I am young at heart, in spirit, and age, with much to learn, but also much to say. With many different passions, one seems to unite them all – a love and joy for adventure. Whether it be in my hometown, a neighbouring country, or a place far, far away, I enjoy travel and the exchange of cultures. With this, I created this blog as a place to share those interests, and as different as these interests may be, they are an extension of me and my love for the globe.
From my love of navigation, languages, and the history and culture of different nations to my love for the international sport of football (also known to many as soccer), it will all be here.
I hope you decide to come along for the journey! The exploration begins now.
The Rooted Traveller 
🙂
Your adventurous spirit is so awesome! What are you doing in Spain?
I notice you write a lot about Europe but I want to know something that travel guides won’t tell you. Main one being race relations since I have a friend who is an American of East Indian heritage that wants to travel there. His worry is being mistaken for a gypsy or north african person, can you shed some more light on that?
Great question.
The romani people I’ve seen in Europe don’t look East Indian – at least, to me. Then again, Spaniards tend to think I look Spanish or Italian, and I’m of greater Middle Eastern heritage…. so, who knows what they’ll think! They may assume that, but it’s doubtful. Your friend speaks English, probably dresses like an American, thus will stand out as a North American. I also don’t think East Indians look North African… so, again, a non-issue.
Romanis/gypsies definitely have a bad reputation in Europe. North Africans are 50/50 – some do, some don’t. I unfortunately witnessed Moroccans be the victim of very up front racism (to the point where the police were involved), but I’ve never experienced that myself in Spain. I do think racism is a problem in much of Europe though (I wrote about it here: http://www.policymic.com/articles/59687/soccer-not-politics-will-end-racism-in-europe), Spain included. If your friend is just traveling for a few days or weeks, they shouldn’t even worry about it in my opinion. Living in a small town in Spain, as an African-American or Chinese-American, WOULD be different, but your friend isn’t in that camp. The main thing to know is that Spaniards are much more up front and vocal about physicality and just about everything. If they think your friend is very tan, they’ll hear “moreno/a” a lot, or they’ll comment on their looks (being good, or I’ve heard sometimes even bad).
well my friend looks a lot like this guy, any ideas how he will be perceived compared to a black or asian person?
he is more a lighter skin indian
I’d say he’s more likely to be mistaken for Greek, Turkish, or something along those lines. He doesn’t look like any of the North Africans I’ve known in Spain, although I can’t speak on behalf of Spaniards!
I should add – a friend of mine is Greek and is mistaken for Indian a lot of times in Spain. She humorously noted that sometimes being Greek gets her more flack (you know, the economy and all). I don’t think your friend should worry too much. Is he looking into living in Spain?
I look forward to following your travels 🙂 Maybe you will travel to India one day? Namaste Lakshmi
I can’t wait to!
Hey Lady,
I wanted to let you know that I like your blog! I’ve nominated you for the “Liebster Award” and you can check out more details here: http://eludingennui.com/2014/02/07/liebster-award-nomination/
Hello there
My name is Brigid from Cape Town, South Africa. I found your blog on the Big Blog Exchange competition and think it is pretty awesome.
I thought I would start my own little blog exchange by extending an offer to other bloggers thinking of visiting my beautiful city 🙂 If you ever make it to Cape Town please do get in touch – I will do my best to offer you a bed/ couch and will definitely show you around what I think is the most beautiful city in the world.
I am also participating in the Big Blog Exchange – though the Africa standings seem to have very few votes compared to your region.
Could you please vote for me? I voted for you 😉
My profile on Big Blog Exchange
http://www.bigblogexchange.org/profile/2014/5668600916475904
Thank you and good luck!
Brigid (@The_B_Boss)
Will do! Thank you so much for finding me and voting. 🙂 I love your blog!