WHO IS MS Q, TRIP DESIGNER?
“wherever she goes, she belongs”
I have been an avid reader since I was a child. Books have always transported me to other lands and allowed me to experience lives and cultures vastly different to my own reality. I am fascinated by the differences and reassured by the similar threads – the routines of life and living which are so like mine. Travel is a natural progression of my childhood curiosity – with immediacy, I can immerse and engage with cultures in ways both beautiful and unanticipated. Going to a new destination, or revisiting a beloved locale, nurtures and fuels my endless interest in how humans navigate their world.
“Going to a new destination, or revisiting a beloved locale, nurtures and fuels my endless interest in how humans navigate their world.”
My enduring passion for food & beverages has its deepest roots in the kitchen of my paternal grandmother. I was always happiest at her table watching her bustling around the kitchen preparing delicious meals from scratch for our family (and extended family, neighbors and anyone else who happened by hungry). Originally from southern Maryland, she knew how to grow, forage, preserve and prepare the bounty of the land & sea.
She never used industrially-produced products if she could make it herself. My grandmother taught me the fundamental connection between raw ingredients and their infinite possibilities for transformation.
Food = Culture
Giving context to a country/region’s foodways is a natural entry point for me into how people live daily, how culture is revealed in the commonplace, quotidian details – the accumulation of which fuels the grander, more celebrated, expressions of civilization. This is what drives me, enriches my life and provides meaningful interactions: the truism that we are all here seeking the same things in this life: security, joy, pleasure, meaning. And ultimately, travel, and genuine experiences in other cultures, sparks a more nuanced, profound comprehension of our own.
“This is what drives me, enriches my life and provides meaningful interactions: the truism that we are all here seeking the same things in this life: security, joy, pleasure, meaning.”
As a Trip Designer, it is important to me to inspire and facilitate others to travel deeply, seeking sincere engagement with local context and perspectives.