Blog Interview with Danielle Grace: Blogger & Host of Podcast “Young, Gifted, And Abroad”
Hello readers! I got the chance to interview a friend, fellow blogger, and podcast host Danielle Grace, about her podcast Young Gifted and Abroad, traveling tips, and blogging! I hope you all enjoy the interview!
About The Podcast
Young, Gifted and Abroad is an interview podcast that launched on Juneteenth, 2018. Each episode features a person of color who has studied abroad or had similar international experiences as a high school, undergraduate, or graduate student. No matter the type or duration of experience, the goal is for these stories to inspire current PoC students (and non-students alike) to take advantage of opportunities to see more of the world. New episode every other Tuesday on SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and Acast!
Q&A Time!
Hi Danielle, thanks for visiting the blog! Tell us about yourself.
Hi, Rachel! We’ve come a long way from Konishi-sensei’s class, haven’t we? Thanks for having me! Hmm, what can I say about myself? My name’s Danielle. I’m from Michigan. My favorite color is blue (I’m a Spartan, though). Reading has been my thing since I was three years old or so. I have many interests and I do a variety of things to keep myself from being bored. But for the purposes of this interview I’ll just say that I run a podcast called Young, Gifted and Abroad that highlights people of color’s international learning experiences. I also have a personal blog called DeelaSees where I post my own reviews of books (usually fiction or memoir) and Japanese dramas.
What inspired you to start your podcast Young Gifted and Abroad?
I noticed podcasting-related programs popping up last year in 2018, and I thought since I was already doing audio transcription it might be useful to get involved with podcasting in a behind-the-scenes sense. Then I heard about a program that required applicants to pitch their own podcast and be front and center as the host. I ultimately decided not to apply, but it did get me thinking about what kind of podcast I would feel comfortable leading.
I landed on the theme of studying abroad because that’s a personal experience that I have, and I know other people of color who’ve done it. Plus, I never forgot that time when the lady who braided my hair before I went abroad commended me for doing something that not a lot of “us” (Black people) get to do. That’s always stuck with me. And I wanted to be able to deflect to other people instead of having the entire focus be on me, so I decided to do an interview podcast where I use each episode to feature a different person discussing their study abroad and other travel experiences.
As for the name, for some reason I randomly remembered the phrase “Young, Gifted and Black” which most people probably recognize from the Nina Simone song. But the song is actually a homage to the writer/playwright Lorraine Hansberry, whose biography is titled To Be Young, Gifted and Black. With Lorraine Hansberry in mind, I decided to name my podcast Young, Gifted and Abroad. I launched it on Juneteenth (June 19th) of 2018, and so I just recently celebrated its 1st anniversary.
What has been your favorite part about hosting/creating this podcast?
It’s hard to pick an absolute favorite. One of my favorite parts is getting positive feedback from my guests. All of them have been very gracious, so most of them say things like “I had a nice time talking with you,” or “Thank you for having me,” or “Thank you for the opportunity,” and so on. And that’s really nice. But when people say things like, “I was really nervous about doing this but you made me feel comfortable,” or “You made me feel seen,” or “You’re so good at what you do,” things like that really take it over the top for me and make me emotional. There’s a part of me that enjoys external validation, so hearing those things is satisfying in that way. But it’s also been eye-opening to realize that my guests are not just doing me a favor. I’m giving them something meaningful in the process, as well.
Out of all the countries mentioned on the podcast so far, what would be your top 3 travel destination picks?
Ooh, this is a great question. I’m very intentional about not letting any sort of travel envy crop up when I interview people, so I’ve never really thought about this before. As far as destinations mentioned that I haven’t been to before, I would say my top 3 picks (in no particular order) are Taiwan, Ghana, and Brazil.
I have a Taiwanese-American friend who speaks highly of the island, and the person I interviewed about Taiwan (episode 13) emphasized how livable it is, how beautiful the natural scenery can be, and how well you can eat there. The guests who have spoken to me about Ghana (episodes 9 and 30, plus upcoming episode 45) have said how being there makes them feel connected to Africa and to their own Blackness in a significant way, and novels like Homegoing (Yaa Gyasi) and Ghana Must Go (Taiye Selasi) have made me even more intrigued by that country. And to me Brazil (episodes 28 and 37) just seems like a culturally-rich place with good music and good food.
You’ve studied abroad yourself and have traveled internationally. What have been your favorite travel destinations to go to?
Paris, France and the Kansai region of Japan (Shiga, Kyoto, Osaka, etc.) are the places I’ve spent the most continuous amount of time in, so they will always be close to my heart. When I went to South Korea last year I stayed with a friend in Suwon and I thoroughly enjoyed that city as well. It’s in the Seoul metropolitan area and has over 1 million people, but it still has a home-y feel to it.
How has studying/traveling abroad affected you? What top 3 travel tips would you share with others?
I feel like I’m even more restless than I was before I started traveling abroad. Which can be a good thing because I’m always seeking to explore, but for me it also means that I have a hard time being still and content in moments when that could be just as beneficial. My top 3 travel tips would be:
1. Be prepared, do your research, but don’t go anywhere with too many preconceived notions or expectations, especially if it’s your first time going.
2. Try all the food! Unless you have serious dietary restrictions or sanitary concerns, don’t ask too many questions about what you’re eating and just enjoy it.
3. If you’re like me and don’t particularly enjoy group trips but also aren’t bold enough to solo-travel yet, traveling with 1 to 3 other people (4 people maximum, including yourself) is the sweet spot.
Outside of podcasting, you have your own book blog DeelaSees. How did you get started with your blog and what is your blog about?
I started my blog in January of 2013. I’d recently turned 20 years old, and I guess I wanted it to be both an online diary of sorts (a record of my twenties) and a place to showcase my writing. After I graduated from college, however, I wasn’t sure anymore if people really needed to read about my life or opinions, so I pivoted to mainly using the blog to post my book reviews and J-drama reviews, which I had already been doing all along.
The name “DeelaSees” comes from two different times in my life. During an elementary school trip to a Jeepers indoor amusement park, this one bully of a kid I didn’t know kept calling me “Deela” to try and rile me up (we all had name tags and mine clearly read “Danielle”). I didn’t want to include my real name in the blog, and then “Deela” ordeal resurfaced in my mind so I used that instead. As for “Sees”, I might be mistaken but I feel like there was a time on the Internet when people would frequently use a name + verb format to name their blogs or social media accounts. I thought “Sees” fit me because I’m very observant and am always trying to understand things more than I already do. So DeelaSees it was.
I know that you’re an avid reader and often review a wide variety of diverse and translated works. What have been some of your favorite books that you have reviewed on the blog?
Okay, so to answer this question I spent some time pouring through all my reviews and my Goodreads “Read” list, and I realized that I’ve written 95 reviews encompassing over 100 books. Which is to say, this is a really hard question for me to answer! But I will try. The books that unsettled me and left the strongest and most lasting impression were Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, The Round House by Louise Erdrich, Song of the Exile by Kiana Davenport, An Untamed State by Roxane Gay, and The Vegetarian by Han Kang. With the exception of Homegoing and Song of the Exile, these aren’t necessarily my favorite books, but they each disturbed me with how their major characters are broken down by life and suffer just for being women, being Black, or being Brown. I say “disturbed” not just in reference to the violence within each novel, but also because each one challenged me to think about the world differently.
As for my actual favorite books that I’ve reviewed, those would be Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, An American Marriage by Tayari Jones, Black Girl in Paris by Shay Youngblood, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez, The Wind in the Reeds by Wendell Pierce, Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, The Expatriates by Janice Y.K. Lee, Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi, Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan, and Marriage of a Thousand Lies by SJ Sindu.
What books do you have on your TBR? Books you absolutely recommend?
My goodness, I have so many TBRs that it really is a problem. I will say that the books I have that I’m looking forward to reading most are the Well-Read Black Girl anthology by Glory Edim and The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat. I haven’t bought Sour Heart by Jenny Zhang yet, but it’s at the top of my list to buy next because I have a friend named Jenny Zhang who’s also a writer, and I can’t help but think of that funny coincidence whenever I think of that book.
If someone asked me for general recommendations then I would definitely recommend Native Son by Richard Wright. I started becoming a critical reader and writer with that book (shoutout to AP Lit in high school), so it’s incredibly special to me. However, if someone were to ask me for something more fun or light-hearted, I would absolutely recommend Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan. I read it years before the movie came out and it’s hilarious.
Can you name some of your favorite bloggers and explain why they are your favorites?
I don’t follow any actual blog websites, but as far as book bloggers on Instagram go I have a few favorites. Julia Megumi (@juliamegumi) often posts about Asian and Asian-American literature and I like her approach as someone who is an academic but also genuinely loves reading. I also enjoy Well-Read Black Girl (@wellreadblackgirl) because I am one such well-read Black girl myself and I appreciate the community that Glory has formed by uplifting Black women writers and readers. I also found out about Shay Youngblood’s Black Girl in Paris through Well-Read Black Girl and will always be grateful for that. Then there’s Lei (@lei_in_japan), whose opinions I also respect. Our taste in reading selections differs to an extent, but her reviews are very clear and she left me some really comforting comments when by dog died a few years ago. Last but not least is Antonia (@blackgirlthatreads). I haven’t dug into her content that much yet, but I follow her and feel compelled to shout her out as well because she just ended her podcast called Common Sense Podcast and I thoroughly enjoyed that show.
What are your future plans for your blog and the podcast?
Basically, my plans for both are to just continue like I’ve been doing. With my blog, since it was meant to be a record of my twenties I’ve gone back and forth on whether I should stop updating it (or make it private or close it down) when I turn 30 and then start a new blog. Not sure about that yet. For the podcast, I have a certain number of guests that I want to interview before I even think about calling it quits, and it’ll take me at least a couple more years to get there. So in both regards I just want to keep going as best I can.
About The Blogger/Host
Danielle Grace is from the Metro Detroit area. She mostly reads fiction and memoir, and regularly writes her own book reviews and Japanese drama reviews on her blog DeelaSees.com. She is also the creator and host of “Young, Gifted and Abroad“, a podcast that highlights perspectives on studying abroad from people of color. She wants to encourage people to explore the world in their own way. As a reader, writer, singer-songwriter, and translator, Danielle is a lover of language and stories who is also incessantly curious about people and life.
Thanks again to Danielle for taking the time for a Q&A session and stopping by the blog! Be sure to visit her amazing blog (she has so many good book reviews) and to check out her podcast which is sure to inspire you about life and travel!
