editor. She has written for numerous publications and websites, including on staff for People and USA Today and as a freelancer for Departures, Men’s Fitness, Black Enterprise, Los Angeles Times, History Channel Magazine, South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, TownandCountryTravelMag.com and CigarAficionado.com. With Venus Williams, Carter co-authored the New York Times best-selling book Come to Win: Business Leaders, Artists, Doctors and Other Visionaries on How Sports Can Help You Top Your Profession. 

Terra Robinson

Terra Robinson is an American Black Chick in Europe. She chronicles her time living, working and travelling in Europe through the filters of being an American, a woman and black. One part travel, one part expat and one part personal blog, American Black Chick in Europe serves up tidbits and information about life in Europe straight up with no chasers. Having lived in Europe since 2008, with stints in England, France, Belgium, and currently Denmark, this American Black Chick in Europe seeks to demystify what she affectionately refers to as these crazy Europeans.

Kate Silver

Kate Silver has been writing professionally for 15 years, seven of which have been full-time freelance. She got her start writing news and features as a staff writer in Las Vegas in 1999.  Along the way, she’s stalked celebrities for People Magazine, co-authored guidebooks on Las Vegas, and investigated off-the-beaten path stories (like one about the so-called “Wedding Chapel Wars”) for national outlets. In 2007, she quit her job as associate editor with Las Vegas Life magazine and took the freelance plunge, eventually moving to Chicago to live closer to family. Today, she juggles a healthy mix of editorial and corporate work, specializing in travel, food, wellness and feature stories. Her work appears in Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times and Crain’s, and she also writes and blogs for a number of businesses and non-profits, including Chevrolet, General Motors, American Heart Association, Behr Paint and others. Silver also works on a number of ghostwriting projects, large and small, and is wrapping up her second ghostwritten book. In addition, she recently completed the 2015 Frommer’s Easy Guide to Chicago, to be published in the fall. She is a member of Association of Women Journalists (AWJ) and the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), and serves on the planning committee for ASJA’s Content Connections, an annual writer’s conference that will be held in Chicago Nov. 13-14. Silver also blogs and maintains a website.

Why don’t films about traveling or moving abroad ever feature black women?

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The film that launched many a female fantasy -- including my own! about life in bella Italia.
The film that launched many a female fantasy -- including my own! -- about life in bella Italia.
Julia Roberts' character Liz laughs it up with Javier Bardem in Bali in "Eat Pray Love." But why is there never a sistergirl starring in one of these American-woman-reinvents-herself-abroad cinema tales?
Julia Roberts' character Liz laughs it up with Javier Bardem in beautiful Bali in "Eat Pray Love" (who wouldn't love THAT?). But why is there never a sistergirl starring in one of these American-woman-reinvents-herself-abroad cinema tales?
In a gorgeous summer film that felt like a come-to-life travel brochure for historic Verona and the Tuscan countryside, Amanda Seyfried's character lost a fiancee but found love in "Letters to Juliet." At least THIS film featured a beautiful black female extra as a guest at the film's Tuscan hotel. (Sad when that's a HUGE deal!)
In a gorgeous summer film that's a come-to-life travel brochure for historic Verona and the Tuscan countryside, Amanda Seyfried's character lost a fiancee but found love in "Letters to Juliet." At least THIS film featured a beautiful black female extra as a guest at the film's Tuscan hotel. (Sad when that's a HUGE deal -- in 2010!)

For most folks, spending 10 bucks and a couple hours at the movies is all about passive entertainment. But sometimes, you encounter a cinematic gem that literally becomes life-changing, that totally alters the way you see the world. That one for me was 2003’s “Under the Tuscan Sun,” which inspired me, following a major surgery and reordering of life priorities, to quit my corporate job and pack my bags for fabulous Firenze (Florence), Italy.

Even now, if I’m flipping channels on the TV and “Tuscan Sun” is on, regardless of whether the film’s at the beginning, middle or end, I plop down and watch. And certamente, I own the DVD—and when I’m feeling the need for a bit of inspiration, I’ll view it again. I recently interviewed Under the Tuscan Sun author Frances Mayes  for a national Travel story, and that conversation took me back to those dreamy days of living in bella Italia.

 The latest movie buzz, of course, is about Julia Roberts’ “Eat Pray Love,” which hit U.S. cinemas earlier this month. As I’m sure you know (or have heard, whether you wanted to or not), this gorgeous travelogue-on-film it’s based on Elizabeth Gilbert’s monster best-selling memoir about ditching New York City after a traumatic divorce and subsequent love affair and spending a year traveling through Italy, India and Indonesia. (Her gig was WAY easier than mine, as her publisher’s book advance funded her year of self-discovery.) Personally, I never got past the “Eat” portion of the book, but perhaps that’s because I’m too Italy-obsessed to care about the rest.

But here’s what got me thinking: none of the films I’ve seen extolling the joys of traveling and/or relocating abroad has ever starred a black woman—or a woman of color AT ALL. (Please, someone, tell me if I’ve missed one.) Wouldn’t it be fabulous to meet a mocha-skinned sister chucking it all to chase her destiny in bella Italia or bodacious Buenos Aires? Now THAT’s a film I’d gladly pay over and over to watch! 

And we know these stories are out there. I met two INCREDIBLE African-American sisters in Italy, and we’ve become great friends over the years—in part because of this amazing shared black-girl expat experience. I know single black women who packed up their kids and traded their American lives for Parisian ones. Fierce black females making their way in the corporate worlds of London and Dubai. We’ve seen memoirs like Kinky Gazpacho, a great read from African-American writer Lori L. Tharps about her lifelong fascination with Spain—and how she ended up netting a husband in the process.

But those stories never get told on the big screen.

I don’t know—maybe a filmmaker’s tried to green-light a project but was told it was too “niche” and wouldn’t appeal to a broad audience. (But OF COURSE, we women of color are ALWAYS supposed to easily identify with everyone else’s stories.) 

I’d LOVE to know from you UrbanTravelGirls what films have whetted your appetite and prompted YOU to pack your bags for foreign shores, even if you didn’t plan a permanent vacation? What movies are must-adds to our Netflix queues?

And ALSO, share what overseas-adventure film you’d LOVE to see translated into a “sistagirl” version. Tell us—we’re waiting to be inspired!

Sisters in Spain: Michelle Obama and Sasha wrap up mom-daughter trip abroad in style

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U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama and adorable 9-year-old Sasha meet Spanish King Juan Carlos on the island of Mallorca, wrapping up their visit to southern Spain.
U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama and adorable 9-year-old Sasha meet Spanish King Juan Carlos on the island of Mallorca, wrapping up their visit to southern Spain.
Young Sasha's got the European double-kiss routine down pat as she greets Spain's Queen Sofia.
Young Sasha's got the European double-kiss routine down pat as she greets Spain's Queen Sofia.
Is Michelle Obama a classy First Lady or WHAT? Love the one-shouldered look during her visit to southern Spain with daughter Sasha.
Is Michelle Obama a classy First Lady or WHAT? Love the one-shouldered look.

I don’t know about you, but it’s absolutely thrilled me to see First Lady Michelle Obama taking 9-year-old Sasha on a mom-and-daughter holiday–and to SPAIN, no less! I don’t have kids, nieces or nephews, but if I did, I’d be booking us on some overseas trip as soon as they were old enough to appreciate it. And I’d be sitting them down right now  to watch video of adorable Sasha meeting the king and queen of Spain.  How it does my heart proud to see this darling young brown-skinned girl looking confident alongside her mom, realizing she’s a princess in her OWN right. Nothing like self-assurance, even when it comes in the package of a preciously dressed pre-teen.

I was super-proud and psyched last year when the President and Michelle took Sasha and Malia with them to Paris and London. I wrote then about how important it is for youngsters—and especially African-American ones, who don’t always see themselves portrayed positively in the American media—to travel abroad and experience life through a different lens. Just think of all the young black kids out there who see Sasha strolling the streets of Spain, visiting its treasures, meeting its royalty, witnessing the crowds of Spaniards eagerly seeking a glimpse of her and her glamorous First Lady mom. SURELY that’s got to have an effect on their individual and collective psyches, even if they don’t realize it now.  

I’ve loved reading about the Obama ladies’ trip since they landed in Marbella, on Spain’s sun-drenched Costa del Sol, earlier this week. They toured an historic cathedral in the southern Spanish city of Granada; took in a flamenco performance in the region where this legendary dance was born; toured the Moor-built Alhambra at night. The traveling half of the First Family and their friends stayed at Marbella’s Hotel Villa Padierna, a five-star Ritz-Carlton resort on the Mediterranean Sea. And while this was hardly budget travel, folks tend to forget that the Obamas are wealthy folks, thanks largely to royalties President Barack has generated from his best-selling books.

I’m not even going to start on the haters screaming that the Obamas’ trip abroad is costing U.S. taxpayers untold dollars, and that Michelle is somehow a “modern-day Marie Antoinette” for daring to travel abroad on a luxury vacation while America’s in a recession. As has been made clear, the Obama ladies and friends paid for their own stay in Spain, although granted, the Secret Service had to travel with them and they flew aboard Air Force Two. As far as I’m concerned, the complainers SHOULD be glad we’ve got a globally minded First Family that actually wants to see and positively engage with the world. 

And for THAT, all of us Americans ought to be proud.

Black women traveling abroad: Learn a foreign country’s social mores, customs before you go

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During our trip to Florence, Italy, my friends Carol (far left), Karen (far right) and I embraced the Italian way of life. And as you see here, we found ourselves embraced right back by the super-friendly waiter at Grillo Parlante, a small, locals-only restaurant.
During our trip to Florence, Italy, my friends Carol (far left), Karen (far right) and I embraced the Italian way of life. And as you see here, we found ourselves embraced right back by the super-friendly waiter at Grillo Parlante, a small, locals-only restaurant.
Visiting a country like France, Italy or Spain? Stop into a local market, like the bustling Mercat de la Boquería in Barcelona -- but ask FIRST before handling the merchandise. In many cultures, touching the produce -- or the designer bags and shoes before first asking permission -- is seen as rude.
Visiting a country like France, Italy or Spain? Stop into a local market, like the bustling Mercat de la Boquería in Barcelona -- but ask FIRST before handling the merchandise. In many cultures, touching the produce -- or the designer bags and shoes before first asking permission -- is seen as rude (and in the case of food, simply unsanitary).
Knowing the social mores of a foreign country or city -- especially when it comes to dining, shopping and socializing -- can make or break your overseas trip. Here I am, finishing lunch at the famed Laduree tea salon in Paris.
Knowing the social mores of a foreign country or city -- especially when it comes to dining, shopping and socializing -- can greatly impact the experiences you have when traveling abroad. Here I am, finishing lunch at the famed Ladurée tea salon in Paris.

At the recent Travel Blog Exchange conference in Chicago, a fellow blogger and I found ourselves discussing why African-American women—even those with the financial means and interest in traveling abroad—don’t do it more often. I often think about this, as I always feel it would be GREAT to see more sisters when I’m running around Italy or Spain either in a group or solo.

For many of us, it’s fear of the unknown. We don’t speak the language; we don’t know anyone in the country we’d like to visit. But in countless conversations I’ve had with African-American women over the years, it comes down to wondering how we’ll be perceived as black people. Even without realizing it, being black in America—whether dirt-poor, comfortably affluent like “The Cosby Show” Huxtables, or “movin’ on up” like the Jeffersons—means wearing the subconscious burden of potential discrimination on our backs like the latest designer dress.

Any time a salesclerk at a store is slow to help us, we often assume it’s because we’re black. Get a bad table in a restaurant? The hostess must be a bigot. Living in America, we spend more time than we’d like to admit wonder when the legacy of centuries of racism will smack us in the face. So there’s little wonder that when we DO leave the United States those of us who can afford to travel would rather jet off to the Caribbean, where islands teem with brown-skinned folks just like us, rather than potentially inviting discrimination (and in languages we don’t understand, no less) by flying off to Europe or South America or Australia.

But after countless trips abroad, I’m convinced that one reason we sisters sometimes feel we’ve been slighted overseas is because we don’t understand “how to be” (I’m borrowing this phrase from the book penned by author and Ebony Magazine Creative Director Harriette Cole) or understand how other folks ARE.

I think about a trip to Paris some years ago with two close girlfriends, when we often found ourselves stared at by Parisians in bistros and on trains. We laughed and talked loudly everywhere we went; after a meal, we’d whip out our compacts and lipstick and powder at the table. I figured those Parisians just couldn’t keep their eyes off these three beautiful black sisters out on the town. I later found out—probably years after the fact—that French women rarely reapply cosmetics in public. Instead, they slip out to the toilette to prettify themselves. And in a country where privacy is prized, conversations—even animated ones—are kept to a much lower decibel so that an entire room isn’t privy to a stranger’s every word.

That’s why I love Ricki Stevenson of “Black Paris Tours.” Besides showing folks on her half- or full-day tours where Josephine Baker, James Baldwin, and Richard Wright used to live, write and perform, she ALWAYS gives a little social primer first. She advises her guests to say, “Bonjour, madame” or “Bonjour, monsieur” upon entering a store or restaurant, and to always say “Au revoir” upon leaving. It seems like a small thing, but it’s HUGE to French people who pride themselves on their civil society. And like it or not, we do represent “our people” and our country when we travel abroad, so why not become positive ambassadors while we’re there?

But back to the confab between my fellow Travel Blog Exchange seatmate and me. She told me about some black friends who’d recently visited Paris and came home feeling they’d been ignored and treated rudely by the French. But she and I wondered: Did they do the small things, acknowledging the salesclerks when entering and leaving a store? Did they walk right into boutiques or up to a food market and start touching the merchandise without first asking permission? (I know—it sounds foreign to us in the States, but that’s what EVERYONE does in countries like Italy and France as common courtesy.) Did they at least TRY to speak a few words of French before launching into questions in English? (But Lord knows it’s not just us black folks guilty of doing that overseas!) And did they realize that just because waiters don’t hover over your table or return frequently as they often do in the States, they’re not being rude but giving you unhurried space in which to slowly savor your meal?

Just as we don’t like it when foreign tourists stand too close to us on American buses and streets, we should do a mental role-reversal when we travel to OTHER folks’ lands and try to find out what’s appropriate and what’s not before we board that plane overseas. Now if we TRULY feel we’ve been discriminated against, then we should by all means speak up and complain. But let’s not automatically assume that every perceived slight has a racial tinge to it. A little understanding can go a long way to shrinking global differences—and to ensuring that your trip abroad is a fabulous one!

I’d love to hear from you: Have you ever unwittingly found yourself violating some “social code” overseas? How did you find out that your behavior was outside the norm—and were you able to change it during that trip? We’ve all been there, so please share!