So lets just put it all out there.
I am a Black woman. I am a Black woman traveling outside of her home for only the second time of her life. The first time on her own.
Someone send help. But seriously, when I decided to study abroad I was more than a little scared. Since high school, I’ve dreamed of traveling around the world and meeting new people.
But, I was more than a little apprehensive. Living in the United States my entire life, I know how others perceive me in this space. Moving outside of that space makes me understandably nervous, especially as someone with little travel experience and high levels of anxiety about it.
I started researching other black students that had studied abroad. I wanted to know I wasn’t the only one with these fears. More importantly, I wanted to know that there were others like me going abroad too.
Although I found that I am apart of a minority (no surprise there) with less than 6% of African-American students that study abroad. I also found there is a community of black travelers breaking stereotypes and boundaries in their travels.
This blog is my way of contributing to the community. I just need to figure out a witty title for this series, we’ll think about that later.
Only 22 days until I leave. *silently panics*
