How International Travel Expands My Research

After several recent posts focused on DNA tools and analysis, I felt the need to step away from the charts and return to something more personal.

Travel.

When Tamara and I moved to Panama as permanent residents in 2024, it wasn’t entirely unfamiliar territory. We had already visited three times. But living there — even part-time — allowed us to observe daily rhythms in a way short trips never do.

One of the first things we noticed was the respect shown toward elders and the visible presence of family culture. Grandparents walking with grandchildren. Multi-generational dinners. Conversations that linger.

We visited South Africa and Zimbabwe in 2025 and felt something similar. Each country had its own nuances — its own flavor — but the foundation felt familiar: community, continuity, connection.

And somewhere in those moments, I began to wonder:

Is this what my ancestors experienced?

Travel as a Living Archive

What does international travel have to do with genealogy?

For me, quite a bit.

When I sit in a café and see families gathered around a table — no one rushing, no one staring at a screen — I imagine that this was once the ordinary rhythm of life everywhere. When my gray hair and I step into a crosswalk and cars politely stop, I feel momentarily transported into another era.

Now, to be fair, I know these things still happen in the United States. But I personally witnessed them more consistently while traveling.

And those small cultural moments spark something in me.

When I scroll through census records and see clusters of families living side by side, attending the same churches, buried in the same cemeteries, working in the same professions — I am struck by how tightly woven their communities must have been.

I saw a glimpse of that in a village in Zimbabwe.

It wasn’t romanticized. It was simply real.

Conversations That Broaden Perspective

Travel has also introduced me to conversations I might never have had otherwise.

In Argentina, we had a fluent English-speaking driver who shared stories about his country’s history, culture, and pride. I would say that 99% of the people we’ve spoken with abroad genuinely love their country and enjoy sharing it with visitors.

That enthusiasm is refreshing.

It reminds me that identity is layered — personal, national, ancestral — and that people everywhere carry a story they are willing to tell.

Africa Beyond the Map

Another dimension of travel that has deepened my curiosity is African history outside of the United States.

My DNA traces back to Africa. That alone invites questions.

Where are the descendants of the African continent living today?
How did history shape their journeys?
Are they isolated communities or fully integrated into broader society?

I remember a business trip to Nicaragua years ago. I met a person of African heritage who shared with me the history of Afro-Nicaraguans living along the country’s east coast. Until that conversation, I had largely associated slavery with the United States.

That realization was humbling.

It reminded me how much there is still to learn — not just from books, but from people.

The Question I’m Often Asked

Because of my mixed ethnicity, I am occasionally asked — gently and curiously — “What are you?”

It used to surprise me.

It still does, in a way.

But I’m not offended. If anything, it highlights something deeper: we are all walking stories of migration and mixture. The DNA journey, no matter where it begins, ultimately traces back to shared origins.

Back to Africa.

Back to humanity.

Why This Matters to My Research

Travel has made me more observant.

More curious.

More aware of how culture shapes daily life — and how daily life shapes history.

It has reminded me that genealogy is not just about documents and DNA segments. It is about people sitting around tables, walking village paths, crossing busy streets, raising children, telling stories.

It is about lived experience.

And perhaps that is what I am really searching for when I travel: not just destinations, but echoes.

In the future, I hope to explore this connection between travel and genealogy in greater depth.

For now, if you’d like to read more about our journeys, visit our travel stories at International Drivers:
https://idtravelers.com/

And as always, I invite you to subscribe and share your own stories.

Where has travel deepened your understanding of heritage?