Globetrotters Writer Spotlight-Maryann G.
A travel enthusiast
Aloha Globetrotters!
My name is Maryann and I’m super excited to be here.
I love to travel because it changes you. It changes the way you view things and broadens your perspectives.
Traveling has made me love more, care more, do more, be more and want more. It feeds my curiosities and pushes my tolerance limits.
I’ve seen and experienced so much beauty in diversity through travel.
My number one travel activity is Food! I try everything I can.
I've learnt that places lay a lot of their personality on their food and have made it my very humble duty to dig into that.
My favorite food spots will often be those with the most local feel.
My work? I do Monitoring and Evaluation of projects.
On a typical day, I’ll either be travelling on the same or playing around with data, charts, graphs, tables, and all that ‘fancy’ stuff.
Usually, the fewer the words incorporated in my work findings, the more value it will be considered to have dispensed. As a writer, the irony isn’t lost on me.
The best place I’ve been to? I’ve had my best and most indelible experiences at both the Maasai Mara, Kenya and the Serengeti, Tanzania. It’s simply magical, wild and wholesome. I’ll write about it soon. Greece is a favorite too.
In my spare time, I like to make stuff. I’m very crafty.
When not reading or writing or traveling, I’ll be whipping up my own body butters, making scented candles, organic soaps infused with my favorite herbs or getting creative in the kitchen. I especially find baking to be fun and therapeutic.
I’ve been testing my skills with Fluid Art, Resin, and Plaster of Paris too and it’s been colorful, fun and satisfying.
My top travel tip is pack light. Carry a light weight in mind, luggage and soul. It helps you to fully enjoy the experience without preformed biases and creates more space for souvenirs.
If I could live somewhere else, I’d live in Japan. I’m obsessed with their culture, food and beautiful sceneries. If I ignored the language barrier for a second, I think I’d fit right in. And have you seen Mount Fuji? The Kyoto Bamboo groves? Meguro river, maybe? Or the famous cherry blossoms? Magnifique.
My favorite way to travel is strolls if possible. Road trips too and trains. If I could avoid planes, then by all means I would. I’ve never flown first class or in fancy private jets though, so that opinion might be subject to change.
Seriously though, I really enjoy walking around, getting lost and finding my way in new places. You run into things and people that make it all worthwhile.
Plus you get to shed off some of what you gained while dutifully indulging in those culturally rich treats. Win-win.
Three lessons I’ve learned from traveling are…
1. Respect people’s culture. It’s the least you can do for your hosts and they’ll often go out of their way to make your stay more comfortable for it.
2. Researching about your destination prior to your visit allows you to plan better and pack in more activities for the duration of your stay.
3. Solo travels give you better chances to interact and blend in with locals and keeps things more flexible. I’ve had some of my best and most memorable experiences while on solo trips. Do not do this if uncomfortable. Safety first, they say.
Thank you so much for your time.
Happy traveling, happy reading, happy writing, and don’t forget to always give off the vibrations you wish to receive. Till next time…
Salut!
Special thanks to JoAnn Ryan and entire Globetrotters team for taking me in.
I look forward to getting to know you all more and reading about your travel ventures- the good, the not so good and the downright not good experiences.
Feel free to check me out at Maryann G. Maybe even follow me if anything interests you there. That’d be awesome!
