I attended some workshops for this year’s Moravian Writers’ Conference, and by far, my favorite workshop was Professor Liz Gray’s writing workshop on traveling. As someone who will not shut up about their spring break trip to Rome, I knew I had to attend this workshop! She opened the workshop with a T.S. Eliot quote: “We shall not cease from exploration and the end of our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” She elaborated on this quote, citing practicality in not only our travel but also our travel writing. I also interpreted this quote as being open to surprises during and after traveling.
She encouraged us to think about our first impressions even on the plane. I remember journaling on my plane ride to Rome and noting smaller details like the airplane food and how breathtaking nightscapes look when you’re high in the air. She also asked us to be aware of our expectations of a place and how the universal rules there may shatter those expectations. For example, I was not expecting Italian drivers to be so peevish and inconsiderate of pedestrians. I also didn’t expect the meals to be in such normal portions – compared to exaggerated, bigger-is-better American portions – which is something I really liked; moreover, Italians have dinner late at night, around 8 or 9 o’clock and usually stay up until early hours of the morning. I actually didn’t mind these Italian universalities, and it wasn’t as big of a culture shock once I got used to the way things worked. A woman at the workshop mentioned restroom systems and how much more organized those systems were in Honduras when she traveled there; I found the experience to be similar to when I was in Rome.
Another question Gray asked was, “What are some things that you’d never bothered to try but were open to trying abroad?” I answered this by telling her about the variety of meals I tried there. Usually, I’m somewhat picky when it comes to certain textures and foods, but when I was in Rome, I felt more comfortable expanding my food palate; I tried clams and mussels for the first time!
Toward the end of the workshop, Gray asked us to consider the small things of travel and enjoy those wonders. She also asked us to think about the habits/practices that will stick with us after our return. She mentioned doing lots of walking when she was in France and trying to stick to a daily routine of walks when she got back home. What stuck with me is having smaller, reasonably-portioned meals, which not only prevents food waste but is good for my health. I also want to keep expanding my food palate and be open to trying foods that I am usually too afraid to try. Finally, she asked us to think to ourselves what we would do differently or what sights/landscapes we wished we’d explored more. I would definitely pack a little heavier next time I go abroad since we did have some mildly chilly days in Rome; it was also fairly chilly when I went to Florence. I would also love to have explored more of The Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica. I feel like the tour was fast-paced, and I would have liked to spend more time walking through the basilica leading to the Sistine Chapel.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop, and I fe very engaged with her approaches to writing. I was also happy to hear about the experiences of my friends who attended, Liz Kameen and Joel Hendricks, who talked about their experiences in Florence and Paris, respectively.
