It was a golden November afternoon. I strolled across the bustling Mexican plaza in the Jalisco village where my husband Hank and I live part-time. Photogenic scenes were everywhere.
It was fiesta time and I immersed myself in the jubilant celebrations and felt the strength of community in the vibrant Mexican village. Absent, however, was an urge to photograph. The goodwill that surrounded me felt too precious for a bystander’s camera.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. After 15 years as an independent content creator for travel and tourism, she has been enjoying extended stays abroad for the past decade, the inspiration behind her travel memoir, "I Could Live Here" (November 2023)
The plan was to meet in Rome and then spend the following three weeks circumnavigating Italy’s hot spots creating lifestyle photography for a travel tour company. I would be the photographer and my beautiful German friend, the model. The client was footing the bill for expenses and a generous day rate. Dream assignment, right? It should have been.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. After 15 years as an independent content creator for travel and tourism, she has been enjoying extended stays abroad for the past decade, the inspiration behind her travel memoir, "I Could Live Here" (November 2023)
I’ve learned a lot from travel and living abroad. I’ve learned about my own ignorance, arrogance, and resistance, but also about kindness and compassion. However, one of the most liberating lessons of being a foreigner has been learning to love the feeling of anonymity that comes from hanging out in places where no one knows me.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. After 15 years as an independent content creator for travel and tourism, she has been enjoying extended stays abroad for the past decade, the inspiration behind her travel memoir, "I Could Live Here" (November 2023)
I need quiet to sleep well. I need high-speed Internet to work. I need to live in a natural setting to feel at peace. Until two-and-a-half years ago I believed unequivocally in the truth of these “needs.” Today I can get a good night’s sleep amidst a cacophony of barking dogs, exploding fireworks, and blaring music.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. After 15 years as an independent content creator for travel and tourism, she has been enjoying extended stays abroad for the past decade, the inspiration behind her travel memoir, "I Could Live Here" (November 2023)
Much of my work is spent traveling with people on vacation, and if there’s one thing I’ve noticed, it is that travelers love to talk— talk, talk, talk.
It’s natural, of course, this inclination to verbalize the wonder and awe of being somewhere foreign, experiencing exciting adventures, and meeting new and interesting people.
I wonder, though, how much potential joy, insight, and observation is lost amid the cacophony of the nonstop chatter.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. After 15 years as an independent content creator for travel and tourism, she has been enjoying extended stays abroad for the past decade, the inspiration behind her travel memoir, "I Could Live Here" (November 2023)
Sure, I’ve done some brave things in my life. But this might be the boldest yet. At age 49, I am learning self-acceptance.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. After 15 years as an independent content creator for travel and tourism, she has been enjoying extended stays abroad for the past decade, the inspiration behind her travel memoir, "I Could Live Here" (November 2023)I opened my email this morning in Mexico to a blog article written by a self-described ‘award-winning’ travel writer whining about how ‘good writing’ was largely absent in travel blogs.
Next, I read a piece by a personal finance writer challenging professional travel bloggers to publish their financials and provide ‘real numbers’ for how they budget for their future, because at a certain point “they’ll have to resume a ‘normal’ life, right?.”
I’d bristled reading both and my prickly reactions prompted me to stop and think about why.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. After 15 years as an independent content creator for travel and tourism, she has been enjoying extended stays abroad for the past decade, the inspiration behind her travel memoir, "I Could Live Here" (November 2023)“Just be yourself,” a trusted friend once advised me. I’d been in a panic over a public appearance, caught up in a whirlwind of self-doubt, and certain of only one thing—that ‘myself’ was nowhere near good enough. What I needed, my inner critic assured me, was a razzle-dazzle multimedia presentation to hide behind and a pedigree that I did not possess.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. After 15 years as an independent content creator for travel and tourism, she has been enjoying extended stays abroad for the past decade, the inspiration behind her travel memoir, "I Could Live Here" (November 2023)
What about you? What’s your passport to wanderlust?
Everyone likes a good quote - don’t forget to share.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. After 15 years as an independent content creator for travel and tourism, she has been enjoying extended stays abroad for the past decade, the inspiration behind her travel memoir, "I Could Live Here" (November 2023)
I struggle with this one, a lot.
Sharing is fun. Keeping in touch is nice. The ability to scan a distant friend’s Facebook timeline or Twitter feed, and know instantly what’s going on in their life, is convenient.
So why is it that social connection has started to feel more and more like social obligation? Has social technology grown so big and noisy that we can no longer really hear one another? Why am I not as eager to login into my social accounts as I once was?
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. After 15 years as an independent content creator for travel and tourism, she has been enjoying extended stays abroad for the past decade, the inspiration behind her travel memoir, "I Could Live Here" (November 2023)
There’s a certain comfort in leading an ordinary life, slipping into the cozy habits of everyday routines and donning the familiar masks of personal and professional identities.
But no matter how snug the habitual may feel, how secure the career, house, or marriage might appear, now and again life’s Big Questions (e.g. Who am I? What is my purpose?) simmer to the surface, casting a nagging net of uneasiness over my ordinary contentment.
So, with the hope of better understanding life’s deeper meanings, I open my heart and travel beyond my comfort zone in search of answers, different ways of thinking and universal truths.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. After 15 years as an independent content creator for travel and tourism, she has been enjoying extended stays abroad for the past decade, the inspiration behind her travel memoir, "I Could Live Here" (November 2023)The movie had faded to rolling credits. I’d barely noticed. My mind was still processing the words - the world, has changed me.
Beyond her fame, I knew little of the life of Amelia Earhart, the film’s subject. But her story, as depicted in the biographical picture, AMELIA, had ignited a longing so visceral that my heart suddenly felt heavy, tears springing to my eyes.
These emotional tsunamis always strike when I least expect it, plunging me unsuspectingly into life’s Big Questions: Why, for example, are some people beckoned to a life of exploration while others are happiest at home?
After fifteen months of living abroad in Central and South America, my husband and I are stateside for an interim and aware that we, too, have been changed by our experiences and the people we have met along the way.
Ellen Barone is an American writer and wanderer. After 15 years as an independent content creator for travel and tourism, she has been enjoying extended stays abroad for the past decade, the inspiration behind her travel memoir, "I Could Live Here" (November 2023)