TRAVEL JOURNALING

In February, my father and I had the incredible opportunity to travel to the African continent and spend 10 days in the country of Ethiopia, or as it is sometimes referred to as, “the land of origins”.  Ethiopia is a landlocked country of roughly 128 million people located in eastern Africa, and its capital, Addis Ababa, is home to the African Union. During our time there we spent time in Addis Ababa, Lalibela, Hawassa, and Arba Minch with each place offering another small glimpse into a large culturally rich country. The idea to visit Ethiopia came from a discussion I had with a friend in Jamaica about the country and when mentioning that to my father, he was inspired to plan a trip for us.

Interestingly enough, just a couple of weeks before we departed, I learned that my grandfather also journeyed to Ethiopia 50 years ago. Kate found his travel journal on our bookshelf with his detailed experiences in the same places I was about to visit. There was no question in my mind the journey with my father was meant to be. Finding this journal felt like a sign of significance and his writing certainly provided some cultural and historical context. 

My love of traveling was fostered at an early age and I have journals from most all of the trips I have taken. Kate and I have had some laughs reading my journals from travel experiences of our past before children when we were less “experienced.”I am not sure if my parents got me started with the habit of journaling, but I am grateful to them for encouraging me as these records have meaning. My journals will hoopefully even have meaning to my own grandchildren someday. 

Going into this trip, I must admit that I had some significant reservations. Parts of Ethiopia were and still are unstable due to political unrest and violence. In fact, the U.S. State Department was quite explicit that Americans should not travel to Ethiopia at this time. However, I think that the greatest lesson that I can take away from this trip was to have some trust in the goodness of people and in the process. Careful planning and working with a travel agent was also essential; however, I must say that the person we used to help us in our preparation had never planned a trip to Ethiopia. Safety was something my grandfather discussed in his journal as well, and I decided to have faith as he did. I am happy to say that the people that we met were kinder and more helpful than we could have ever imagined, and the experiences that we had far surpassed any of our greatest expectations. 

I have included some pictures of the trip, but the highlight of the trip was in Lalibela. Traveling in a land with a radically different culture is incredibly invigorating and energizing, and waking up every day knowing that everything you see and everyone you meet will be new and enlightening is a thrill. In my travel experience, it is almost always the off the beaten path locales that are much more rewarding than the large urban centers, and this was surely our experience in the village of Lalibela. I wish everyone I know could see and experience it. Ethiopia is, by a large percentage, A Christian nation, and as I learned, an Orthodox Christian nation. And within the country, Lalibela is considered to be one of the holiest sites. The village is known for its rock-hewn churches that were constructed during the 12th and 13th centuries, and to be in the presence of and inside of such sacred spaces was an overwhelming experience and exemplary of the potential that travel has to enlighten and inspire. This recent trip was different than all the other trips I have been on as I had the opportunity to travel alone with my father and traced my grandfather’s journey making it a sort of pilgrimage - a literal and a spiritual journey. I will never forget it.

Summer travel with your children is here and I wanted to share my story to hopefully help your family to be inspired to journal on your special vacations. Routine can be tough on a trip, but setting aside time each evening before bed is a great time to journal. Below are some prompts to help with writer’s block even choosing one question a day to answer provides a lot of information to recall memories in the future. 

1. Where are you going today? Write down or draw the journey you’ve got planned

2. What’s in your suitcase? What have you packed? What didn’t you need? And what do you wish you’d brought?

3. How do you feel about this trip? Did you feel nervous before departing? 

4. What was your journey like? What did you see along the way? Who did you speak to? What did you eat? 

5. Where are you staying tonight? What do you love about it? What little quirks does it have? What didn’t you expect (heads up - sometimes the best travel stories are when things don’t go to plan, like accommodation that doesn’t live up to expectations!) 

6. What did you do today?

7. What sights and sounds did you experience whilst you were exploring today? Close your eyes and relive your day again

8. What new scents or smells have you noticed that feel different to home? 

9. What have you eaten? Did you try a new dish? Have you eaten any foods that you expected to be the same as at home but were actually totally different? 

10. What are the locals like?

11. Go and explore a local supermarket. What do you notice? 

12. What went wrong today?!

13. What didn’t go to plan but made you smile or created a new memory?

14. What was your biggest surprise from today?

15. Tell the story of one person you met or saw today. Or, what do you imagine it to be?

16. What do you think your life would be like if you lived here?

17. What’s one thing or experience you want to take home with you?

18. How do you feel about going home?

19. What new sounds have you heard? Have you listened to new music or the radio, heard different accents, or eavesdropped on any conversations?

20. What’s your core memory from today?