Lima was an enriching city with great food and beautiful historical sites. I stayed in an Ibis hotel in downtown Lima. I'm from the DC area in the US, so it was quite comparable to that! It was a bit of a shock as a tourist, because you have people on the street trying to sell you something at every turn, and they are persistent! In that regard, be discerning. Sometimes the sellers will try to scam you because in their eyes, as a tourist, you have a lot of money. The food was WONDERFUL! The Peruvian chicken was good (of course) and many local dishes like Causa, Ceviche, and Limo are more than worth a try. As a black woman and an American, it was an interesting experience. I hardly saw any other Black people (although Lima has an Afro-Peruvian presence) and I would get stares here and there. There's no malice though, especially when you speak Spanish. The more I spoke the language, the warmer people became.

Hawaii was an AMAZING experience! I traveled there in Dec 2021 and had a wonderful time. I was on a performance tour so did not book or pay for travel or any excursions out of pocket. However, the excursions were breathtaking! Diamond Head National Park (my favorite one) was a beautiful location to hike and take in the Hawaiian foliage. If you enter as a non-native Hawaiian, there is a charge, so be prepared. The beaches were lovely, but it was the rainy season, so I did not experience them fully. But, because the temperature never went below 70, it was still possible to enjoy the scenery of the beaches, just don't swim! The food I tried was delicious! I didn't really leave downtown Honolulu, so I mostly dined at restaurants and got snacks at the local ABC stores. I gravitated more towards Japanese cuisine and some Hawaiian foods like Musubi. As a black woman, I didn't have too many odd encounters. The ones I did have were with white tourists (comments on my hair and general rudeness). The native Hawaiians and residents were very kind and had a loving way about them. So much so, I lost my phone on a random bench near the beach and 2 hours later, was able to get it back because someone turned it in at the front desk of a nearby hotel!

I stayed in downtown Savannah for an opera competition in the summer of 2024 and it was a pretty good experience. Although the downtown area was predominantly white, I did not encounter any racism or hostility. For context, I am an unmistakably black woman and for that summer, wore my hair in a large afro. The oddest interactions I got were stares from white people, but they were followed with compliments on either my outfit or hair. Savannah is a historical city, and filled with historical visits. However, it's still the south, so a lot of confederate veneration can be found in parks, museums, and on tours. I'd say know your history to be able to compare and contrast the narratives presented. There are, however, many sites dedicated to Black History located further from the downtown area. I didn't get to explore them due to distance, but do further research and see what's around. Now, the city is horribly EXPENSIVE! I stayed for about 2 weeks at the DeSoto hotel and my stay was nice, the hotel staff was kind and accommodating, but there was no refrigeration or microwave in the individual hotel rooms. So I ate out almost everyday, which hurt my pockets terribly. By week 2, I found some budget places to get food: Parker's Market (a 2 minute walk from the DeSoto) and Kroger's (a 13 min walk from the DeSoto) had well priced non perishable and deli items that helped preserve some of my travel cash.