Some Things I Like (About Travel)
Saturday afternoon, somewhere far from the city center. I like this cafe, edged in fading sunlight, that flanks a nondescript park. I like sitting by myself and soaking in unknown smells that will soon be memories.
Writing archive
Essays & Travelogue
New writing lives on Substack — essays, notes, and the conversations I’m having now. This page is the Vagabondess Blog Archive: articles published August 2012 through March 2024.
-
Continue Reading: Some Things I Like (About Travel)
-
The Strangeness
Continue Reading: The StrangenessIt is the traveler only who is foreign.” — Robert Louis Stevenson Sorry, Robert Stevenson, on two counts. First, I still haven’t actually read any of your books, but I swear they’re on my list.
-
An Artist’s Statement, Kind of
Continue Reading: An Artist’s Statement, Kind ofIn addition to the travel, culture, and adventure writing I focus on here, I also dabble in poetry, fiction, and other creative writing. Through these pursuits, I have come to collaborate with a wonderful artist named Paula Barkmeier.
-
How I’m Overcoming the Tension of Teaching Storytelling in Africa
Continue Reading: How I’m Overcoming the Tension of Teaching Storytelling in AfricaIn my first workshop meeting, I share a TED Talk by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and she discusses how throughout history those in power—especially colonialists—have dispossessed others by choosing how to tell their stories.
-
The Wild-Tame Peculiarity of Safari (and 10 Wild Photos)
Continue Reading: The Wild-Tame Peculiarity of Safari (and 10 Wild Photos)Sabi Sand Game Reserve, Mpumalanga, South Africa A male leopard wakes from his nap and stretches lazily. Three safari cars—Land Rovers, I think—have parked just meters away. The leopard yawns, stretches again, and begins to move.
-
Don’t Take My Word For It
Continue Reading: Don’t Take My Word For ItEverything I have ever written, everything I will ever write, represents an infinitesimal slice (mine) of an infinitely complex whole. I may speak of the universality of experiences such as fear, joy, loss and love. And I do believe in the value of sharing knowledge.
-
When the World is in Chaos: Dance
Continue Reading: When the World is in Chaos: DanceWhen the World is in Chaos: Dance — an essay from Toby’s on-site writing archive, written before new work moved to Substack.
-
The First Time: When the Travel Bug Bites
Continue Reading: The First Time: When the Travel Bug BitesSome people will reminisce—with nostalgia, regret, or a little bit of each—about their first cigarette, their first drink, or their first time trying X (fill in the blank with your substance of choice).
-
12 Ways to Move/Travel to a New City/Country Where you Don’t Know Anyone—and Totally Rock It
Continue Reading: 12 Ways to Move/Travel to a New City/Country Where you Don’t Know Anyone—and Totally Rock ItI write about venturing into the unknown often. You might say it’s my favorite theme—in life and in art. You could say it’s my greatest fear—in love and in travel.
-
White Spaces: Combatting Racism with Subtle Awareness
Continue Reading: White Spaces: Combatting Racism with Subtle AwarenessLate December, Sea Point, Cape Town The walls and tables are painted a matte black, with the name of the cafe written in white. The decor is rustic-chic—a style I’m beginning to identify as a hallmark of upper-middle class Capetonian hipster culture.
-
This is What Conscious Travel Looks Like
Continue Reading: This is What Conscious Travel Looks LikeI wrote this for a masters application, but I think it’s worth sharing with more than a few admissions officers! A crowd of other drivers and tourists collects around the ugly scene.
-
Familiar Things
Continue Reading: Familiar ThingsSea Point, Cape Town, South Africa I’ve been in Cape Town for less than a week now (after nearly a year away), but it seems much longer. In a way, it feels like I never left.
-
On Leaving
Continue Reading: On LeavingThe kitchen is clean, lights off, curtains drawn. I look around one last time, step into the hallway, and shut the door. I’ve left the keys—let’s hope I didn’t forget anything.
-
This Blog Post says, Thank You!
Continue Reading: This Blog Post says, Thank You!Do you ever experience moments of sudden and unanticipated gratitude? Thanksgiving, for me, is a lovely excuse to eat good food with friends and/or family; it is not, however, a better occasion than any other to feel thankful.
-
How to Pack One Bag for Life (What’s in my Backpack)
Continue Reading: How to Pack One Bag for Life (What’s in my Backpack)It’s been two years that I’ve lived out of one bag. In two weeks I will take a second (small) suitcase with me to Cape Town, so I might as well write this while it’s still true.
Loading more essays…
You’ve reached the end of the archive. Continue on Substack →