Read Interview Part 1 here. Part 2 here. Part 3 here.

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You have written Globejotting: How to Write Extraordinary Travel Journals (and still have time to enjoy your trip!). I cannot wait to read it! Now you teach travel journaling courses in Seattle.  I think it is wonderful that you share your writing insight with others. Is teaching a rewarding experience for you?

I love teaching – and especially travel journaling classes. It’s something I’m passionate about, because I think it helps people get more in touch with the emotional side of their trips and helps them have richer journeys. I’m really dedicated to helping people understand other cultures, and also to helping them harness foreign cultures as a backdrop for their own self-discovery.

I’ve been teaching journaling classes for quite a few years now, which is what led me to write Globejotting. I’m excited about some upcoming journaling tours I am putting together. In January, 2010, I’ll be partnering with African wildlife specialist Bill Given and co-leading a travel journaling safari in Botswana. Bill will lead game drives in the morning and evening, when the temperatures are tolerable, and during the middle of the day, when it’s too hot to be running around in the Kalahari bush, I’ll to teach lessons in travel journaling and essay writing. I’m also looking into a similar workshop in Vietnam in the fall of 2010. If anyone is interested, they will find all the details on my websites at traveljournaling.com and davethefox.com.

Do you often look back and read your own journals from long ago?

I do go back and read my journals on occasion, and it’s fascinating to see how much I have changed. I encourage people to keep travel diaries because there is so much we can capture in writing that we can’t capture with a camera.

At the same time, though, I think that even if you never go back and re-read your travel diaries, they are still worth writing. When we journal in the right way, writing about our experiences brings us more intimately in touch with all the things that are happening around us. Journaling gives us richer travel experiences because it increases our awareness of our surroundings.

The two frustrations most people face are either that their writing seems to fall flat, and not fully capture the spirit of their journeys, or they just can’t find time to write in the middle of an exciting trip. I offer solutions to these challenges, and a lot of different writing techniques, in my book, Globejotting.

Here in the US, students are greatly lacking in geography education. Why do you think this is the case? And what do you think we can do about it?

I’m not sure why that is, but it’s something I wish we would fix. Especially now that the Internet makes it so cheap and easy to communicate with people all over the world, it’s important to understand who we are talking to, and know where they are.

I think what helps is when teachers, parents, etc., teach geography as more than just memorizing maps and locations. On a very basic level, even young kids can appreciate the concept of different cultures, climates, governments, etc. We need to encourage kids to learn about people who are different from themselves. When we do these things creatively, many kids find it fascinating.

When you are not traveling, teaching, speaking or writing, what do you most enjoy doing?

Eating and sleeping are two of my favorite things. I like to cook. I love to barbecue when the weather is nice. And I love music of many kinds

If I’ve been spending a lot of time around people, at the end of a busy tour season, for example, I tend to hang out alone for a couple of days and enjoy some quiet time by myself, but ultimately, I get a lot of energy from meeting new people and finding out what sorts of experiences they are having in this thing we call “life.”

Thank you Dave!

Dave Fox is a busy guy. He is one of the judges for our new children’s I Love Costa Rica’s Rain Forest! Travel Writing and Art Contest. In addition to traveling, teaching classes about journaling, speaking and writing books and articles, Dave spends several months in Europe each year as a tour guide for Rick Steves’ Europe Through the Back Door. He even posts his crazy travel schedule on his website. When he’s not on an airplane or in a hotel, Dave enjoys the comforts of his own home in Seattle. Please visit www.davethefox.com to get the whole story.

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