Page 62 - DreamScapes Magazine | Winter 2024/2025

P O W E R T R I P
TRAVELLING THE WORLD
HELPED ME REALIZE
HOW MUCH I APPRECIATE
my home
in Canada
WORDS AND PHOTOS BY ALANA BEST
Author of Around the World in Black and White
My husband and I are self-proclaimed adventurers with an
insatiable desire to live life to the fullest. True to our spirited
nature, in 2018 we embarked on a year-long travel quest
around the world with our newborn son and 10-year-old daughter.
We armed ourselves with passports, diapers, heavily researched
itineraries and heads filled with hopes and dreams. We were living
out our family love story after four years of saving and planning.
Travelling is an escape that I am prone to experiencing with
rose-coloured glasses in a euphoric, honeymoon-like state. My
husband and I knew from moving across Canada, living in the
prairies, Québec, Toronto and the West Coast, that being swept off
our feet and moving to a new place was a distinct possibility. After
all, we were feasting our senses on some of the most wondrous
places in the world from the temples of Southeast Asia to the Pyra-
mids of Egypt, the rolling hills of Tuscany and the African plains.
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DREAMSCAPES WINTER 2024/2025
Friends and family frequently ask us “What is your favourite
travel destination?” It’s like asking, “Which is your favourite kid?”
The answer is, that we loved them all (okay, most of them) for dif-
ferent reasons. However, to visit and to live are not the same, and
even more so for our blended, biracial family.
THE CATALYST
Our travels taught me a lot about white privilege and how differ-
ently I am allowed to move in this world compared to my husband.
It was this awareness that fuelled the writing of Around the World
in Black and White: Traveling with a Biracial Blended Family. This
memoir is a tale of self-discovery, racial awakening, resilience and
deeper understanding that is as true travelling as it is living in
Canada.
China was fascinating; we loved the rich history and marvelled
at visiting the Great Wall of China and the Terracotta Warriors.
However, we couldn’t imagine living there after the racism my
Black husband was exposed to including people pointing and
laughing at him while we were visiting some of the great sites.
BACK HOME
When we returned to live in Canada, I was reminded of the wonder
of our West Coast city of Victoria. I fell back in love with home.
Canada has access to some of the most gorgeous landscapes to
explore. And I appreciate Canada’s work-life culture that allows us
the time to really enjoy it.
LESSON LEARNED
We can’t think of a better place to dedicate our time while enjoying
all the incredible things this country has to offer. We have never
felt so deeply rooted, knowing that we have travelled the world,
and this is exactly where we want to work, raise our kids and enjoy
our lives. We will never stop exploring, but we will always return
to our true love, Canada.
DS