Liberation through Travel: A Conversation with Royal Williams

Hey village! My Nia sister, Queen Royal is here! She is new to my village and I am glad that she is on the show sharing about her experiences globe trotting, by her doggone self. She shares about her experiences of living abroad, being a migrant-not an expat, and her reasons behind her reason to leave the United States. She shares about being treated as a Black woman in other countries and discussed this concept of American privilege when globetrotting. She has even convinced me (as of this show's recording) to give scuba diving a chance (we'll see LOL). 

Royal Williams started her travel journey in 2010 after spending a transformative year in Spain, where she immersed herself in the vibrant culture and mastered the Spanish language. Upon her return to the US, she was gripped by wanderlust, but because her college friends often lacked the time or funds to join her adventures, Royal discovered solo travel.

In 2013, two weeks after graduating from an HBCU, Oakwood University in Hunstville, Alabama, she took her passion a step further by moving to Bogota, Colombia to teach. Using her summer vacations to backpack around the world, Royal became adept at navigating new landscapes, staying in hostels, and even Couch surfing. During her travels to 51 countries and time living on 4 continents, she found that many women expressed difficulties making friends at home, but she noticed she consistently found meaningful connections while traveling. This compelled her to start her company Yup! She Travels, a company that curates cultural experiences for Black women. Currently, the experiences focus on AfroColombian culture in Medellin, Cali, and Cartagena Colombia. Additionally, driven by her enriching experiences abroad and her educational background, Royal founded Yup! We Travel with the mission to provide meaningful culturally immersive experiences and internships in Colombia for university students. Royal's own experiences studying and interning abroad during college profoundly shaped her worldview, and she is passionate about offering similar opportunities to help others grow and thrive.

After 7 years as an English and Spanish teacher between Colombia and the US, Royal decided to pursue her longtime dream to be a Psychologist and received a Masters from Pepperdine University. She currently works in the research lab of Dr. Shelly Harrell. In this lab she discovered Liberation Psychology. Royal is interested in the well-being of Black women when they leave the US, and would like to research that. She plans on pursuing a doctoral degree in Psychology. 

Follow her on IG @yupshetravels

https://www.yupshetravels.com/

Tik Tok: yup.shetravels