Being an African-American woman on The World Race

Good Morning Family and Friends 

Before going to the World Race , I watched a lot of YouTube videos and read a lot of blogs about the World Race. I did my best to look for African-American videos to see what I should pack or what I should expect. In the process of looking, I found only two YouTube videos of African-Americans packing for the World Race and a few videos and pictures of them on the actual World Race. As I observe more closely the majority of people who go on the World Race are Caucasian women. Therefore, I can’t expect World Race  to have blogs or videos about the experience through the African-American lens due the lack thereof.  This did not discourage me from signing up and going. However, it has encouraged me to write about my experience as an African-American woman on the  World Race for African-Americans who are planning to go on the Race. 

As most of you know, I have been on the World Race for about 8 months.  Each country that I have been to has been different and unique.  Something that has been consistent is that people want to touch my hair, take pictures with me, follow me around the store, stare at me and immediately ask what part of Africa I am from. Over time, I have gotten used to these questions or actions and it is something that I expect to happen. I know there is a difference in my skin color and my hair texture that makes people curious, especially in a country where there are not many dark-skinned people.  

I have had to learn and grow through discomfort even with people on my squad (the name of the group of people that you will travel with).  Going into the World Race, I thought that people on my squad would be more sensitive to racial issues, but I was wrong. It was wrong for me to assume that people were taught about different cultures before signing up to go around the world. I had to put away pride and be willing to have the hard conversations about race and ethnicity even if it hurt. My willingness to bring up these hard conversations and watch movies that discuss these topics has allowed some understanding from people on my squad.  God gets the Glory for that! He is still working on my squad in this area.

In five out of the six countries that I have been to, the majority of the population has been Caucasian or Latino. God has placed African-American women in each of these five countries for me to connect with. As I was lost with my squadmate Justin in Antigua, Guatemala, God sent us an African-American woman named Samantha* and her friend to help us find our hostel.  As my team and I were visiting a church on a beach in Quepos, Costa Rica, there was an African-American woman named Charlie who welcomed us to her church. In Ankara, Turkey,  there was an African-American woman named Sonia who stayed at the same hostel as my team and I did. In Tbilisi, Georgia, I met another African-American named Lia who stayed at the hostel that my whole squad and I were staying at. In Yerevan, Armenia, I met an African-American woman name Brianna while going to visit the Armenian Genocide Memorial. Each encounter with these women was amazing and felt like a special gift from the Lord.

 *(names has been changed for security purposes)

If you are African-American and you are considering doing the World Race but you are curious what it will be like, or if you can even raise around 18,000 dollars, I am here to encourage you to do it! God will take care of you and he will provide for the money to come in. You must be faithful at asking people and He will do the rest. Do not let the color of your skin stop you from doing what God is calling you to. You will experience a lot of different things but you will grow in areas that you did not expect. Do not be afraid to have hard conversations about race and culture. Regardless of what you pack, you have the ability to find things overseas that are similar to what you can find at home, but there is a scarcity of hair products. I hope this blog is insightful and helpful for you as you decide to go on the World Race! Please do not hesitate to reach out to me via commenting on this blog. I do not have all the answers but I am always willing to help.

To my family and friends, I made it to Armenia safely. Please pray for my health. The first night of being here, I woke up with a rash on my arms. Thank the Lord, it has gotten a lot better. Then I have had a head cold for the last two days. Please pray for my team as we continue to share the love of Christ here in Armenia. I love you all and miss you. I will be home soon. 

Your sister In Christ 

Antoinette