Media in Minutes

From Aspiring Economist to Storyteller & Actor: Joanna Kalafatis on Cultural Immersion and Travel Writing

• Angela Tuell • Season 5 • Episode 4

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What happens when a life-altering event redirects your career path? Joanna Kalafatis, a remarkable travel writer and actress, shares her transformative journey from aspiring economist to cultural storyteller. Raised between Greece and the United States, Joanna's unique perspective reshapes how she engages with the world, offering listeners valuable insights into cultural immersion and the art of connecting with locals despite language barriers. Her stories of exploring hidden gems and off-the-beaten-path destinations promise to inspire your wanderlust and redefine your approach to travel.

Unveiling lesser-known tales, like the story of Palenque, Colombia—the first free town in the Americas—Joanna weaves history with personal anecdotes. We also delve into her acting adventures on the Netflix series "Maestro in Blue" and the talk about the thrill of performing live at the Getty Villa. From the cultural riches of the country of Georgia to the practicalities of balancing travel and creativity, this episode provides a tapestry of experiences that demonstrate the enriching power of storytelling.

Connect with Joanna on Instagram: @Joanna.Kalafatis

Learn more about her at LosetheMap.com. 

Check out Eat With at https://www.eatwith.com/. 

Thank you for listening!  Please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe to the Media in Minutes podcast here or anywhere you get your podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/media-in-minutes/id1555710662  

Angela Tuell:

Welcome to Media in Minutes. This is your host, Angela Tuell. This podcast features in-depth interviews with those who report on the world around us. They share everything from their favorite stories to what happened behind the lens and give us a glimpse into their world From our studio here at Communications Redefined. This is Media in Minutes. In today's episode, we are talking with Joanna Kalafatis. Joanna is a travel writer and actress who runs a website focused on cultural immersion, adventure travel and off-the-beaten-path destinations at losethemapcom. Raised between Greece and the United States, she splits her time between the two countries. She loves discussing her homeland, particularly destinations international travelers may not know much about, and encouraging local travel that connects us to people around the world. Hi, joanna, how are things in New York?

Joanna Kalafatis:

They're great. They're really windy, but great.

Angela Tuell:

I know you said you're on like the 15th floor too right.

Joanna Kalafatis:

Yes, yes, I'm hearing it howling outside right now. It feels, it feels very nice being in here with blankets and stuff.

Angela Tuell:

Yes, that's always nice. I'm so happy to have you on our podcast today.

Joanna Kalafatis:

Same. Really happy to be here. Thank you for inviting me.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah, I'd love to start with. You know you have such a fascinating background. Could you share with our listeners how you ended up in travel writing, how you got to where you are today?

Joanna Kalafatis:

Yeah, yeah, I guess that's kind of a story. So well, I've always been a big writer since I was young and then, you know, just started my life and I'd started travel blog and my study abroad program, which I really uh, honestly, was mostly for my family and friends like keep track of me, and for my parents were concerned to make sure I was alive still, you know, because it was posting um. But yeah, so I started and I kind of really liked just sharing um, the impressions I gained on the road. And then then after college, I moved to LA for acting and I was doing a lot of freelance articles on the side for extra income and I just realized that like I really wanted to start something of my own so I could write in my own voice and really focus on the things that I cared about with travel.

Joanna Kalafatis:

And I got opportunities to travel via work and via just honestly being young and traveling really cheaply and being okay with it. They're like sure I'll be in a room with six people, it's fine, but yeah, so I started kind of writing my blog and then writing for other travel websites and it, you know, escalated up from there and I think I brought this kind of unique take because I have been raised between two countries, so it was always interesting to me to kind of unique take because I have been raised between two countries, so it was always interesting to me to kind of like observe cultural differences. You know, and that's something I really want to focus on in my own travel writing that I wasn't getting the chance to when I was writing for other publications necessarily. So, yeah, that's how I got in.

Angela Tuell:

So what did you want to be initially? Did you know as a teen or into college, what you thought? Oh my God.

Joanna Kalafatis:

I mean, when I was really young I wanted to be an archaeologist. I was obsessed with Mayan and Incan culture. I read the whole Popol Vuh and all that Super popular kid, as you can probably imagine Very popular but not weird at all. But yeah, so I wanted to be that. And then I wasn't sure. I studied economics and political science and I want to get involved in international relations.

Joanna Kalafatis:

So I still was really fascinated to, like you know, get to other countries, basically and see how things are there and honestly, that background has kind of informed like when I'm traveling somewhere, I do also apply a bit of a lens of like a little bit geopolitics, a little bit social issues, you know, in the country, just kind of kind of seeing what's up besides the tourist sites and how things operate. And then I kind of I wasn't 100 percent sure still, I was studying economics and it was fine, no-transcript. Well, a minivan hit me, which is bad, and yes, it broke my femur and I was hospitalized in South Africa for a while. It was a whole thing and I came close to, you know, not being here anymore, since that happened when a multi-ton vehicle hits you on the street and it just made me kind of reflect on, like, what am I doing and what do I want to do? And you know I don't feel fulfilled and this doesn't feel a hundred percent like what I should be doing.

Joanna Kalafatis:

And then I gravitated back to the arts, which I had been doing a lot, for you know I grew up doing like dance and piano and theater and all that. So I decided to get back into acting and writing and that's what I would devote myself to, but still kind of weirdly enough, because people like oh, do you feel like you're wasting your degree or you waste your time? And when I think about it, really I'm like no, because you know, it gave me that way of thinking about things and that kind of perspective that I think I bring to my writing, to my, you know content creation today.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah, so that's a long story. No, that's great to find out how you got to where you are, so I wanted to ask you a little bit about the culture question. You know what is your best advice when you travel somewhere to experience the culture? Ooh okay.

Joanna Kalafatis:

So lots of things. I fully recommend, honestly, just integrating and interacting with local people as much as possible, because that's how you're going to get most of the culture. And obviously, you know that's not an easy thing to do always, especially in places where there's like a big language barrier, just hard to you know organically meet people and go off or some people who just aren't, you know, don't feel comfortable approaching strangers and striking up a conversation. But then I always recommend services that I've personally used and loved, which is one of them that I recommend is Eat With, which is essentially you go to dinner or lunch or something at someone's house locally and you eat dinner with them and their family or the roommates or whoever they live with, so you get to taste local cuisine, but then you also get to talk to them. You know, for hours I love it. Yeah, no, that's honestly really great.

Joanna Kalafatis:

And then there are other companies like sometimes I've used local guides you can do either like like I've done literally like single-person walking tours, which aren't as expensive as you might think, where someone from the city who really loves our city I did it in Cartagena, I did it in Helsinki Just kind of shows you around and just by virtue of showing you around, they kind of end up chatting to you about you know everything they think about their country and like a lot of questions about your country and how things function, the same or differently. Um, so I think you know if, if you don't have a lot of time to spend in a country or if you're not the kind of person who, can you know, feels very comfortable, just like striking up conversations in bars and stuff, and yeah, that's understandable. Obviously, I think going with that kind of like very small or even individual, personal, local tour, going with companies like Eat With, just gives you that cultural immersion.

Angela Tuell:

Those are great. I can't wait to look into those a little bit more. Yeah, also mentioned your website and newsletter. It's losethemapcom, correct, quite popular. So for those who aren't super familiar, please tell us more.

Joanna Kalafatis:

So, for those who aren't here, please tell us more.

Joanna Kalafatis:

So lose, the mapcom is my, it's my travel blog and you know, I just kind of came to the title after, after brainstorming with a journalist friend to like 4am with lots of beer we hit on it and we liked it because I I wanted to give people that impression of like, yes, you know, I'm going to obviously give advice on what to do and what to see and what to eat, but I wanted to keep that that ethos in mind of like lose the map, in the sense of don't just run around to attractions and sites, but actually take some time to just do things you like in a place and connect to a place and just be in it, you know, just to get, to get a better sense of how things are there.

Joanna Kalafatis:

So I had left it a little stale for a couple of years post-COVID, because obviously there wasn't much to report in the world of traveling for me. You know, there wasn't much of like. I went to my living room today. It was grand so and I did have like a backlog of articles I could have written, but honestly it was just such a weird time that psychologically I was just like I don't think I can do this right now yeah, um.

Joanna Kalafatis:

But then I got back to it, uh, about a year ago and just like re kind of invested all the time energy I had into it and it's been doing, honestly, better than ever, which is great. Because a lot of people are like, oh, you want to travel blog now, is it a good time, with, you know, google doing its algorithm things. I'm like, well, I tried and it's working. I think it's just honestly. I think it's about, with a travel blog connecting to people, cause like, if you want a national geographic article in place, you're going to go to Nat Geo, right. If you want, like, a complete guidebook, you're going to go to Lonely Planet or Moon Travel Guides or something like that. So when people go to your travel blog, it's because they either connect with the way you travel or your voice. So I think it's for me. I've just been focusing a lot on bringing that and things I'm interested in to my travel blog, because then they'll attract people who are interested in the same things.

Angela Tuell:

Yes, I've got to tell you, the stories are fantastic too. One of them I was looking at yesterday it was a hundred tips. You know how there's tip articles a lot. That's pretty common, but I was looking through them and they were all things I had never heard of or like new ideas. I mean that's amazing. That's what I love to hear. I mean fantastic information. So, yes, anyone that hasn't been on that's listening definitely needs to check it out. Are you writing for any other outlets right now too? I?

Joanna Kalafatis:

am. I have so my. Actually, my primary writing job, weirdly, is not related to travel. I write scripts for a YouTube channel called the Infographic Show.

Joanna Kalafatis:

But, I do get to bring in a lot of that world knowledge because, like right now, I'm doing a lot of geography scripts for them. So basically they do like infotainment kind of videos aimed at young adults, educational but also with a side of humor and sarcasm, so you know you'll actually sit and listen to 20 minute video. So that's my primary writing job. But for my travel writing I write pretty consistently for Matter Network. I've written for Business Insider and Time Out New York, for Greek Reporter, for Things Focused obviously more of my homeland. So yeah, I have a handful of consistent kind of freelance gigs there.

Angela Tuell:

Okay, and what types of stories do you like to do the most?

Joanna Kalafatis:

Honestly, a lot of the stories I love to do have to do with things that, to preface, I consider myself this isn't bragging, I'm just a big nerd about it. I consider myself like a pretty well read and knowledgeable person about international things, let's say, and places. So when I come across like a story that I've never even heard of, or like a town that's important in a way that I didn't know existed, I really like to highlight that because I think it's important to you know, highlight stories in places that people might not know that much about. So those are the stories I really love. And then I also love stories that kind of.

Joanna Kalafatis:

You know you get to delve into myths about a place or stereotypes about a place or preconceptions, and see to what extent they're true or not, and more often than not I find them to be kind of untrue. Like it's very interesting to you know, one of my best performing articles is a very simple one that I just wrote up one day because I'm like people should know this about Greece. But it was like it was basically five travel myths about Greece. And then the other one was eight things to do in the winter in Greece. And so many people were like wait, there's places in Greece that get snow. You can do things in the winter and it was wild because you know for me, coming from there, and I think this is a trap we all fall into right. Like you assume, all the knowledge you have is common knowledge, but we each have our area of expertise that sometimes we're even unaware of, so I think tapping into that is super cool and important.

Angela Tuell:

I think it's easy to think what we know, everyone knows, and so everyone has something to contribute. What we know, everyone knows, and so everyone has something to contribute. Yeah, I love that. What are some of your other most memorable stories?

Joanna Kalafatis:

Well, one of the ones I love the most is the one on Palenque. It's a it's a town in Colombia, small town in Colombia, like two and a half hours outside Cartagena, deep in the jungle, very humid. My hair was not having fun there, but it's fascinating because it's known as the first free town in the Americas. So it's essentially Cartagena has a dark side of its history was one of the biggest slave ports for Spanish colonials in the 16th, 17th centuries. So what happened is there was a massive group of enslaved people that escaped at some point and these were people who were either first generation, like had directly been brought from Western Africa, or like were the kids of people who've been brought from Western Africa. So they escaped and they formed their own town and essentially the Spanish authorities tried to get them but essentially gave up at some point because they went so deep in the jungle. They're like you know what, we're not doing whatever, like we can't do this anymore. But it's fascinating to visit and I wrote a story that I got a lot of good feedback on because I really, you know, like I said, worked with local people to be, like, respectful of the culture and make sure it was getting everything right.

Joanna Kalafatis:

But it's fascinating because it provides a window into kind of what black culture may have been like if it were not for the 200, 300 years of slavery that kind of took that Western African culture out of so many people right. So like they still speak a dialect that includes West African words, they still have instruments with West African music that they play, they still practice some West African spiritual beliefs. So it's really interesting because it kind of gives a window into like this might have been. You know, this might have been a completely different kind of black culture were it not for everything that happened. Obviously.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah, do they welcome tourists? Is it a tourist area or that you can?

Joanna Kalafatis:

It's. I mean, tourists definitely go there mostly on group tours. It's like a hard place to kind of go and stay alone and navigate, but like, yeah, go there mostly on group tours. It's like a hard place to kind of go and stay alone and navigate, but like, yeah, they're. I mean, when we went there, a lot of the local kind of community leaders and the person who ran the music school were very happy to come out and talk to us about what it's like there and what they're building and very enthusiastic about it.

Angela Tuell:

So yeah, that is really great. So how often are?

Joanna Kalafatis:

you traveling. You know it depends because I I do do acting work, so it depends a lot on that schedule. In case you might not have heard, the last couple of years have been pretty terrible for actors, so it's given me a lot more flexibility to travel. I do usually group most of my travel in the kind of dead periods for acting, so like December, january or like May to July. It's a little more slow in the industry. I try to group most of it around there. It is easier when I'm spending my time based out of Greece because it's just so easy to go to so many countries.

Angela Tuell:

So many countries right.

Joanna Kalafatis:

And within a couple hours flight. Yes, anywhere.

Angela Tuell:

I always think about how I'm almost jealous of Europe, how you can go to so many places. We're so far.

Joanna Kalafatis:

Oh my God, um, and almost jealous of europe, how you can go to so many places we're so far. Oh my god, I mean, it was the one thing like I recently relocated back to new york from la and la, like I loved it for a lot of reasons, but also getting anywhere is so difficult. Yeah, I mean it's so hard, but you're yes, yes, you go like 11 hours west to get to japan, or 10 hours, whatever it is oh my goodness.

Angela Tuell:

yeah, um, I do want to talk about acting too, but first I would ask questions about journalism and PR. How can publicists most help you do your job, and do you have any pet peeves?

Joanna Kalafatis:

I mean my only pet peeve, I would really say, is when it's clear that someone hasn't done the research at all as to what I do and reaches out to me. Like I recently had someone reach out to me to promote some kind of like infant formula and I'm like, do you? I don't have a child, by the way, and also it's not what I write about because I don't have a child. So I'm like, what exactly are you reaching out about? So obviously you know not, don't do that. But so that's really my only like big pet peeve.

Joanna Kalafatis:

But to help do our jobs, honestly, I think it's just about having like open communication which goes both ways right. Like I always try to be transparent with people I work with, of listen like what you're selling isn't really my niche, which is how I think I build trust with brands of like I'm not going to sell something that I know my audience is probably not going to be interested in. Like, for example, like I know cruise travel is like not a niche my audience tends to be interested in. So I'm not going to go to a cruise company and be like you know, let me sell your stuff because it's just not going to align and then you know it helps when I have open communication from the, from publicists of okay, this is what we're looking for specifically. This is kind of what we're about. Can you do this? Does this make sense for you? Because it makes it easier to do my job and say yes or no and, you know, provide a fruitful collaboration or not.

Angela Tuell:

So yes, that's great advice. Great advice. I saw that you've been to almost 50 countries right Soon to be.

Joanna Kalafatis:

Correct Soon to be 48 by UN count, definitely going to hit at least two more this year because I'm planning on doing a little Balkan trip, which it's embarrassing, being from Greece, how little of the Balkans I've been. I've been to Bulgaria. That's it Embarrassing.

Angela Tuell:

Embarrassing Neighbors. I could drive there. Where are you going this year then?

Joanna Kalafatis:

um so, uh. My top two are croatia, montenegro, but I also really want to go to belgrade, serbia, which I've I've heard very interesting things about as a city, so I'm fascinated that does sound fascinating.

Angela Tuell:

Um and I know this is the worst question to ask a travel writer, but I'll ask it in a little bit of a way what, what instead of what are your favorite places that you've traveled to? You know that have like surprised you or ones that really stood out.

Joanna Kalafatis:

Ooh, yeah, that is a hard question. I'll say one of my recent ones is one that surprised me and stood out Georgia, the country, not the state. I also love the state, but different. No, it surprised me because because, quite honestly, I didn't know much about Georgia. It's not a big destination for Western tourism, so I went there with few to no preconceptions of what I was about to find and I found a country that was really fascinating.

Joanna Kalafatis:

I mean, it used the kind of the capital which I'm going to butcher the pronunciation of Tbilisi, I want to say the language is difficult. It was kind of either on or near the Silk Road and you can totally tell I mean there's so much cultural influence and architectural influence from like, from Iran, from Europe, from Turkey, from Russia. You know, it's kind of the smorgasbord of different cultures that you could tell left their mark there. Super safe country, really heavy but really delicious cuisine, really fascinating, like gorgeous mountain regions to see. I didn't know that it was the origin of wine cultivation in the world, so they have like an entire wine country. Yeah, wine was first cultivated in Georgia 8, 8 000 years ago, so the eastern part is the like wine region right had no idea.

Joanna Kalafatis:

Um, they have like a thousand two thousand year old cave complex uh what like civilization site that people lived in. I mean, just fascinating things to see that I had no idea about. So it was definitely surprising because because, like I said, I didn't know much about it and I don't think much is written about it, and I absolutely loved it, yeah. So I have to add that to the bucket list.

Angela Tuell:

I love the places where, although I feel like I do a lot of research so I know mostly what to expect, but I do- love when you're not sure what to expect, and really going in and and it just or not having those expectations. I guess too. I think.

Joanna Kalafatis:

Yeah, not knowing Cause. You know there's some destinations where it's like obviously being there is always going to be different and better, but it's like I have seen so much of you know Santorini, for example, one of my great destinations. I've seen so much of it at Instagram that when I went there I'm like, oh yeah, this is what I've seen.

Angela Tuell:

I get it. Yes, this is what I've seen. I get it, like you know. Yes, yes, so we do need to talk about being an actress and, um, tell us a little bit about how that's going. I know that you were most recently on a popular streaming service on a show, right?

Joanna Kalafatis:

on Netflix about that. Yeah, well, so it was actually a really great uh, opportunity, because I have not in my life acted in Greek. Before that I had done another Greek production, but I was playing an American in it. Um, so it was my first. Basically, I I'd known the director for a while. We'd been like acquaintances, friends, for about a decade.

Joanna Kalafatis:

Um, it's a small, you know, community of Greek entertainers in the US and, yeah, he called me one day saying, like I'm writing this part, I keep hearing it in your voice Can you please audition for this? I'm like, ok, and it was supposed to be a guest star. And then I got, I became a series regular, which was a very nice compliment for me from the cast and the director and everyone. So, yeah, the show is called Maestro in Blue. It's the first Greek show to on netflix and hit the top 10 for international shows. Um, when it premiered so it's done really well like it was wild because we're on the island filming and, um, I was cool because I hadn't been in the earlier season, so I was not recognizable when we're filming right but tourists would come in like like tourists from from london and and israel and spain, and be like oh my, oh my God, oh my God, it's the cast of Maestro and I'm like, okay, so you guys recognize everyone.

Joanna Kalafatis:

That's wild. Okay, Filming in a Greek island, filming in my home country? Really amazing. Like I said, I had some nerves filming in my theoretically mother tongue but, like you know, I was gone for so much of my childhood that it's I am a little more rusty in Greek than English, so it was a little intimidating but, you know, went really well. So, honestly, just a great experience all around.

Angela Tuell:

Do you have any other acting things coming up?

Joanna Kalafatis:

I recently auditioned for something big and I you know I try not to think about things after I audition.

Joanna Kalafatis:

I think it went really well. But you know, that means very little because there's so many people auditioning. You know, we'll see. I kind of. I've adopted a philosophy after audition for something I you have to let it go, because you're just going to drive yourself insane. And you know, sometimes you're like oh, I haven't heard anything in a month, I definitely didn't get it. And then they're like oh, actually production was delayed for eight months. You get a call like a year later. You're like what? You never know, there's no updates, right, there's no updates, you get no information. So the best thing is to just like have fun with it, do your audition, then move on with your life.

Angela Tuell:

And if you get it, they how nerve wracking.

Joanna Kalafatis:

Oh yeah, what are you proudest of in your career so far? Actually, you know, I'm proudest of a play I did last year. It was staged at the Getty Villa in LA, which is a really awesome thing. I didn't even know they did plays, actually, but apparently you do plays on theme. You know ancient themes. So I did an original play by a playwright, alex Liras really talented guy that dove into the upbringing of Alexander the Great, and I played his mother, Olympias, who was a huge influence on his life.

Joanna Kalafatis:

And you know, prior to that I hadn't been on stage in 10 years. So it was. Yeah, I'd done a bunch of plays earlier in my career, but I'd been doing mostly film and TV and it was. You know, there's nothing like being on stage, just that live energy, that adrenaline you get from the audience and from just not having, you know, second or third takes that you have to get it right, right, the pressure creates something really beautiful. And just the amount of rehearsal you get, obviously in time to explore a character, because you don't really get that with film and tv right, you're kind of expected if you get any rehearsal takes. Yeah, not takes like any rehearsal at all. That's kind of amazing. Most people won't even do that. You just expect to be on set, know your character, know your lines and go for it. I don't think I knew that.

Angela Tuell:

Oh yeah, you just have to be on set know your character, know your lines and go for it. I don't think I knew that.

Joanna Kalafatis:

Oh yeah, you just have to be like ready, basically, and it's, it's amazing theater to just have that time to explore a story and a character and to play a woman who, to me, was so fascinating because history has written her down as very evil and, like you know, she I mean she killed children.

Joanna Kalafatis:

She was not like a great person, okay, but but it was interesting to explore a person who was. She was doing the same things that, like, male rulers were doing. It was to ensure the line of succession right, everything is to ensure the line of succession and also because her own life would be under threat if alexander the great were not to become king. She would be disposable essentially as the mother of someone who's not in line for the throne, um, so it was just fascinating to go into it. She was really intelligent and really cunning and really just played a big role in making Alexander what he was. And it was fascinating to go into kind of how much it weighed on her to be a woman at a time in history when her strengths would never be really admired, you know, or showcased in any way.

Angela Tuell:

That is fascinating.

Joanna Kalafatis:

Do you think you'll do? Plays or you want to focus on I mean honestly, it's part of the reason I moved back to New York. I would love to do more plays, Like there is so much more theater here and I would love to do more plays. A hundred percent.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah Well, that's great. What else are your? Do you have other goals for the future? Yeah, Well, that's great.

Joanna Kalafatis:

What else are your? Do you have other goals for the future? Honestly, my biggest one is I'd like to have my own travel show. I am pitching a couple of ideas right now, you know, seeing how they go, but, like I, I'd really love to and I feel, like you know, I I blessed to have, like those on camera, skills and this enthusiasm and like passion and knowledge of travel, so I think it could combine really well.

Angela Tuell:

You would be so fantastic at it, thank you. What I love about your writing and your approach and you know who you are is how down to earth and real travel advice and you know not things that you don't read your content and think, oh, I couldn't do that or how would I do that Right, so that makes it very valuable. I love that, thank you. Before we go, I have to ask what is something that many people who maybe don't know you well might be surprised to learn about you.

Joanna Kalafatis:

Um, I have developed flight anxiety in the last eight years.

Angela Tuell:

Really, you know what I have later in life too.

Joanna Kalafatis:

Yeah, isn't it crazy, oh my God, I always assumed phobias were like things you were born with. But no, you can develop them at any time apparently. So I just had like a very bad takeoff experience going into a developing storm of flying out of the Bahamas. So I was it's been. Takeoff is not good for me since then, like until that ding goes on.

Joanna Kalafatis:

I'm not, I'm not doing well Right, and it's wild because, people are like exactly, people like you fly all the time and I will say I will share an embarrassing story. One time I was on a flight where the person next to me like I was really just freaking out. I was not, I was like tearing up, I was just not doing well. Usually it doesn't get that bad, but one out of 20 times something will just hit and it just happens. And the person next to me was like, don't worry, planes are really safe. They're such a safe method of transportation. I'm like I know I've flown three times this month and she was like oh, and her expression kind of changed Like so what's wrong with you? Why are you freaking out? But it's part of what I share with readers. It. This is kind of like you said.

Joanna Kalafatis:

I'm really thankful you said about my approach, because part of what I try to get across to people is like I'm not exceptionally brave or adventurous or extroverted or anything you would think enables me to like solo travel and do these things. I just try to focus on the fact that I want the experience more than the things I'm afraid of. So like I will get on that plane, sometimes being in a really bad mental place with it because I really want to explore this new country, or I really want to see my family back in Greece, or I really want to visit my friend in whatever it is, or I really want to go to that job, that films in Malta or whatever. So, um, so I try to impress upon my readers because I don't want my life and my travels to seem like something untouchable and unattainable. You know, I want to impress, like so many people are capable of doing this yeah, and I think so many people don't realize that you know so it's.

Angela Tuell:

Oh, I love that you're sharing that yeah yeah, what is the best way for our listeners to connect with you online?

Joanna Kalafatis:

Well, definitely to read my blog, first and foremost at losethemapcom and also follow me on Instagram. I'm most active on Instagram, JoannaKalafatis. I'm sure it'll be uploaded somewhere for the spelling, but I also have a Facebook page which is Lose the Map, and those are, and I and I just started a YouTube channel. I only have a couple of videos up, Guys, video editing is hard, Um, but I did just start a YouTube channel which is also under my name, Joanna Califatis.

Angela Tuell:

So it was a taste of a travel travel. Uh, show right.

Joanna Kalafatis:

Yes, yes, I mean, that's part of the reason why I'm like, I feel like I really want to start practicing with this.

Angela Tuell:

Yeah, so we'll be watching and reading. Thank you so much, Joanna. Thank you so much. It was really great to be here. That's all for this episode of Media in Minutes, a podcast by Communications Redefined. Please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe to our show. We'd love to hear what you think. You can find more at communicationsredefinedcom slash podcast. I'm your host, Angela Tuell. Talk to you next time.