Assistant, Author at Blogging Abroad

NOVEMBER PHOTO CHALLENGE HIGHLIGHTS: #ThisIsMyLife

WHAT IS THE #BAPHOTOCHALLENGE? Photo challenge participants get 10 prompts by e-mail on the 1st of the month. They then share their best photo responses on their favorite social media account. All the prompts this month relate back to the theme of “My Town.” The goal is to share captivating images online, with meaningful captions, in order to promote cross-cultural understanding in a fun, simple way. A new format: This month we tried a new edition of the Blogging Abroad Instagram Photo Challenge: one hashtag and as many posts as you want to contribute! In November's #ThisIsMyLife challenge we saw a glimpse into the every day life of our bloggers abroad including everything from unusual grub to fantastic landscapes. However, most photo submissions were filled with the people that our bloggers see as a regular part of their life. Let's review the Top 5 photos of November's 'This Is My Life' Challenge: 5. The friends you make (human and animal alike): #Repost @olivepretzel ・・・ “In Madagascar, the Malagasy typically eat hedgehogs — you can buy one at the market for 300 ariary/~9 cents. But when my friend knocked on my door to give me this little guy, I told him that we were just gonna play. Say hi to the new roomie 😍 #peacecorps #madagascar #howiseePC #culture #hedgehog #travel #ThisIsMyLife #BAphotochallenge” A photo posted by Blogging Abroad (@bloggingabroad) on Nov 7, 2016 at 4:39pm PST 4. The smiling faces you see on the regular: A smile a day! #repost @olivepretzel • • • "A contagious smile. 😍" #howiseepc #madagascar #volunteerabroad #bloggingabroad #baphotochallenge...

27 November, 2016 / 0 Comments

The importance of being an ethnographer online

One of the best parts about living abroad is the window into different lives that your relationships can provide. Just by becoming friends with people in your new country of residence, you’ll find yourself taking part in new customs and rituals, and sometimes incorporating them into your own life. You may find these rituals exciting and want to share them with your readers, but when you try to do more research online about them, your searches come up empty. The further afield you are from the capital city, the more likely you are to find and take part in customs and rituals that likely haven’t been written about in English before, which makes you as a blogger an important voice for your community, and the world at large. There are several ways to approach writing about these in a cross-culturally sensitive way. Pick one that suits you and your blog’s voice and style best. Narrative Stretch your creative writing muscles and tell the story of your unique experience from beginning to end. Remember to include good storytelling conventions such as building tension, climax and a resolution. Engage all of the senses of your readers, describing not just what is going on during the ritual, but the sounds, the smells, the tastes. Be sure to include some dialogue, or paraphrased dialogue from your community members, as they are going to be the best explainers for what is happening and why at the event. Try to center them and what the ritual is for them and...

24 June, 2016 / 1 Comment