Speaker 1: I knew it was going to be living overseas, and
Speaker 1: even whilst living overseas, I had a whole list of
Speaker 1: countries that I want to.
Speaker 2: Go to and so on and so forth, and so
Speaker 2: I am a traveler.
Speaker 1: And my argument is we went to boarding school. It
Speaker 1: was stuglife might as well have been a hostel. But
Speaker 1: my gosh, that's the most racist place that I grow
Speaker 1: and the way that I was treated.
Speaker 3: You really have honed in that idea that Africa is
Speaker 3: not one country.
Speaker 1: I'm always always be careful those.
Speaker 4: Hi. I'm Amanda and I'm Roumbi. Welcome to Slayered Podcasts.
Speaker 1: We're under the Blackcast network, powered by iHeart and recording
Speaker 1: in studio in Melbourne today.
Speaker 4: He been a.
Speaker 3: Sweet studio which is really really lovely for us. And
Speaker 3: this lovely setup done by pink Lady Picnic.
Speaker 1: And if you're wondering who this beautiful lady here who's
Speaker 1: giving us Bridgerton, you know soft girl era vibes.
Speaker 3: Is she understood the assignment. She overstood. She was like
Speaker 3: a bit.
Speaker 1: If you're listening to this, you might want to watch
Speaker 1: the video because it's just so Gordon, that so wonderful
Speaker 1: to have you here, Charmaine a man.
Speaker 5: Can you tell us a bit about Charmi.
Speaker 3: Charmaine's an inclusion advocate, focusing on youth empowerment through mentoring
Speaker 3: and coaching for both professional and personal development. She's a
Speaker 3: skilled communicator, which we'll get into immedia Powis, who's further
Speaker 3: demonstrated as being a host of a multi award nominated
Speaker 3: Can We Talk About It podcast where she tackles pressing
Speaker 3: issues affecting the Australian Black diaspora, which is why we
Speaker 3: had to bring you on the pod because we know
Speaker 3: you get it to get all the things. So Chamaine,
Speaker 3: welcome to a podcast.
Speaker 5: Thank you, Thank you exciting. It's so so thrilled to
Speaker 5: have you on here.
Speaker 1: And before we delve deeper into a really fun topic,
Speaker 1: we actually had started talking and then we actually christ
Speaker 1: yeah because.
Speaker 5: Exactly.
Speaker 1: But before we do that, we'd love for you to
Speaker 1: share with us with our audience how you would describe
Speaker 1: your podcast and how you got into podcasting and what
Speaker 1: led you to starting this podcast. Okay, yeah, So my
Speaker 1: podcast essentially, it focuses on psychosocial issues that affect the
Speaker 1: African Flian community and so it's aiming to sort of
Speaker 1: shed light on some of the traumal topics that we
Speaker 1: typically don't like to talk about because it's either we're
Speaker 1: embarrassed about it or we actually don't even have a
Speaker 1: safe space for us to talk about it. And this
Speaker 1: was influenced through my work within the community because I
Speaker 1: was having psyche conversations with a lot of people and
Speaker 1: they all have similar grievances. And then we're like, well,
Speaker 1: if you're having this problem and this other person who's
Speaker 1: had the problem but then they found a solution to it,
Speaker 1: why can't we talk to each other? And then so
Speaker 1: I then created the platform talking about the different topics
Speaker 1: and it's like very varied, like we have child brides
Speaker 1: who talk about the experience, well, transracial adoptees. We have
Speaker 1: also a mixed race experience as well, Like you know,
Speaker 1: what does that look like growing up in a multiculture
Speaker 1: of sohold in Australia Because for me, I came as
Speaker 1: an expat right and economic migrants, so my finishy or
Speaker 1: experience in Australia will be vastly different to someone who
Speaker 1: grew up here.
Speaker 2: Yes, but then there are a lot of people.
Speaker 1: Who like the African Austrian community is so varied and
Speaker 1: so people have different experiences. So it's bringing all those
Speaker 1: people to talk about their journeys and their experiences and
Speaker 1: how they relate to Australia and even to the term
Speaker 1: African Australia because I know we are still an emerging
Speaker 1: community where we don't exactly have like a set I did.
Speaker 1: I think we're still developing that. And then so I'm
Speaker 1: just testing out with the audience. So you know, what
Speaker 1: what do they yeah, what do they resonate when someone
Speaker 1: tells them that, oh, African Australian or would they consider
Speaker 1: themselves Afganist?
Speaker 3: You know, it's so funny because every time I listen
Speaker 3: to your podcast, I'm like, you really have honed in
Speaker 3: that idea that Africa is not one country, you know,
Speaker 3: and I love that you have guests from everywhere, you
Speaker 3: know what I mean. And I think people always seem
Speaker 3: to forget that we're so accepting of Europe and Asia
Speaker 3: to a large extent of being different or distinctly different,
Speaker 3: you know, same thing but different.
Speaker 4: But then with Africa, Oh yeah, Africa, yes exactly.
Speaker 3: We're all just want you know, yes, yes, it's amazing.
Speaker 1: Can I ask from the because we're Zimbabwean. I think
Speaker 1: all three ladies here Zimbabwean.
Speaker 5: I don't think.
Speaker 4: I know.
Speaker 5: We're all Zimbabwean. And I think that economic migrants is
Speaker 5: a big for us. A lot of us can relate
Speaker 5: to that.
Speaker 1: What are some of the traumas you would see think
Speaker 1: show up for us that.
Speaker 2: Maybe we don't think we are.
Speaker 1: Traumas or like we don't really think about it because
Speaker 1: your life is quote unquote better here, you shouldn't really
Speaker 1: have any issues, if that makes sense. I'm just curious,
Speaker 1: you know, and for our audience to like know, and
Speaker 1: then of course they need to listen to your podcast.
Speaker 5: But I would love we need to share that well.
Speaker 1: I would say our proximity, our proximity to whiteness. It's
Speaker 1: something that we don't exactly unpack because even if I
Speaker 1: think about it back home, you're feeling it right even
Speaker 1: back home, the way that we sort of elevate whiteness
Speaker 1: and then when we then come here, how we also
Speaker 1: interact with this predominantly white environment, the way that we
Speaker 1: conduct ourselves. It's uh yeah, it's something that it's an
Speaker 1: interesting dynamic and you can even see it as well
Speaker 1: with again, the African communities here came in different forms, right,
Speaker 1: there are different avenues and pathways that they came here.
Speaker 1: And so when you then hear their stories and their
Speaker 1: experiences and then I reflect on my own, I was like.
Speaker 2: Oh it's different. Yes, it's very very different, very varied.
Speaker 1: And then so what I have identified is or even
Speaker 1: like something that I didn't realize was important to me
Speaker 1: but only when I came here, is when I saw
Speaker 1: other African communities how connected they are to their Tinians.
Speaker 4: Ye yeah, r so how do you do this?
Speaker 3: Or like where you and do you know we actually
Speaker 3: wear it as a badge of honor. Sometimes you're like no, no, no, actually,
Speaker 3: and that's the myth.
Speaker 4: That thing maturing is realizing that the joke was on
Speaker 4: a fact literally fact.
Speaker 5: Wow, thank you.
Speaker 1: So I just think it's really good because I think
Speaker 1: sometimes it's all our but your life is a better thing.
Speaker 1: It's kind of punted and said over and over. But
Speaker 1: it's like what at what costs? There's always a cost
Speaker 1: benefit as soon as you are uprooted from where you
Speaker 1: come from, where, whether it's a safe space or not,
Speaker 1: there's something you lose.
Speaker 3: Yeah, even if you're definitely there's a pay off, right
Speaker 3: because yeah, people will be like, ah, you're Zimbabwean. You're
Speaker 3: not like and people try to make it sound like
Speaker 3: oh you're the you know, the good black.
Speaker 4: Or you're like, yes, oh my god, unpacked that I.
Speaker 5: Just don't make you feel uncomfortable.
Speaker 1: So you know, yeah, we could go on, but let
Speaker 1: me know, I just thought you did departos departos there.
Speaker 3: You know, like obviously we talk now we're in a
Speaker 3: soft girl era. We're trying to like because I think
Speaker 3: we we when we leave zim you come here with
Speaker 3: the survival kind of mindset where you're like, I have
Speaker 3: to make it work. I have to maybe, as we said,
Speaker 3: assimilate and get a job, do all those things. But
Speaker 3: now I think as you live here for longer and longer,
Speaker 3: you start to let go of some of that those
Speaker 3: I guess hardships that you felt in the beginning of
Speaker 3: your journey. And now we're going to talk about traveling,
Speaker 3: and obviously all of us here I love to travel,
Speaker 3: we want to see the world. Fun fact, we're all
Speaker 3: going to meet again in Thailand.
Speaker 4: You know, so people you're gonna be saying us gets
Speaker 4: of us.
Speaker 3: You know, this is a solf launch being, you know,
Speaker 3: but you know, obviously celebrating love, we're selling birthdays, but
Speaker 3: at the core of it, we're also doing something that
Speaker 3: maybe even our own mothers and now the generations before
Speaker 3: us didn't get to do. How do you best describe traveling,
Speaker 3: especially as a black woman.
Speaker 1: So for me, travel has always been within my family
Speaker 1: because my grandmother actually lived in the UK for eight
Speaker 1: years when she was young, and she's one of the
Speaker 1: first nurses to be trained through the British the British system,
Speaker 1: and so they got a cohort of young women to
Speaker 1: go and train in the UK, and so she did that.
Speaker 1: And so for me have always wanted to travel. And
Speaker 1: I knew that I was never going to like settle
Speaker 1: in Zimbabwe. I knew it was going to be living overseas,
Speaker 1: and even whilst living overseas, I had a whole list
Speaker 1: of countries that I want to go to and so
Speaker 1: on and so forth, and so I'm a traveler. I've
Speaker 1: traveled to thirty six countries so far, and talent is
Speaker 1: actually that's going to be my first time being entirely.
Speaker 3: For that.
Speaker 1: But what I found so liberating about traveling is seeing
Speaker 1: different cultures and then also reflecting on my own culture.
Speaker 1: As well, and then even understanding the narratives that they
Speaker 1: have about Africa and how we view them as well,
Speaker 1: the voyeurism of it all as well. So it's equally interesting,
Speaker 1: fascinating and also frustrating because like, I see how they
Speaker 1: have preserved a lot of their cultures and a lot
Speaker 1: of their traditions, especially in the Western cultures, and even
Speaker 1: the way that they have a lot of the artifacts
Speaker 1: our own artifacts.
Speaker 4: Looking at you when you go British that a bit.
Speaker 4: Can we talk about that please?
Speaker 3: And someone nicely say that the British Museum they have
Speaker 3: stuff in storage, the stuff you see, they even because
Speaker 3: then they can do seasonal work. They can do so
Speaker 3: I think they got stuff on, stuff on.
Speaker 5: Stuff, like literally you go into it.
Speaker 1: I never get. We're in Vienna with friends of mine
Speaker 1: and we went to some museum and the Egyptian collection
Speaker 1: was so massive. We were like, what did the Egyptians have?
Speaker 4: Bro like, what have you?
Speaker 2: Like?
Speaker 1: Insane? Insane, insane. And that's why they said, when rip
Speaker 1: Queen e but give us back our dynasms, because that's
Speaker 1: absolutely first of all, the shade of having Africa underground. Yeah,
Speaker 1: at the British Museum, and then you're seeing all the
Speaker 1: different artifacts, like you know, the Benin bronze, and they're
Speaker 1: like like there, and I'm like, well, why why do
Speaker 1: you so hold on to this and everything? And I
Speaker 1: think also that's probably why you know, we kill.
Speaker 5: Monger when in black that's not the villain.
Speaker 1: You get to really understand and appreciate, or rather we
Speaker 1: understood it on a deeper level because we've lived that,
Speaker 1: and we see how our cultures are portrayed and you know,
Speaker 1: adapted to other cultures without our own consent or even
Speaker 1: our own narratives, and sometimes our narratives are erased.
Speaker 4: So true and scary.
Speaker 1: So now if we've established thirty six countries, that's a
Speaker 1: whole lot of count okay. And I think you know,
Speaker 1: if you are on socials, we see there's like travel
Speaker 1: noir black girls who travel all these platforms and really
Speaker 1: they are a resource tool for other black women to
Speaker 1: see where they feel safe traveling, where they feel safe
Speaker 1: traveling alone, so on and so forth. So but we
Speaker 1: also know like being American or British is different to
Speaker 1: being of Zimbabwe heritage and traveling or do you understand?
Speaker 1: So I think it's great that you've traveled so extensively,
Speaker 1: and we'd love to hear from you. Which are the
Speaker 1: countries you felt the safest when you traveled and also
Speaker 1: the most unsafe and why, Like, can you tell us
Speaker 1: a bit about that, Like if you're a.
Speaker 5: Friend, was like, Okay, I'm trying to go somewhere. Where
Speaker 5: should I go?
Speaker 4: Where will I be safirst?
Speaker 5: What's the best experience for a black women?
Speaker 4: Yeah?
Speaker 1: So for me with the travel advice, you know that
Speaker 1: it is often seen on the I always do the
Speaker 1: opposite because I realized that the way that they're portraying
Speaker 1: or viewing the be it warning or concerns in that country,
Speaker 1: I have a completely different experience. So, for example, there's
Speaker 1: no travel advice for Italy, but my gosh, it's the
Speaker 1: most racist place that I've grow and the way that
Speaker 1: I was treated was just I remember, I mean youautiful
Speaker 1: you know, beautiful culture, beautiful food, you know, beautiful scenery,
Speaker 1: but the people. Yeah, I always have second thoughts, Like
Speaker 1: I've revisited other places Italy, I have not gone back
Speaker 1: simply because I actually don't feel safe in Italy.
Speaker 5: Can you share a little bit of like what that
Speaker 5: experience was like or what you felt like if you
Speaker 5: if you're comfortable if not, so like the rudeness even
Speaker 5: within the streets, even when you go into stores, you
Speaker 5: actually get monitors.
Speaker 1: I remember we were checking into a hotel and then
Speaker 1: you know, they didn't.
Speaker 2: Believe that we could afford to be insaid hotel.
Speaker 4: Like are you lost?
Speaker 3: Exactly, I'm not, like, Wow.
Speaker 2: What are you talking about?
Speaker 1: Literally, and so incidence is like that, or even like
Speaker 1: when you're in the street and then you know, people
Speaker 1: just feel like they can just shove you simply because
Speaker 1: like or get out of my way kind of thing,
Speaker 1: and I'm just like, I'm a tourist. Yeah, you know,
Speaker 1: is this how you treat visitors in the country. So yeah,
Speaker 1: it was really and it was predominantly within the city
Speaker 1: eras when I went to like remote villages or remote
Speaker 1: towns like I went to see it was beautiful and
Speaker 1: people were very accommodating and there were you know, it
Speaker 1: was it was.
Speaker 2: Very exciting in that sense.
Speaker 1: But I guess, yeah, in the main cities it was
Speaker 1: just yeah, I wouldn't be in a rush to go back.
Speaker 5: To Okay, okay making notes making.
Speaker 4: And which one which kindry did you feel the most
Speaker 4: safe in?
Speaker 1: Honestly, when I was in South America, I felt like
Speaker 1: I was at home. Regardless of where I was. I
Speaker 1: loved Columbia. Oh my gosh. I really felt like I.
Speaker 4: Was at home.
Speaker 1: And I hate that I didn't end up going to
Speaker 1: Katna because the travel advice to Kata Henah is don't go,
Speaker 1: but then.
Speaker 2: That's all the black people are.
Speaker 5: And I'm like, Henah made in.
Speaker 1: I wish i'd gone there, but because I then followed
Speaker 1: the trouble advice and I'm like, no, I actually would
Speaker 1: have been much safer.
Speaker 4: Very we don't one of us.
Speaker 2: That actually is what was happening.
Speaker 3: And I when I went to Brazil, I felt like
Speaker 3: they're like speaking Portuguese, are like sorry, sorry.
Speaker 1: I have a colabor friends and she was like yeah,
Speaker 1: and a lot of people don't realize how many like
Speaker 1: black columbis such a and she's like yeah, I get
Speaker 1: all the time. Yeah, so yeah, some America I felt
Speaker 1: at home, where whether I was in Peru and Bolivia,
Speaker 1: Argentina was an interesting experience, like it wasn't racist, but
Speaker 1: because they're like the most European but it wasn't racist,
Speaker 1: but also at the same time, I felt a little
Speaker 1: bit uncomfortable because.
Speaker 2: I couldn't see another black people.
Speaker 1: So it was just like I'm pretty sure, like I've
Speaker 1: been everywhere else I see people, how come here is
Speaker 1: so European And I mean they pride themselves in that right,
Speaker 1: in being very centric.
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1: I have a friend from Mexico and she's like, you know,
Speaker 1: we see Mexicans on TV and we're like, that's not
Speaker 1: how we look. Most of them have very eurocentric white features.
Speaker 1: They're the ones i'd get on like the TV, the
Speaker 1: shows and all that. But if you see an average person,
Speaker 1: they don't look like that. And it's crazy how you know,
Speaker 1: only they are put in the lights so media guys.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's what you say about Australia too, that when
Speaker 3: you came.
Speaker 1: Like so many Asians, so many like literally because like
Speaker 1: I guess I just.
Speaker 5: Assumed Amanda is like one of the very few.
Speaker 1: But it's so diverse and it keeps like hitting me
Speaker 1: and I think you guys maybe getting more used to it,
Speaker 1: and obviously it's not like the UK diverse or something,
Speaker 1: but I was just like, oh my gosh, why do
Speaker 1: we not see this? Like I remember walking through Chinatown
Speaker 1: and I was like, oh my gosh, it's such and
Speaker 1: the food, the cuisine. For me, that was a tell
Speaker 1: sign like you have such range of cuisine as well.
Speaker 5: So you guys are I mean, you're like media does, but.
Speaker 4: The media doesn't match up to it.
Speaker 3: It does, but do you come here and expect to
Speaker 3: see the Chris Himsworth type?
Speaker 1: Right?
Speaker 4: So then Maggie, Margot, Robbie like that Bobby you know,
Speaker 4: and it's like that's not the.
Speaker 5: But it's actually a blessing.
Speaker 1: I take it as like such a refreshing thing because
Speaker 1: I was telling Amanda we went to the mall and
Speaker 1: I was like seeing just people, different groups, young people,
Speaker 1: friendship groups, mixed and all that. I was like, that
Speaker 1: is what we want to see more of because the
Speaker 1: world is really moving in that direction.
Speaker 5: So kudos to you for doing the work because I
Speaker 5: know a show.
Speaker 4: What do you enjoy the most about traveling?
Speaker 1: Do you think I'm a curious person? So I really
Speaker 1: enjoy just being around different people. And even when I
Speaker 1: when I travel, yes, I go to the tourist places,
Speaker 1: but also go to where the locals are, yeah, because
Speaker 1: I feel like I have a better experience. Then get
Speaker 1: to get to know, like what what is what's a
Speaker 1: day in the life be it's a local Parisian because
Speaker 1: Paris is all another but you see what, like, for example, France,
Speaker 1: that I realized is if you go regional like.
Speaker 2: Other places, it's actually really really nice.
Speaker 1: So like I went to Leon and I absolutely loved it,
Speaker 1: and I'm like, Okay, next time I come to France,
Speaker 1: I'm not going to.
Speaker 2: Do Paris places.
Speaker 1: So I enjoy yeah, eating like a local, going to
Speaker 1: shop with a local shop, and just seeing what life
Speaker 1: would look like, you know, in that sense, and through
Speaker 1: that experience, I actually absolutely fell in love with Portugal. Listen,
Speaker 1: I love it. We went and then we spend a
Speaker 1: few days. After this, I was like, I just it's amazing.
Speaker 2: The way my skins when I was.
Speaker 1: Yes, I know I can tend, but I've never hand
Speaker 1: like this is I was golden and I was just like,
Speaker 1: oh my gosh, I love this. And the people are
Speaker 1: great and they're not overbearingly like we're so nice, but
Speaker 1: they kind of just like we'll respect you, will give
Speaker 1: you good.
Speaker 5: Service you need to do, and you get on with
Speaker 5: your life.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Very And I think there is a bit more of
Speaker 3: a mounting pot than there is in other places in Europe.
Speaker 3: So it's not like when they look at you like
Speaker 3: as a black girl, like yeah, so true.
Speaker 1: Yeah. I remember I was asking myself, why does this
Speaker 1: place feel so homey? And then I remembered the you know,
Speaker 1: the history of you know that peninsula, the moors, you
Speaker 1: know that were coming across going to Europe, they traveled through.
Speaker 1: That was the gateway, and so that's why it's so
Speaker 1: malticultural and people are still commodating. And then so it
Speaker 1: just felt I felt really even though I don't speak
Speaker 1: the language, but still I was like, I think I
Speaker 1: can you know, I think I can live here.
Speaker 4: And there's actually a lot of expensive a.
Speaker 1: Lot, and I think they incentivize digital nomads. I know
Speaker 1: my sister has a friend who the digital nomad. There incentivize
Speaker 1: people to go live there and work for there, so
Speaker 1: I think they're really trying to encourage that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, maybe is anything that you dislike when you're traveling
Speaker 3: that you're like, rather not have I.
Speaker 1: Have a list, but please go first. Oh well let's
Speaker 1: see inas. Much as I enjoy solo travel, I also
Speaker 1: appreciate the benefits of traveling with someone, but always travel
Speaker 1: with everyone has to be right someone and sometimes that's
Speaker 1: that's hard to try and find someone who has like
Speaker 1: a similar travel style team.
Speaker 5: I was gonna ask, what's your style of travel?
Speaker 1: So me, I do like a little luxury, but also
Speaker 1: the same time like I'm not going to be like
Speaker 1: five style nothing else.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I really love BOUTI Hotels.
Speaker 5: I am you Okay.
Speaker 4: I think I introduced my husband to.
Speaker 1: Cotels because he's like, like, I'm used to backpacking or whatever.
Speaker 2: I was like, I'm no.
Speaker 5: Story on tv BTV Festival Live podcasting.
Speaker 1: So one of the questions we asked the crowd was like,
Speaker 1: are you guys backpackers or like nah, like yes or
Speaker 1: no backpacking? Everyone was like green light, like yes, yes, yes,
Speaker 1: and then not me going and mad. She was like, look,
Speaker 1: and my argument is we went to boarding school.
Speaker 4: It was stug life.
Speaker 5: Might as well have been a hostel, you know, so
Speaker 5: we've done that.
Speaker 1: If we've done that, I was in quiet and just
Speaker 1: go on quiet tour and at university and you'd like
Speaker 1: stay in hostels, backpackers, I've done all that.
Speaker 4: I'm good.
Speaker 1: And then I'm like I don't want to be impractical
Speaker 1: and say like I want to know you finding gold
Speaker 1: up my ass or something like that. No, but I
Speaker 1: just wanted to feel really good, unique and like home,
Speaker 1: but not exactly like I like my comforts. I do
Speaker 1: take the public transport though, when I can, when I
Speaker 1: I just like again trying to sort of live like
Speaker 1: a local. So I do take a lot of public
Speaker 1: transport when I'm when I'm around certain places.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 3: The saddest thing for me is more accessibility of traveling
Speaker 3: around Africa. Fact like I'm so keen to see more.
Speaker 3: But then like I remember, we went from Harad to
Speaker 3: Mauritius and like it took us like almost a whole day.
Speaker 4: And then you look at the It's Burg, Johannesburg.
Speaker 3: Why did this take Like you know, they're not that
Speaker 3: far from each other, but it's just the logistics. And
Speaker 3: then of course it's privilege associated with traveling, undeniably so,
Speaker 3: but that's where Europe is just so like you can
Speaker 3: see so many countries in such a short amount of time,
Speaker 3: easily easier, and it's just I can't wait to get
Speaker 3: that day where Africa could be on that same.
Speaker 1: My conspiracy theory is they do not want us to
Speaker 1: be so easily connected, because if we are easily connected,
Speaker 1: we are more united. If we're more united, we will
Speaker 1: protest a lot of things and stand up against a
Speaker 1: lot of things like them jewels they kept taking and whatnot,
Speaker 1: and who would want that? Because we need to suffer
Speaker 1: so others can thrive. But that's not the conversation. I agree,
Speaker 1: that's why there's a lot of underfunding or there hasn't
Speaker 1: been any investment with the infrastructure, because if we had
Speaker 1: better infrastructure, then we'll be able to self sustain, self
Speaker 1: determination and self subtitlance. Why would we need the World Bank?
Speaker 2: Exactly?
Speaker 1: Lit?
Speaker 4: Can we talk about it?
Speaker 1: But I did hear that Ghana is opening up where
Speaker 1: you don't need Some African countries no longer need visas
Speaker 1: to go if it's all. But I know they opened up.
Speaker 1: I haven't fully investigated that, which is a move.
Speaker 4: Listen.
Speaker 1: I think there's there's some positive improvements that are happening
Speaker 1: in certain regions, especially in Western enough. Yes, I think
Speaker 1: about what's happening in the Friends.
Speaker 4: Yeah that okay.
Speaker 1: Naming, yeah absolutely, And you know, my my hope is
Speaker 1: that and again they've got young leadership, and my hope
Speaker 1: is that you know, the wider population actually take that
Speaker 1: to their strides and actually supports the regime even though
Speaker 1: yes it's military and you know, there's been a whole
Speaker 1: historical issue with that, but we also know why it
Speaker 1: was like that, and so we're hoping that that has
Speaker 1: you know, created some sort of winds of change, not
Speaker 1: like how there was the Arab Spring, you know, African spring,
Speaker 1: just getting rid of all these other you know, people
Speaker 1: in power who are basically puppets, absolutely, and so that
Speaker 1: we can have a bit more self determination and self
Speaker 1: empowerment able to travel, like I would love to do
Speaker 1: a tour across Africa, but it's very difficult and challenging.
Speaker 1: And ah, there's an influencer that I absolutely love because
Speaker 1: she literally does it like on a shoestring budget and
Speaker 1: taking like you know be its like the be to
Speaker 1: the Combies or you know, or you know, relying on
Speaker 1: other people to live in other people's homes. And it's
Speaker 1: so poppy. So the Puppy Show her name is Poppy Sea.
Speaker 1: Oh oh yes, yes, yes, impressed. She really enlightened me. Again,
Speaker 1: it's not going to be your bout yeah yeah, but
Speaker 1: if you want to, she's basically saying you can, yeah,
Speaker 1: but just showing how she's going about. Oh, the book
Speaker 1: you got me Amanda, I forget her name. The trap
Speaker 1: I started going through that I was just I was
Speaker 1: getting so sad. I was like, with my ziom passport, this.
Speaker 5: Is a whole other.
Speaker 4: American.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think she hasn't American American. Can I ask you, Chanmayne,
Speaker 1: what are some of the misconceptions or prejudices you have
Speaker 1: found along the journey of traveling as a black woman
Speaker 1: on your I mean I have many and I can share,
Speaker 1: but I just think it's really good we talk about
Speaker 1: this because we've just mentioned passport. So there's password privilege,
Speaker 1: of course, but what other experiences do you have or
Speaker 1: prejudices or misconceptions do you find as traveling as a
Speaker 1: black woman. I think, well, definitely, speaking English puts me
Speaker 1: at a great advantage in a lot of countries compared
Speaker 1: to like if someone is Francophone, yes, you know, speaks
Speaker 1: another language.
Speaker 2: And yeah, password privilege. It's real.
Speaker 1: Like, hey, I got my Australian citizenship and as soon
Speaker 1: as literally it's so funny, as soon as I got
Speaker 1: my passport, I got my citizenship. Immediately after the ceremony,
Speaker 1: I went to the passport office and then I went
Speaker 1: to collect my passport on my way to airport.
Speaker 4: Wow.
Speaker 5: Wow, that's incredible because like I got it.
Speaker 2: Now the world.
Speaker 4: Explore exactly.
Speaker 5: It's a different ballgame, yu.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 1: And then I think also, I mean something that you
Speaker 1: don't often talk about, but I am more desired when
Speaker 1: I'm oversea.
Speaker 4: Let's talk about all that there.
Speaker 1: I actually am desirable where you know, people actually attracted
Speaker 1: and you know, you forget that, right.
Speaker 2: Especially when living in Australia.
Speaker 1: Hey, you sometimes forget you know, you start doubting your
Speaker 1: own self worth and stuff and you think, oh, maybe
Speaker 1: there's something wrong with like no babes. There's nothing wrong
Speaker 1: with you, just in the wrong environment, you know.
Speaker 3: You know, I got a fun story about this actually,
Speaker 3: Like a friend of mine and I were like, you know,
Speaker 3: old Cup is coming in Brazil, let's go, you know
Speaker 3: why not? So it went without two other male friends.
Speaker 3: But I'm on that journey that whole because it passed
Speaker 3: by zim sly when we were circling the whole journey, it.
Speaker 4: Was like, what's in the water because that just like
Speaker 4: was that you I.
Speaker 3: Like, literally when I came back met my husband three
Speaker 3: months later, but I think I kept that energy.
Speaker 4: My head was held up when I left.
Speaker 3: I wasn't even expect It was just more like, oh,
Speaker 3: let's just go what do this is going to have
Speaker 3: fun and experience it. We missed out on South Africa.
Speaker 3: That was our thinking we're applying for. We were like
Speaker 3: in the trenches of getting our lives together when South
Speaker 3: Africa happened, So let's go to the next one in
Speaker 3: Brazil and the way we were so desired.
Speaker 4: It just lit up something able.
Speaker 1: I walk with my head, yeah, and I just I'm
Speaker 1: just different.
Speaker 5: I just feel so different, a lighter exactly.
Speaker 1: Though. Yes, some of it is you know, objectification, you
Speaker 1: know that kind of thing, but it's still it's just
Speaker 1: it's just a different receipt.
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, definitely, thank you.
Speaker 5: Look, I think time is running with such a good chat.
Speaker 1: Before we do wrap up and go, we wanted to
Speaker 1: ask you of any upcoming projects in twenty twenty five
Speaker 1: and tell us about where people can find your podcast
Speaker 1: you and follow you your journey.
Speaker 5: Please let the people know.
Speaker 2: Yes.
Speaker 1: Well, so I've essentially what I've done during the holidays,
Speaker 1: I've consolidated everything that I've done into a brand. So
Speaker 1: my brand is Safe Space Media, okay, and what we
Speaker 1: do is we amplify diverse narratives. So when we do
Speaker 1: that through workshops, events, media productions like my podcast and
Speaker 1: so yes, it's gonna be so much. It's going to
Speaker 1: be happening through my brand and one of the upcoming
Speaker 1: projects that are happening, we're gonna have a blackout event
Speaker 1: to the theater for TEENA the musical, So we're going
Speaker 1: to have an exclusive experience, Red Puppets, you know, everyone
Speaker 1: I want to address to their nights and then just celebrate
Speaker 1: Tina because what people don't realize or maybe not appreciate,
Speaker 1: is that to the musicals problem, the first musicals with
Speaker 1: majority black cast and so it's such a big thing,
Speaker 1: but I think people are not fully aware the gravit
Speaker 1: task of exactly and even like Tina, we grew up
Speaker 1: with Tina.
Speaker 5: So yes, I have that.
Speaker 1: That's coming up on February fifteenth, sorry, the thirteenth, thirteenth,
Speaker 1: and then we've got the Amari Gala coming out dates
Speaker 1: to be announced real soon. Yeah, we're celebrating black excellence
Speaker 1: here in Australia.
Speaker 5: So first off, it's a kind.
Speaker 1: Event and you know, I'm really looking forward to that
Speaker 1: because again it's another opportunity for us to celebrate our
Speaker 1: blackness here in Australia and with all the diverse cultures
Speaker 1: that are there, and also celebrating young people because I
Speaker 1: think sometimes we're never you know, we're trying to strive
Speaker 1: to get our jobs done.
Speaker 2: On and so forth.
Speaker 1: Young people also have to realize, especially like young people
Speaker 1: grew up here, they don't exactly have like a visual
Speaker 1: representation of what that excellence looks like. And so I
Speaker 1: aim to do that amplifying BID through Incubate Foundation and
Speaker 1: all the other initiatives that I do. So yeah, I
Speaker 1: think those are the two main things in the first
Speaker 1: half of the year, and then there's going.
Speaker 2: To be so much more this we don't.
Speaker 1: Yes, absolutely stay tuned and where can we find you
Speaker 1: on socials if we want to keep up? So on
Speaker 1: social so my brand is on safe Placemedia dot au
Speaker 1: and then my personal Instagram is Harry Underscore and yeah,
Speaker 1: I think those and you can find me on LinkedIn,
Speaker 1: so I mean you can google my.
Speaker 3: Name and put it all on the show notes, so
Speaker 3: you'll be able to follow.
Speaker 1: My name and then you can see all the different
Speaker 1: things that I've been involved, other different projects that I've done.
Speaker 5: So yeah, that's it is so fun.
Speaker 1: Thank you.
Speaker 5: I felt honored to being part of this. And that's
Speaker 5: another episode of Man.
Speaker 3: Thank you so much for tuning in guys, and see
Speaker 3: you on the next one.
Speaker 2: Bye.