Category: journal writing

Posted in journal writing, Travel, Travel Writing

Upcoming Workshops in Texas and Mexico

Posted on by Rhonda Wiley-Jones

Travel Touchstones: Transformative Travel through Creative Journal Writing

 

I had always thought that travel books and travel writers were all about where to go and how to get there. “Been there, done it, got the t-shirt” mentality. But the following quote from Arthur Frommer dispelled my thinking.

“The only things that interest me are people and ideas. I love going on trips that shock me, where everything I believe in my religion, my politics, my social outlook is immediately challenged with diametrically different viewpoints.” – Arthur Frommer –

Frommer took his interest in people and ideas and turned it into an international travel business. His advice is one way to start thinking about the Travel Touchstones workshop, where we attempt to turn standard excursions into transformative travel.

How? Several ways.

  1. Anticipate (play out in our mind or rehearse) what you may encounter and decide how you want to experience what lies in front of you. Often setting a ‘theme’ for your travel may be sufficient to help you get more from the journey into the world. What do I mean by theme? Choosing a cultural phenomenon, like the place of food in the French lifestyle, to investigate as you meet people, eat in restaurants, or shop in grocery stores. Or say, select something about yourselves you want to explore, like notice when you feel threatened, defensive, or uncomfortable and why.
  2. Learn to pay attention to the little things. Use your senses to experience all there is along the way. Not just through the eye of the camera, but sounds and scents, textures and tastes. Note how children are viewed by the country’s culture. Watch for body language in place of verbal attempts. Put your brain and your senses on high alert to help you experience more than you typically would.
  3. Discover what kind of journal writing tools you want and need for the particular journey, find journal writing techniques that make it fast and fun and fulfilling to write, and anticipate topics and themes you may want to pursue. With tools, techniques, and topics in your toolkit, you are ready to hit the road.

These are the three key areas that participants will explore in the upcoming “Travel Touchstones: Transformative Travel through Creative Journal Writing” workshops.

Dates and Locations 

Saturday, January 14, 1-4 pm;  Kerrville, Texas

Tuesday, February 7, 6-9 pm; Isla Mujeres, Mexico, at the Red Buddha Studio

Join me and others to learn how to enjoy transformative travel through creative journal writing. For details and registration, email me at rwileyjones@gmail.com.

 

Posted in journal writing, Travel, Travel Writing, Workshops, Writing, Writing Workshops

Travel Journal Writing at Schreiner University

Posted on by Rhonda Wiley-Jones

Travel Journal Writing 

global-program-logoCommunity  members joined Schreiner University students in celebrating International Education Week, November 14-18 and participated in the Travel Touchstones: Transformative Travel through Creative Journal Writing workshop. Sonja Lind, Ph.D. and the program director of The Changing Global Society initiative sponsored the workshop.

My husband, Lynn Jones and I volunteer at Schreiner University, our local liberal arts university. We encourage and prepare students to expand their learning through travel and study abroad by taking this workshop.su-workshop-3

Experienced travelers from the community and university students explored journal writing topics, techniques, and tools. They participated in two writing exercises and discussion about how to prepare, anticipate, and rehearse before travel.

This prep increases the chances that one will travel more intentionally and more purposefully and as a result, enrich one’s experiences.

The preparation before travel and the reflection after a journey create learning that is deeper, more enduring, and much more transferable in the future.

College students cannot ask for much more out of an experience that is to prepare them for participation in a global world, which is one of the foundational directions of Schreiner University today.

Journal Writing Tips:

  1. Read Globejotting before you take the next trip. (See the bookGlobejotting. cover to your right.)
  2. Take a small journal that will fit in your pocket, purse, or bag. Keep it in a Ziploc bag if needed to protect it from rain, sand, or spills.
  3. Ask a child you meet while riding on public transportation to draw in your journal for you. You can accomplish this, even if you do not share the same language.

What  journal writing tips do you recommend? 

Posted in Craft of writing, journal writing, Travel Writing, Workshops, Writing, Writing Workshops

Travel Writing Workshop October 22, 2016 in Texas Hill Country

Posted on by Rhonda Wiley-Jones

TRAVEL TOUCHSTONES

Intentional Travel through Creative Journal Writing

Have you considered spinning memories into stories, essays or memoirs?

Have you captured a trip in journal entries & been disappointed by the results?

Have you traveled as tourist, pilgrim, adventurer, learner, intentional sojourner?

Have you yearned for adventures, but not known how to make them happen?

This workshop will build writing skills and insight into intentional travel!

(Bring paper and pen. No travel experience or writing experience required.)

WORKSHOP DETAILS  rhonda-with-kuwalla-bear

Workshop Leader, RHONDA WILEY-JONES

Registration Fee: $65 (refreshments and materials included)

Saturday, October 22, 9-noon, 18 Antelope Trail, Kerrville, TX

To register send a check by October 15 to Rhonda Wiley-Jones, 18 Antelope Trail, Kerrville, TX 78028. (LIMITED to 14)

WORKSHOP TAKE-AWAYS

  1. Share adventures or misadventures with others in a fun atmosphere.
  2. Reflect how to travel more purposefully, independently, and intentionally.
  3. Practice journal exercises (not to critique but to share if you want) to develop insight & clarity.
  4. Consider types of travel (pilgrims are not tourists) to match with journal writing supplies.
  5. Develop observation skills; build writing skills using the senses; and mix fiction with fact.
  6. Select journaling methods to match your travel circumstances and/or writing style.
  7. Stimulate imagination with tips, ideas, and suggestions shared.
  8. Make new friends and get to know old ones in new ways.

WHAT PREVIOUS PARTICIPANTS HAVE SAID

  • Nicely presented
  • Good interaction workshop-teachingagain
  • Useful handouts
  • Thank you, Rhonda. I’m a fan!!
  • Many useable/practical ideas and suggestions
  • Great class—plenty of time for questions & sharing
  • I was surprised to learn so much in your workshop
  • It never occurred to me I might write & sell articles

 WORKSHOP FACILITATOR 

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Rhonda Wiley-Jones, M.Ed., author of her travel memoir, At Home in the World: Travel Stories of Growing Up and Growing Away, is world traveler, journal writer, blogger, fiction writer. She’s conducted this workshop with audiences, such as the 2016 bi-annual Story Circle Network national conference, 2015 Schreiner University’s Global Programs, and the 2013 Schreiner University’s Innovative Learning Program.

 

 

 

 

Posted in Craft of writing, journal writing, Travel, Travel Writing, Writing Workshops

Making Travel Intentional

Posted on by Rhonda Wiley-Jones

INTENTIONAL TRAVEL

To travel intentionally. What do I mean by that? I want my journeys to be purposeful, thoughtful and deliberate. I want to make the most of my time and my investment of resources in a trip. I know in the past I have missed moments, experiences and meaning in the midst of being overwhelmed by inconveniences; or from stiff, sore muscles that I typically experience due to travel and/or lack of rest. I always travel with fibromyalgia, so I have to think ahead.

To travel intentionally. One way to do this is to prepare mentally, physically, and emotionally before heading out. Here are some ways I get ready.

IMAGINATIVE ANTICIPATION

I can travel more intentionally if I anticipate my physical needs and take my comfort items, which let me stress less: water bottle to fill, snacks, meds, blanket or scarf, pillow, and NOT too much stuff that I will weigh me down.

I can travel more intentionally if I take time before I leave to think about situations I may encounter, like hosts that want to go, go, go and see everything. I have learned to state my intentions before we leave and again when we arrive. I can say, as an example, “We are coming to visit you and want to spend time with you and the family, to catch up on your lives. Seeing ALL the sites is not our goal, but to spend daily time with your family, the kind of time you spend in your typical week. Please don’t feel as if you must entertain us every minute.”

READ BEFORE YOU LEAVE

I can travel more intentionally if I read about the places we will see, much like I did last year when we went to Peru to visit friends. I like to do Internet searches and to read about the sites and the history behind them before arriving. In this case, I bought a tourist book on Peru. I, also, enjoy reading a book by a local or national author that gives me a feel for the culture. Last year before leaving I read, ­­­­­­­­­­The StoryTeller by Mario Vargas Llosa, a Peruvian classic. If possible, I will visit a native from that country or someone who has been there recently.

EMOTIONAL OR SPIRITUAL PROVISIONS

The thing we rarely do to enhance intentional travel is to anticipate things about ourselves that may influence the trip. For example, are we open to meeting all kinds of people? Are we willing to try our little bit of Spanish (or whatever language) while there? (I’m particularly bad about this.) Are we ready to stretch ourselves by volunteering in the place and putting ourselves in unknown situations? Are we open to trying new foods, especially raw or totally unexpected and unfamiliar items?

And are we willing to prepare ourselves with spiritual awareness that we may need, like patience, tolerance, acceptance, listening, and/or compassion?

JOURNAL WRITING TECHNIQUES

Journal writing techniques range from simple (summarize each day in 5 sentences) to standard (record what you saw and did) to more inclusive (capture your reactions, emotions, or fears to what occurred).  Seize the day’s events, using all the senses. Ask others to write their view of the day’s events in your journal.  I could go on and on.ONLINE PUB Me w.pilgrim's journal

TRAVEL TOUCHSTONES WORKSHOP COMING UP!

I use creative journal writing prompts to help me and others to become more conscious and deliberate in preparation for intentional travel in a three-hour workshop, Travel Touchstones. It offers travelers three major things to better prepare them for capturing the moments and mood, the mystery and magic of their sojourns.

1) Introduce anticipatory questions that will help focus on the upcoming journey.

EXAMPLE: If visiting one country what questions (and of whom) can I ask to learn more about the country’s political system and how it affects global relationships?

2) Discuss kinds of travel and what journal writing supplies fit with each.

EXAMPLE: If traveling to the boundary waters for a nature excursion, what special writing materials will you need in that environment?

3) Offer journal writing techniques that fit various environments and personality types.

EXAMPLE: What theme will be of interest to you in the area you are going to visit and that you plan to write about every day? Food, architecture, education, or ways people dress culturally?

TO REGISTER FOR WORKSHOP

October 22, 2016 from 9:00-noon at 18 Antelope Trail, Kerrville, TX.

Registration fee: $65.00 includes refreshments and materials. Leave questions below in form.

For Texas Hill Country residents to register, please send check to

Rhonda Wiley-Jones, 18 Antelope Trail, Kerrville, TX 78028.

GROUNDWORK FOR INTENTIONAL TRAVEL

I have learned that pre-travel groundwork puts me on high alert for what actually happens, whether it is what I expected or not. I experience more by this preparation.

Some of us are up for anything; but most of us hold back in one area or another that may keep us for gaining the most from our travels.  For those of you who live in the Texas Hill Country, don’t miss this three-hour, fun-filled workshop full of ideas, writing and sharing.

Posted in Craft of writing, journal writing, Travel, Travel Writing, Workshops, Writing Workshops

“To live a life well traveled”

Posted on by Rhonda Wiley-Jones

Staff participants at Schreiner University’s Lunch and Learn workshop entitled, “Travel Journal Writing” took note of how important it is to travel thoughtfully. Below are four comments from the post assessment, including the title to the blog post.

“I wish I had known that a trip is not just a trip.”

Early on in the workshop we consider different kinds of travel. Some of us travel as The Way of the Traveler Book.tourists or to visit friends and family. Some of us are more into learning trips, such as the Roads Scholars program. Others may be into ‘adventuring’ like camping, fishing, hiking while others enjoy extreme adventuring, such as skydiving or mountain biking. Then there are the more serious kinds of travel that might be for business purposes or on a pilgrimage for personal insight, or traveling with a mission group to help others. Any of these trips can be an outward journey into the world and/or an inward journey into ourselves.

“The workshop can start one’s imagination in motion for traveling to other places.” 

The group members, using exercise prompts, wrote what they could expect about future travels. Prompts included things like, ‘What makes you shake, rattle and roll?’

  • What makes you shake (or tremble, good or bad)?
  • What rattles or upsets you?
  • What calms you down so you can roll with the punches?

“Loved the connection to prepare students traveling.”

Globejotting.Being on a college campus, I pointed out how valuable these kinds of questions can be for students who will study abroad, work through an internship abroad, or travel in any kind of experiential learning globally. If we as adults and seasoned professionals are unlikely to travel thoughtfully, why would we think students would do so without some prompting.

 

“I have more to learn about the ‘art’ of preflection about travel, as opposed to ‘worrying’.”

‘Preflection’ is the anticipation of what one wants from a travel experience, what one can expect from the place andArt of Pilgrimage Book.1 its conditions, and how one might approach the experience with an open mind. This heightens our awareness and raises our expectations while traveling and when we arrive. Journal writing before we leave about what could be and what we want creates a radar within us to extract more from the experience, making it deeper and richer. Preflection may include what could go wrong, but it will be followed with how one will choose to react and make the most of the experience. This is the beauty of preflection.

Tools, Techniques, & Topics 

In the beginning of the workshop we discuss the reasons or purposes for travel and the place and conditions of travel. These factors influence the supplies one will choose to use while traveling. For example, you may want notecards to stash in your purse or pocket. While others may prefer a beautifully covered notebook, lined or unlined, to motivate them to write. Yet other travelers may prefer a small, plastic covered notebook with pockets in which to tuck tickets or brochures. Those who travel in rough terrain or in rainy weather may need special pencils that write even in the rain.

2015-11-17 15.40.12Where you went, what you saw, and what you ate are not the only topics of traveling journal writing. 

In addition, we discuss tools or supplies, journaling techniques that make for more interesting and challenging journal writing. And then we list topics that one might select to write about. Leaving ready with anticipated topics keeps one from saying, “I don’t know what to write about.”

What books on journal writing can your recommend? What have you learned from your own travel journal writing experience?