Last week in Athens, I met a Greek American who has lived in Greece for the last 10 years.
We had a long, fascinating conversation about identity and the many shades of wanting to belong.
He told me about the guilt he carries for not being able to assimilate into Greek culture the way he had hoped.
Even after all this time, he believes he’s 'the other' in Greece. Though he’s Greek American, he feels more American than Greek on the streets of Athens.
While I cannot use any hyphens myself – I could never call myself a Russian-American, Estonian-American, Kazakh-American, much less simply American – I related to the tinge of sadness and search for belonging in this person's reflection.
Many of us who are uprooted from our origins by choice or necessity experience a version of this longing as we move through the world.
While hyphens fail me, there is part of me that’s undeniably rooted in Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan is a place where I was born, spent the first three years of my life, and returned every summer for the next 13.
Some of my most gentle, precious memories and emotions have sprouted in Kazakhstan, and part of it resides in my heart to this day.
That's why it was such a tender moment for me to be able to explore those memories and emotions in this latest piece for Condé Nast Traveler.
In it, I spotlight Kazakh artists like Laila Zharkyn, Altynai Baizhan, and others who have inspired me and brought me closer to Kazakhstan than ever before.
xx Yulia
🏠 Inside Going Places
1:1 consultation slots
I have a few spots still open for an individual consultation this November / December.
In this private session, you can get unstuck with your pitch idea, brainstorm story angles, identify publications to pitch, receive career advice, or get my feedback on your creative portfolio.
Book your live 1-hour session here.
Chile deep dive
Our Chile Deep Dive is going on a short break, and we'll resume the series in November.
In the meantime, you can catch up on our first five installments, in which we learned about the central conflict unraveling inside the Atacama Desert and heard directly from a medicinal doll maker, an artisanal miner, and a food entrepreneur belonging to the Indigenous Diaguita community.
Yulia Denisyuk
🚀 Paid Members Corner
This week's creator opportunities
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🚀 This Condé Nast Traveler editor is seeking family travel pitches – pitch by Tue, Oct 20
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🌍 In The World
More teaching in 2027
A few years ago, I led an all-day workshop for a group of women storytellers that followed a travel journalist's day in the life: from working with tourism boards and reporting on the ground to generating ideas and crafting pitches.
This workshop was part of Wanderful's Women In Travel Summit, held in Puerto Rico that year.
Huge thanks to our paid member Beth Santos and the Wanderful team for always being open to new ideas, and thank you to Foundation for Puerto Rico for your partnership!
Because of that workshop, I then got to teach an all-day media workshop to 50+ tourism partners from Virginia Tourism Corporation the following year. To this day, it remains one of my favorite teaching projects.
I love teaching (almost as much as I love storytelling around the globe :)).
And I'm looking to do more of it in 2027.
If you or your organization are looking to hire a seasoned media professional with teaching experience ranging from National Geographic Traveller (UK) to Society of American Travel Writers and beyond, let's talk!
Guess This Place
Let's play a game 🗺️
Your task is to name this place.
Today's place is:
Know this place? You can check your answer on our site here.
Last week's answer was Amman, Jordan.
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Radostina Boseva is a film wedding photographer with an editorial flair based between SF and Europe.
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