Journaling Our Travels: 2 Examples

How do you journal your travels?

One way to do it is descriptively:

"Went to Nairobi with Jill, Nancy and Julie in a Toyota station wagon; Moses was our driver. He was tall, lean, wore a blue dress shirt and brown leather shoes that would later get a little mussed after changing the tire. We are all good companions.

Nairobi...lots of traffic--jockeying for position but for the most part, cooperation. The roads are congested; people on the side of the street, crossing the street, looking in our car. I feel somewhat threatened every time we stop--too many thievery stories from missionaries.

Patty's house...Masai guard opens the gate to a beautiful green lawn. Three houses in this compound. Her's is glorious and beautiful. Words to remember her by: photo albums, people pictures, Zambia, Land Cruiser, red kitchen walls, African fabric, loft, Karl Larrson pictures, Dixie Chicks, kindness, coffee talk, lunch on the back porch, a beautiful moment in time.

It has been good to see a facet of missionary life and how ordinary it can be."

OR it can be insightful:

"It happened on day 2 as I exited my comfortable hotel onto a street filled with men. My heart was racing—so uncomfortable, so completely other. My eyes were trained to avoid eye contact with men. Look down, I repeated over and over.

And then I saw it. There it was…beauty—roses embroidered along the bell-shaped sleeve of her black covering. I looked down a little further and noticed the color of her shoes matched the color of the roses. And there you had it—I knew it was universal: Every woman everywhere desiring to create beauty, to be known and seen.

Fashion, in my mind, is not about stuff or status but about art. Admittedly I see life most clearly through metaphor; however, I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe women aren’t as hidden as I first thought in this culture. Their eyes, hands and feet are adorned. Is that any different than what I want to be most beautiful about me? Is beauty everywhere—even in the darkest places? I am beginning to believe it—but only if I keep my eyes uncovered."

Or it could be... loved to hear how you do it.