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| American Black Chick in Europe |
GUEST BLOGGER INTERVIEW
American Expat & Travel Blogger, Terra from American Black Chick in Europe
Welcome to the blogger interview series at Thanks For The Food. This blog series is designed to help introduce you to my favorite food (and other) bloggers living (mostly) in Norway. Since I’ve been receiving more and more feedback from you all asking me about the bloggers whom I follow, I thought I’d interview some of them in order to help you get to know them better.
This series is my chance to help you get to know not only my favorite blogs, but also help you get to know more about the experience of blogging in Norway.
Today's featured blogger is Terra from American Black Chick in Europe. Terra is based in Belgium and blogs in English.
1. What is your name, blog address and what is your blog about? What can readers expect to learn from your blog?
American Black Chick in Europe-http://americanblackchickinlondon.blogspot.com
My blog is part personal, part expat and part travel blog. Mainly it follows my attempts to understand Europeans, in particular of whichever country I’m living in, as well as to highlight some of the travelling I’ve done with a view towards encouraging others to travel.
2. Share a bit of your history with us. How did you get into blogging? When did you begin blogging and why? Did you have any previous writing, photography or video making experience before you started blogging?
Oddly enough, I began blogging because I was bored at the part-time job I did while a graduate student. It was a slow Saturday afternoon, all my work was done and I decided to start writing a blog to chronicle my life (at the time) in London and my attempts to understand the Brits/British culture. The original name of the blog was American Black Chick in London, which I changed to American Black Chick in Europe when I moved to Toulouse, France for 6 months. I actually have a BA in journalism, specifically broadcast news, and I love to write and take pictures. Starting the blog was an excuse to continue writing in a non-academic manner.
3. What advice, tips or insider secrets would you give anyone starting a lifestyle, political, expat or other type of blog in your current country? In general?
For Belgium, I would say the single most important thing is to observe what’s going on around you. The second most important thing is to try and understand the culture. When that’s not possible, make fun of it (lovingly). I often poked fun at the Brits and the French while living in England and France, but always with love. Both countries have a special place in my heart. Now I do the same with Belgium. In general, I would say always carry a small notepad with you. It’s amazing how minor incidents throughout the day can turn into a blog post.
4. Let’s say you take a year off from blogging and your current life as it is to travel all over the world. Where would you go and why?
South America, Antarctica, Asia and Africa, easily. I haven’t been to South America or Antarctica and would love to see both. And I’ve been to Asia and Africa, but I’ve only just scratched the surface…I’d love to explore both continents a bit deeper.
5. Which meal of the day is your favourite? Breakfast, lunch or dinner?
All of them. As I general rule, I love food in all it’s incarnations.
6. What’s your favourite tip for anyone looking to start a blog or a video channel on YouTube?
Do it, but try and bring something unique to the table to distinguish yourself and your blog. Try to fill a niche that is underserved.
7. What would you say are the three biggest advantages of being a blogger? How has blogging changed or impacted your life? (i.e. have you learned any skills which are transferrable into your day job, meeting new people, helping you change career or anything else)
One major advantage has been the ability to connect with other people. I didn’t know just how many other black American bloggers there were in Europe before I started this blog, many of whom I’ve been lucky enough to meet and become friends with! My fellow bloggers in general have been a great sources of information, advice and encouragement. Blogging has also helped my writing skills sharpen as blogging forces me to write in a different style than I do for work. My social media skills are definitely head and shoulders above a lot of my work colleagues because I have experience creating, writing for a maintaining a blog as well as using Facebook and Twitter because of it.
8. What trends do you see within the blogosphere in your current country?
Well, I’m not up-to-date on the blogs coming out of Belgium, so I’m afraid I don’t know about the trends here. But for blogging in general, I’m seeing a lot more around integrating other media (videos/photos) and social media (Facebook/Twitter) into blogging.
9. What other social media sites can we find you on (Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, SlideShare, YouTube, etc.)?
I’m also on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ABCiE and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AmericanBlackChickInEurope.
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| American Black Chick in Europe Blog |
Be sure to check out my Useful Links Page 1 and Useful Links Page 2 or read more about me on the About Page. You can also find TFTF on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and You Tube.
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