My travel history
- Chenise Calhoun
- Jun 8, 2019
- 7 min read
Updated: Aug 18, 2019
I like to move; Mobility is a human fact.
“In the World through which I travel, I am endlessly creating myself.” - Frantz Fanon
I once heard a Mark Twain quote about travel that I vehemently opposed, which goes: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts." Colonialists traveled all around the world while spreading prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, was this not the case?
To me, travel is important for no other reason than it is the consequence of learning about the world; We hear about a place, we go to it. Travel is the product of human exploration and curiosity, and the learning process is a two-way street. So the notion of my blue American passport having more mobility power than a blue Yemeni passport solely due to the twisted nature of global politics is unjust. Travel restrictions should not have anything to do with where you were born. “If [we] can get back to a historically accurate narrative that migration has always been historically positive..., then [we] can get a more sensible dialogue.” – IOM DG William Lacy Swing
Migration should be a choice, not a necessity.
With that being said, here is a history of my travels outside of the states, along with explanations for said journeys:
People to People Student Ambassadors | European Discovery program (2014)
During the summer before my senior year of high school, I traveled to Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and France for 19 days with this travel service aimed towards getting young students abroad.
Program evaluation: Borderline scam. Looking back, I really feel as though today, I would have a stellar time spending half the money my father spent on this trip, and my trip today would still be better quality. Though the other students and I ended up visiting these countries, we weren't necessarily tasting authentic cuisine, we rarely left our long tours feeling like we learned anything new about the countries, and the itinerary was poorly organized.
Personal impact: Despite all of this, I had the time of my life. It was on this trip where my passion for language learning began; this was because I had a tour guide name Miriam who spoke Italian in Italy, German in Austria, and French in France (and spoke Arabic because she was Egyptian, and spoke English with us, and would soon speak Spanish to her other tour group from Spain). Going to sleep on a bus in Italy and waking up in Switzerland was mind-blowing for me. After that trip, I never wanted to be constricted by language barriers again.
EF Explore America | Puerto Rico with my Spanish class (Spring break 2015)
I learned little to no Spanish on this trip, but this was evidently my own fault. I have always had a love/hate relationship with Spanish, where I am told that it is easy by everyone, and am deeply disappointed when I realize that learning Spanish takes work like all other languages. On this trip, I recall other students using their Spanish, and me standing in the back because I was too self-conscious about making mistakes.
Program evaluation: Can't really say; it was a week-long trip. I had fun, but the purpose of the trip (to improve my Spanish) was not fulfilled. I recall our tour guides all speaking English, we mostly toured regions where all the residents spoke English, and many of our breaks were at the beach where we didn't need to practice our language skills. It did not help that the students on the trip were in differing levels of Spanish, so practice among each other didn't go too well. This trip could be re-branded as "fun travel experience in Puerto Rico, where we do some Spanish" in oppose to a language-immersive week.
Personal impact: Not much. I regret not putting in much effort on this trip to learn Spanish (even though as previously mentioned, I didn't need to). But, the trip put the Caribbean on the radar for me, so when I later returned to the Caribbean, I knew not to waste my opportunity there.
International Studies Abroad (ISA) in Meknès, Morocco
During the first semester of my junior year of college (Fall 2017), I studied abroad in Morocco from September to December. There, I studied MSA (Modern Standard Arabic), Darija (Moroccan Arabic), Gender Studies, Political Science, and Islamic Studies (all focused on Morocco). As a French major, I stayed in a French homestay with an amazing host family and three other awesome French-majors.
Program evaluation: Impressive, to say the least. I was quoted in the second week of the trip as saying "are all of these excursions included in the itinerary?" I honestly thought that I would receive a bill at the end of the trip for all of the "extra" activities we were able to do, but I never received one. It helps that Morocco is a relatively cheap country compared to the U.S. I took the maximum amount of classes (and all but one were fantastic), I traveled almost every weekend (with my ISA cohort as well as boHdi, the Darija word for "by myself"), and the homestay experience was unforgettable. I made life-long friends there. I would do very few things differently with this program.
Personal impact: This trip was also life-changing. I used to call it an "unexpected gift" because when I came to college, my heart was dead-set on traveling to France again to study abroad. When I learned that other places in the world spoke French too, I was so determined to learn about these other places and this trip strongly helped me to do just that. I really felt pushed academically and personally in Morocco, and I saw myself differently afterwards. Taking solo trips to Spain and Portugal was never on my bucket list because I didn't think they'd be possible. The trip indirectly gave me the topic for my future thesis on the migration of women, got me my job as a Peer Advisor in my university's Study Abroad Office, and became the jump-start for many back and forth trips to Morocco (Peace Corps is coming soon!). Morocco became a part of my world during that trip- I love me some Africa ;)
TU Gender, Health, and Social Justice in Ghana- Faculty-led (Winter 2019)
During my senior year minimester, I studied the gender and social determinants of health and justice in Ghana through community engagement activities, guided tours, and participating in an interactive approach to learning about the progress towards Ghana's Millennium Development Goals (19 days).
Program evaluation: Another very well-organized trip. I am stunned that we had the opportunity to do all that we did within the span of 19 days. Tours, service work, slave dungeons, canopy walk, kente weaving, beaches, authentic food, debriefs, etc. The days were long and hot so we had our stressful moment. However we were all communicative, our professor was very responsive and accommodating, and our tour guides helped us to laugh through the pain (when necessary). My only complaint about the trip is that we did not travel to the North of Ghana, but this was due to distance, time, and I heard that the region can be unsafe.
Personal impact: This trip was very personal for me. I don't know if I have ever cried more within a span of 19 days. From the slave dungeons which still kinda haunt me, to the overwhelming beauty of so many black people in one place-- I did a lot of crying. As an African-American woman, it was important for me to experience Ghana, to meet other people in the diaspora, and even to dispel some myths about black people in the U.S. Upon arrival, I did not romanticize Ghana as this utopic Wakanda where I would be welcomed "home" with music and dancing, and throwing that expectation out the window before coming allowed me to see Ghana in all of its colors. I plan on taking several more trips to West Africa in the future inchaallah.
TU ABC Service trip, St.Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (Spring break 2019)
During an Alternative Breaks Connection (ABC) service immersion experience focused on hurricane recovery, I learned about the history, politics, and African diaspora of the U.S. Virgin Islands (7 days).
Program evaluation: It was difficult to evaluate this experience, because I was aware going into the program that our itinerary would never be fixed, and that we should all be adaptable and expect changes our schedule. I prepared myself for this, but I did not prepare myself for all of the cool experiences we were able to be a part of throughout our week on the territory; Our prison tour in St.Thomas was easily one of the best tours I had ever been on. My first critique is that we were contractually-obliged not to drink alcohol on the trip... which was whack. My second critique is that the service we did at the start of the trip seemed meaningless (scraping walls wasn't the first thing I had in mind when I thought of "hurricane relief"). However, though I did not always get to feel the impact of the service we were doing, I was reminded by our great faculty advisor that service work is not about taking a step back and admiring the work you did. The folks at the church we stayed with seemed very appreciative which is really what mattered.
Personal Impact: I can no longer vacation in the islands. When I go, I am going with a purpose. During this trip, we got to meet so many wonderful people, learn about the culture of tourism in the islands, and have pretty critical and in-depth conversations about the legacy of slavery and colonialism still very present on the islands. I really felt I took a lot away from these seven days in the USVI. Now I receive news about what's going on in the islands and that allows for me to make informed decisions about the US territory when voting, since citizens of the US Virgin Islands cannot vote for the president.
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