Black And (A)broad: Traveling Beyond The Limitations Of Identity
Carolyn Vines
Well-travelled expat, African-American Carolyn Vines, hails from Indianapolis, Indiana in the United States. Eleven years ago, Carolyn followed her Dutch boyfriend to his home in the Netherlands. A few years later she left her promising career in academia and discovered her new vocation in writing. Carolyn's new book Black and (A)broad: Traveling Beyond the Limitations of Identity is a candid account of how her travels (100 cities in 17 countries) have transformed how she sees herself as a black woman in the world.
Carolyn is an author, editor, award-winning blogger and a full-time mother of two bicultural, bilingual daughters. She holds a Master of Arts in Latin American literature and has taught in universities in the Netherlands and the United States. Carolyn speaks Spanish and Dutch fluently and dreams of playing the piano someday.
Expat Women's Interview With Carolyn
Expat Women: Carolyn, in Black and (A)broad, you have retold the hardships you have faced a very compelling and inspiring way. Please share with our readers why you wrote this memoir.
Carolyn: I wrote my memoir to inspire women around the world and to encourage them to reflect on the labels they have had placed upon them and then ask themselves if the labels are still appropriate. I hope that reading about my process of questioning the labels and the limitations I placed upon my own identity will inspire women to do the same.
I like to think of Black and (A)broad as a memoir with a message: how you see yourself is key. What you tell yourself about yourself informs every decision you make, from what you put on in the morning to how you run your department. It is a book about how travelling and living abroad has transformed how I see myself as a black woman in the world.
Expat Women: What inspired you to write?
Carolyn: First of all, I was inspired by something deep within my soul telling me that I had something to say. I knew in my heart that I had not experienced the events in my life for nothing. I knew that if other women, particularly black women, knew what I had been through and yet managed to overcome, they might be inspired to look at what is stopping them from living the lives they long to live.
Secondly, in my own small way, I wanted to inspire more black women to travel abroad. My travels taught me that I have courage, am flexible, adaptable and open. They have directed me inward to the voice that has been dying to be expressed and the confidence that lay just beneath the negative stereotypes about my womanhood and sexuality, which left me fearful and immobile. I hope my story and my message will do the same for other black women.
Expat Women: As a busy mother, how did you find the time to write?
Carolyn: Indeed, as a new mother embarking on a new writing career, I had to set my priorities at the beginning of my writing process. I was determined to create work/family balance in my life, so my husband and I decided to send our youngest to day-care three days a week. Our oldest had just started kindergarten, so I knew I would have sixteen hours per week to write. I had to be disciplined, which meant writing during those sixteen hours instead of doing the laundry or meeting friends for coffee. When my daughters were at home, I shut down my computer and gave them my attention. Evenings were spent learning all I could about marketing my book. Weekends were family time.
Expat Women:Were there any obstacles you needed to overcome in the writing process?
Carolyn: My greatest obstacle during the writing process was dealing with my own insecurities as an aspiring author. Whenever I felt doubtful that anyone would want to read my book, I reminded myself of all the positive feedback I had received from people reading my blog. I told myself that my blog would not have won an award - jury's choice even - had I not had something worthwhile to say. I surrounded myself with people who inspired and motivated me to keep going.
Expat Women:From growing up in urban America to life overseas in Spain, Latin America and the Netherlands, you have seen how race and ethnicity are treated in a variety of contexts. How have these experiences changed your concepts of race and culture?
Carolyn: My travels have taught me that race is culturally-determined. What America teaches us about race is simply not true in other cultural contexts. Seeing for myself that some people in Mexico had even less than I did showed me that blackness is not essentially equivalent to poverty. People in Spain reacted to my nationality and my inability to speak their language more so than they did to my race. Cubans were drawn me because of my brown skin, curly hair and my ability to speak their language. My being American did not bother them at all. The Dutch appreciate my willingness to assimilate certain aspects of their culture and speak their language. I have learned that your race can only limit you if you allow it to.
Expat Women:How difficult was it choosing to give up the familiar and follow your partner abroad?
Carolyn: As my friends and family were nothing but supportive, I would have to say that my greatest obstacle was my own fear of the unknown - ironically, of being Black And (A)broad. I did not know how Dutch people would receive a black American woman. I did not know if racism was as engrained in the Dutch culture as it is in American culture. Would the Dutch culture be able to accommodate my needs as a black woman? I did not know what rights I would have as the girlfriend of a Dutchman. What professional opportunities would be available to someone who did not speak the language? In the end I had to walk through my fears and take a chance.
Expat Women:What do you consider to be the greatest challenges for black women living abroad?
Carolyn: Honestly, I would have to say finding hair products! Our hair is different and not every country can accommodate our needs. Just like any woman, we want to look well-groomed, and that can be a challenge without the right products.
Other than that, it would be finding a community of black women. Even though more black women are travelling and building new lives abroad, our numbers are still painfully low, which makes connecting with others of similar background and experiences more difficult.
Expat women of any color need a strong network in order to have a successful experience abroad, and black women are no exception.
Expat Women:What advice do you have for women of color considering a move abroad?
Carolyn:
1.
Forget what racism has taught you about yourself. Being abroad is a perfect opportunity to (re)define yourself on your own terms;
2.
Wherever you are, find a community of other black women - even if it is just one person. You can not imagine how refreshing it is to talk about your experience without having to explain where you come from;
3.
Open a Facebook account and learn how to use Skype;
4.
Learn the language of your host countries. It opens doors to opportunities that not even skin color has access to; and finally,
5.
Be creative with your hair. Experiment with braids, go natural and/or invest in as many hats and scarves as you can!
Expat Women: Carolyn, thank you very much for sharing your experiences with us. You are a true inspiration and we wish you and your book every success!
