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Travel
Globetrotters Writer Spotlight — Jenny Austria
France-based writer who loves bees and trees
Hello Globetrotters!
My name is…JENNY AUSTRIA. I’m a Filipina writer based in France. I used to live in Paris, then Normandy, and now, Provence.
While writing this piece, I fell into a (Google) rabbit hole of research. I wondered, Where did my family name come from? Why Austria like the country?
Bear with me as I nerd out. Who knows, maybe you’ll meet a Filipino and need an icebreaker. Here’s a fun fact:
In 1849, when The Philippines was under Spain, it became mandatory for locals to adopt surnames. Enter the Catalogo Alfabetico de Apellidos, a list of 60,288 surnames that families had to choose from.
As I flipped through the (digital) pages of the catalog — lo and behold — on page 52, I spotted Austria. I wonder if my ancestor eenie, meenie, miney, mo’d it.
I love to travel because…it’s when I feel the freest and giddiest. I like exploring solo.
Travel lets me experience all sorts of feelings—from laugh-out-loud happy to sh*t scared to #grateful.
A few times, I felt regret. Because I ordered chocolate cake and sipped coffee oh-so-slowly when I should’ve…
