Transformational experiences happen when you least expect them. Melony and Derek spent a week together visiting Barcelona, Spain. Later, after returning to Boston, Melony proclaimed that she had “been living a lie.” Gradually and quietly, previous conversations with Margo Gabriel, Karleen Porcena, sister sadada, Malia Lazu, and Adam Susaneck had compounded like interest that, when withdrawn in Barcelona, revealed a greater richness of life that was not just theoretically possible, but actually flourishing.

With Derek recalling that we’re only 100 years out from the middle years of the Harlem Renaissance, the two also referenced how travel and living abroad influenced artists like Josephine Baker and Langston Hughes, and what lessons we can learn from those examples - and others - today.