Ten Reasons I Fell in Love With Travel as a Black Woman Abroad

Cha Jones

I didn’t grow up with a passport. I didn’t grow up hearing people talk about Bali or Barcelona over dinner. But once I tasted the sweetness of life abroad, I was hooked. Travel didn’t just expand my geography—it expanded my sense of self. Here are ten reasons why the journey became my teacher.

1. Seeing the World Through My Own Eyes: There’s a saying: Perception is reality. But I’ve learned that reality shifts the moment you witness it firsthand. When you travel, you begin to question everything you thought you knew—everything you were taught or told—because now, you’re seeing it for yourself. It’s no longer filtered through someone else’s bias or media lens. For me, a place doesn’t truly exist—not fully—until I’ve walked its streets, breathed its air, and looked its people in the eye. That’s when the world stops being a story and becomes lived truth.

2.       Humanity Becomes Real: This flows directly from the first. When we talk about countries like Iran, Zimbabwe, or North Korea, many of us speak from what we’ve heard, not what we know. And that distance creates detachment. We start to think of people in headlines, not as humans. But the moment you sit across from someone, share a smile, break bread, or even stumble through a language barrier, they stop being a statistic. They become a soul. And suddenly, you care differently. You feel differently. You can’t unsee the truth of their lives, their struggles, or their joy. When I’ve seen hungry children in under-resourced villages, they’re no longer part of a sad commercial—they’re in my prayers, my advocacy, my stories. Travel doesn’t just show you the world—it makes it impossible to ignore the humanity within it.

3.       Beauty Is in the Eye—and the Experience—of the Beholder

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but there’s something sacred about being in the moment. When you’re standing on a beach, warm sand sliding between your toes, ocean breeze carrying the scent of salt and sun, how do you put that into a photo? You can’t. Pictures are beautiful, yes, but they can’t hold the weight of your memories, your senses, or the healing you may have felt just being there. The experience imprints on your soul in a way no postcard ever could.

4.       I Love to EAT—For Real 

Let’s be clear: I love food. Period. But when I say authentic—whew, I mean that deep! There’s a big difference between eating Tex-Mex in the U.S. and eating tacos from a street vendor in Oaxaca or mole from an abuela’s kitchen in Puebla. Now, don’t get me wrong—I’ll still pull up for some queso dip at a chain restaurant, but real, homemade, culturally-rooted food? That’s where the magic lives. Travel gives you the chance to eat what the locals eat, how they eat it, and with whom they share it. And listen—real will always taste better than the remix.

5. Travel Is the Best Teacher
Every time I travel, I return a little wiser. Books and documentaries are great, but they can’t replace what you learn through lived experience. Whether it's navigating a new city, learning cultural customs, or understanding historical context from those who lived it, you gain knowledge that stays with you. And when you come back home, you carry stories that teach others, too.

6. Expanding the Way You Think
The world is bigger than what we’ve been taught. Travel challenges assumptions and expands your thinking in the best way. Sometimes, you’ll learn that the “dangerous” place you feared is full of kindness. Or that the country you thought was behind is more advanced in ways you didn’t expect. Travel doesn’t just take you places—it opens your mind, softens your judgments, and plants seeds for new beginnings.

7.       Rest and relaxation. I love the city—the energy, the options, the nonstop motion. But even a woman on the move needs rest. Travel offers me a sacred pause. When I sit on a beach, phone on silent, toes in the sand, and no deadlines calling my name, I’m reminded that rest is not a reward—it’s a necessity. The hustle will still be there. But those moments of stillness? They bring me back to myself. Travel helps me slow down long enough to hear my own heartbeat again.

8.       Pampering. Now listen, you should always be pampering yourself, no matter your zip code. But let me tell you, there’s a certain kind of magic that happens when you get a massage in Bali, a facial in Morocco, or sip champagne on a rooftop in Paris. When I travel, I treat myself like royalty. I eat well, sleep better, and prioritize pleasure. That’s not indulgence—that’s alignment. Travel is a beautiful reminder that you are worth every soft, luxurious moment.

9.       Stories That Stay With You. The best souvenirs aren’t trinkets—they’re stories. Stories about the woman who invited me into her kitchen in Oaxaca. About the time I got lost in Tokyo and found clarity instead. Or the moment a child in Cuba called me prima and made me cry. These are the moments that shape you. Everyone doesn’t have the privilege or courage to travel, so when we do, we become storytellers. We carry not just our experiences, but the stories of the people we meet along the way

10.   Reinvention Through the Journey. Every time I travel, I shed something old and embrace something new. A belief. A fear. A part of myself I didn’t even know was still holding on. Travel is more than a getaway—it’s a rebirth. It gives me space to try new things, show up differently, and say yes to the version of me I’ve been too scared to become. If you’re tired of who you’ve been, pack your bags. Go somewhere you’ve never been and meet the you who’s been waiting on the other side of comfort. Reinvention doesn’t require a grand plan—just the courage to begin.

So, what are your top reasons for traveling? Where have you gone and what have you learned?

I am an Expat and Transition coach, and I specialize in helping people who are trying to make changes in their lives. So, if you are interested in traveling, but don't know where to begin,  I would suggest connecting with me and doing a 30-minute Free exploration coaching call. Click here for more information. 

More than a decade later, I’m still learning from the road. Travel has been my liberation, my mirror, and my medicine. It’s not about ticking off countries. It’s about discovering who I am—again and again—with every step I take.