Globetrotters Writer Spotlight -Dana Daley
Hi Globetrotters,
My name is Dana Daley. When I was young, I traveled with my family. We packed the tent trailer with four kids and two parents stuffed into the yacht-sized station wagon.
One time, we had to abandon our tent trailer since there were too many bears roaming the campsite! Instead, we stayed at a dude ranch in Montana. Waking up to a herd of horses galloping by your cottage followed by a donkey braying are sounds I will never forget.
Travel was a way my parents made it clear that we, their children, were their first priority. The couch might need replacing, the house could be bigger, and we certainly could have used a second bathroom with six of us living in the house, but we always made time and a budget for travel. We have memories like making up ways to pronounce Drumheller, Alberta. We visited this dinosaur capital on one of our trips. My mom easily won the contest. She still sounds ridiculous when she performs her pronunciation of the town name, and our whole family hoots each and every time with enormous appreciation.
When I was a little older, my dad brought home Lizzy (the name of our Model T). We joined a club called the Model T Ford Club International, and met other Model T owners all over North America, to drive our Model Ts and look at old stuff. We also ate a lot of ice cream.
As I got older, moved out, and became a real-life adult, I traveled to explore the world, learn about myself, and escape problems like clingy relationships and bad decisions.
Now I travel to be with my family. My children have to talk to me when their friends aren’t available, and their phones don’t have wifi.
My number one travel activity is hiking or walking. When I travel, I find the best way to learn a new place is to walk around and possibly get lost. In Japan, I discovered neighborhood temples. In Korea, a woman befriended me so she could practice her English. I ended up going to her home for lunch. In Paris, I went for a walk, and a man stood on the balcony nude and shook his penis at me. I’m unsure how I feel about that experience. It makes a unique travel story.
I come from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. In my spare time, I like to write, read, swim, and ride my bike.
I work as an Elementary School Teacher in a Public School. I have a complicated relationship with teaching right now. Workers in all fields are reevaluating life.
The best places I’ve been are Tanzania, Kyongju, Korea, Florence, Italy, Barcelona, Spain, and Blois, France.
My top travel tips are;
- Go for it. If you wait for the right time, you will never go.
- When traveling with young children, make sure there is somewhere to swim.
- If you are a budget traveler, as I will always be, pack a small sleeping bag since you never know the condition of the sleeping arrangements.
If I could live somewhere else, I’d live in a warm climate. I could hike every day. Having said that, I really like to ski, too. Do I really have to choose just one place?
My favorite way to travel is slow. Having a chance to interact with locals and learn how they live, and spending enough time in places to get a feel for them is more important than checking tourist sites off on a list, although it is exciting to do that too.
Three lessons I’ve learned from traveling are, traveling is an enormous privilege most people don’t have, I love my home, and the world is an enormous, wonderful, and horrible place. I want to experience as much as I can while I am here and leave it better than I found it.
