There are always stories to tell from every trip. I mostly share the positive aspects of my travel because as an optimist and a #positivevibesonly endorser these are what come naturally for me to share. However, in this post and moving forward, I will share the imperfect and odd aspects too. Here are a few stories about my strange encounters abroad…
When I visited Denmark I did a day trip to Malmo, Sweden because it’s only a train ride away. We walked the streets to get a feel for the city and in true travel blogger style I was taking pictures and videos of the scenery. While doing so, a frustrated elderly women in the distance yelled at me saying, “Don’t take pictures of me!” I was shocked. I replied, “I don’t want pictures of you!” I’m very proud of that comeback by the way haha! I was really disturbed by that encounter. She was so far away that if she had been in my shot you would not have been able to determine who she is. As a black woman in a country where you are very obviously the minority, my guard was already up and this along with an encounter in Denmark made it worse.
While in Copenhagen, Denmark, I had a strange encounter at the hotel. I shared this story previously in my blog post about Culture Shock Moments in Denmark. I was in the elevator with my mom. A young woman with a child walked in. The child looked at us then started crying and holding on to his mother. Maybe it was the melanin glow or the beads in my hair? I’m not sure. I should have roared.
In Greece while in Mykonos, my friends and I spent an afternoon at Paradise Beach. Because we traveled to Greece during off peak season, the beach was pretty quiet. As a black person in certain parts of the world you will get multiple people wanting to take a photo of/with you. This time I was in a bikini and started feeling a bit weird taking pictures with strangers while not fully dressed. So I told them no more pictures and went to sit at the edge of the water enjoying the waves passing over my feet. My serene moment with the ocean was disturbed when my friend shouted my name. I turned around quickly and found the same people I had so no to crouched up behind me taking photos of me! I couldn’t believe it LOL!

Writing this made me think about what lesson I can take and share from these experiences. One of them is that we should be great hosts when we encounter visitors. The impressions made from simple interactions are lasting. You never forget how an uncomfortable encounter made you feel.
Have you had any interactions while traveling that made lasting impressions on you? Can you relate to the encounters I have shared. Let me know in the comments 🙂
While traveling in Beijing and friend and I received so many stares and request for pictures. All the people were respectful for the most part… except for the people we caught taking fake selfies trying to snap us in the background. Thanks for sharing the other side of traveling
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In Thailand my sister and i were being video-taped by these locals , it was really very strange.
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I’m so sorry! That’s very disturbing
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Hey.
Few years back in China ,we got so stared at that we did not enjoy our trip. Locals went so far as touching us and screaming as eve we will bite them. One should just stay open mind that there are really some people that have never never seen black people in real life .
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Whoa! Thanks for sharing Clarissa. That sounds terrible. I’m hoping to travel to China next year and it’s good to know this ahead of my trip.
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