humanity
If nothing else, travel opens your eyes to the colorful quilt that is humankind.
Snowy Mountain Solitude
The air felt fresher than it did in Michigan, taking that initial step out of the Colorado airport. My husband and I were kind of blindsided by the nuance of feeling different, not knowing that later it wouldn’t be such a good thing and we’d be sick from the change in altitude. It wasn’t the vacation we intended on taking, but it was the one that we didn’t know we needed. We were planning to stay in Cancun, Mexico but thanks to the company setting up our reservations it didn’t all necessarily work out despite speaking to the CEO whom I refer to as, “Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater”. He didn’t like it when I called him that, but at that point he’d already ruined our hotel stay. Call it serendipity, but it would be that night that an article bounced across my phone, claiming a successful mass shooting in the hotel he failed to book us.
By Gabrielle Kelley3 years ago in Wander
Waterfall Wonderings
The late morning sun dappled through the trees, casting thin beams of light through the understory while painting small white patches of light. Patches shift one way then another dancing as the breeze moved the branches above. The stream ran past the trail on its inevitable destiny of absorption with the sea over ten thousand steps to the east. The adventurer’s mind released worries, released confusion, and released pain with each step ascending the sloping path into the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains.
By Kelley Kemp3 years ago in Wander
Life Lessons From Our Off-Grid Honeymoon in the Woods
Next week marks three months being married to my partner of 9 years (yay!). Our wedding was a small and intimate affair with only two dozen people. Despite this, the costs still added up and life has just been too busy, so we opted for what I keep referring to as a “mini honeymoon,” while we wish and hope for a bigger trip. My fingers are crossed for Hawaii.
By Erin R. Wilson3 years ago in Wander
The Worst American I've Ever Met
I’ve been waiting for a good time to write about this; as an essayist, perhaps I wanted to find a good thematic through-line to assign to it. But, I don’t think I want to wait for inspiration to strike anymore. Here’s your thematic through-line, Steve: there are some real stinkers out there in the American expat community. I’m going to tell all of you a story about a man I met abroad, a man who at one time I thought could only exist in the microcosm of sitcoms and sitcom-adjacent media. Let me tell you, dear reader, about the worst American I’ve ever met.
By Steven Christopher McKnight3 years ago in Wander
Racism In Africa Towards Non-Blacks Ghana Quietly Leads In Xenophobia & Discrimination
Ghana for many seems to be on the travelers bucket list, the country has some beautiful coastline and beaches. For many staying within the country for longer notice the racism and xenophobia, especially in housing and employment. Most is towards other Black Africans. Yet many Asian and Lebanese are victims and this leads them to stay away from Ghanians.
By IwriteMywrongs3 years ago in Wander
Dear Diary: Let me tell you about Buc-ee's
Dear Diary, On Sunday I went to Buc-ee’s. And it was about as ridiculous as you’d expect. You did not know this, but there are tourists who make a point of stopping at Buc-ee’s beause it’s so quintessentially American you can’t believe it until you experience it for your own self.
By Brigitte Pellerin3 years ago in Wander
The Joy of Low Expectations
My expectations for the small town of Comitan were of such little substance that they barely ceased to exist. The only reason we were staying there was to be closer to El Chiflon Waterwalls and Montebello Lakes. Most people do a tour from the popular highland town of San Cristobal, but, we wanted to avoid the exceptionally long day trip. I had read that you spend 80% of your time just driving there and back, with little time to enjoy the falls and lakes themselves. We wanted full days and the freedom to explore. We thought that staying in a nothing town would be the trade-off that we had to make to do that.
By Sh*t Happens - Lost Girl Travel3 years ago in Wander
Ghana Stop Persuading Black Americans to Immigrate: Fix Your Colorism, Xenophobia, Racism & Scamming
You provide very little freedom and almost no justice in Ghana when you look a certain way. Most countries have set in place laws and rules for blatant, outright racism especially towards those who immigrate. While Ghana doesn't provide any protections, they're pretending to be the moral country for Black Americans to find a sanctuary from American racism.
By IwriteMywrongs3 years ago in Wander
Christiania: City Within a City
Nestled in the center of Denmark, surrounded by an old brick wall covered in graffiti, is the free-town of Christiania. I was fascinated with its history- created in the 1970’s when a group of anarchists, artists, and hippies took over an old military base and proclaimed it separate from Denmark. With blatant disregard for Danish marijuana laws and building colors, it remains it's own thing to this day. I had to see Christiania for myself, so I went in the dead of winter, and walked all 85-acres of the walled city within the city. I’ll tell you the ins-and-outs of this little Freetown and the best place to grab some grub.
By Kelley Zherzhi3 years ago in Wander
Shared Resources
It would be strange to act as if the people passing by, weren't looking up at the sky wide-eyed with their mouths wide open, and the driver swerving to avoid wiping my trash can out. Somewhere deep down inside me, I hoped it was not a UFO hovering just above me with the Rays descending down toward me, to beam me up to the mothership. I could hear the propellers as they approached from my rear just above my head to the right. I was so thrown off by the looks on the faces of the teens along with the buzzing sound that I just stood there a moment before turning to see what caused the teen's reaction. Here it was, the moment I would get to see a real live UFO, and I was frozen in place looking awkwardly at a car full of teens about to spread the contents of my trashcan around to my neighbors. Just as I turned to see what had the attention of these teens so strong, a drone went buzzing over my head. I ducked just in time to avoid a fresh haircut. When I stood back up the car full of teens was turning the corner and the drone was circling back. For a moment I wanted to take off running, dive into the bushes, and peep out every so often until the coast was clear.
By Devine Writez3 years ago in Wander
Ghanians Practice The Same White Supremacy & Xenophobia Seen in the United States
In every car I'm a passenger in I have to battle myself and decide if I want my Ghanian friend to be stopped and harassed by the police or immigration. Perhaps I will sit in the back and pretend to be an Uber or Bolt customer. Even when it is a Bolt or Uber ride, they'll stop the driver if they don't see thier phone mounted on the dash.
By IwriteMywrongs3 years ago in Wander
