TWB: Traveling While Black

Hi Pam,

As someone who likes to travel and has travelled on my own as a single, black women, it's always interesting to see some of the reactions I get.

If I go to the Caribbean, men flock to me like bees to honey because they think I'm a rich American.  How else could I travel on my own as a single black women?  :0

I've also had the same experience as Heather, where I'm considered one of the "sistas" only as long as I buy something.  If I don't I'm an "uppity American woman."

On the other hand, I've been in parts of Canada where I don't think the natives ever saw black people before.  There was no hostility, just lots of staring.  That's uncomfortable of course, but you either get used to it, or you travel in a place that makes you feel more comfortable.

I've never had problems in Europe, and in fact as a student, was treated very well in many countries, even staying with a family in Holland.  Though I will say, wherever I travel, if I see a couple of black people in an area that's not known for them, we'll almost always acknowledge each other, even if it's just with a nod and a smile.  It's as if to say, "Hey, great to see another black person travelling around."  It's like acknowledging another American of any race, when you're overseas.  It's a way of feeling a bit less "foreign."

Megan

BlogHer CE, TV/Online Video

My Personal Blog: Megan's Minute

I was pretty interested to find out who had written this post.

"Is it a fellow black traveler I thought?"

No, but all the better and thank you Pam. Too often I feel as though I get into these discussions with other African Americans and the end result is always the same. We relate to one another, but we've not shared our experiences with someone who may not know what it's like "TRAVELING WHILE BLACK."

However, the black travel experience itself can be just as diverse as America's melting pot. I can relate to some of the stories above andeven your outburst in Montana. Believe me Pam, had I been there I would have probably hollered out the same words. I probably would have gone as far as racing up to him to inquire about his background. But I'm a little on the nosey side. Smile.

Before I share some of my own experiences in the big incredible world, I'd like to share one of my favorite poems by Countee Cullen. He was a poet from the Harlem Renaissance and I wrote a small plug about him last year. Here is the link:

http://adrienne-is.com/blog/?p=183

Here is the poem titled, Incident:

Once riding in old Baltimore,
Heart-filled, head-filled with glee,
I saw a Baltimorean
Keep looking straight at me.

Now I was eight and very small,
And he was no whit bigger,
And so I smiled, but he poked out
His tongue, and called me, “Nigger.”

I saw the whole of Baltimore
From May until December;
Of all the things that happened there
That’s all that I remember.

Now of course Countee Cullen lived in different times and I never used this poem as an example to say "if you're black and traveling to beware!!!" Moreso to say of all the castles, gardens, beaches and temples you may find on your travels - it always seems to come back on the people whether ot not your trip was truly enjoyable. The snobby and rude waiter, the overly helpful kid on the streets, etc... My own opinion of course.

While I was in Romania in 2001 at a museum in a very rural area there was a man (pretty drunk) who seem to be making a lot of chatter about Africa and looking at me (I was the only black person there). His friends were EXTREMELY embarassed and tried to keep him hushed, but he wouldn't shush. He made a gesture as if to hang himself or a noose like gesture and when I finally asked what he was saying to the women their only response, "it's nothing, he's drunk." Hmmm... It doesn't make me think negatively of Romania or that particular area in Romania, but it happened.

While in Tajikistan in 2006 I recieved an incredible amount of unwanted attention which was strange because there was another person of African heritage (from Scotland) in our group. It could have been my hair-do at the time (corn rows / plaits), but even then it was still all too much. Chased by kids with camera phones in the streets and so on. I posted my feelings on this experience over at Gadling.com. The link can be found here:

http://www.gadling.com/2006/09/23/being-invisible-in-foreign-countries/

Lastly, I agree with Lola on many points. I think there are so many more benefits than disadvantages. Seeing a village (Vrang, Tajikistan) bicker and fight over whose house I will have tea at is just awesome. In Western Europe people think nothing of my resence and I'm naturally left alone in many of the darker countries.

Anywho, I think I've gone overboard here. Thank you again for posting. I'll be visiting many of the links/blogs you mentioned and I hope that I provided some insight.

My personal blog is www.adrienne-is.com/blog

Cheers,

Adrienne