Ten Questions with Dan Fenner @Departing in 5 Minutes: PRIORHOUSE INTERVIEW

Today’s Interview features 10 QUESTIONS with blogger Dan Fenner. 

Dan is new to blogging and so this interview was all about getting to know him a bit.

1) Tell us a little bit about your background?

DAN: I worked for fifteen years as an ESL teacher, and then ten more years as a data specialist in the NYC Department of Education. My last ten years, I worked too much. Four days a week, I left the house at 6:45 am and didn’t get home until 9:30 at night. My wife Aixa and I thought, This isn’t life. So I retired pretty young and we left NYC.

2) What led you to start blogging?

DAN: My wife, Aixa, was the blogger who inspired me to blog. She had a WordPress blog once, five or six years ago. I was amazed how she connected with people. I was too busy with work to blog back then, but I always thought I’d try it when I had more time.

Aixa told me to look for blogger challenges. That was how how she connected with people when she blogged. So I decided to join in with the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge. I like it a lot because each week’s topic can inspire me to write and show something I wouldn’t have thought about without the prompt.

PRIOR: Dan, your reason for blogging reminded me why so many folks participate with challenges – because the prompts can help turn on the faucet of ideas and allow us to share in a cohesive way with some of our unique creativity. 

3) If someone were to come to your blog – which posts would you suggest they check out? 

DAN: My favorite blog post is the Edward Hopper post, because it’s a combination of several experiences over the years.  https://departingin5mins.com/2023/02/10/edward-hoppers-world-of-isolation-is-loneliness-a-choice/

Dan and Aixa with Hopper Art 

I also like my Tijuana post, because it turned out to be an intriguing city. It’s called North Meets South Along The U.S.-Mexico Border.  https://departingin5mins.com/2023/02/12/north-meets-south-along-the-u-s-mexico-border/.

 

PRIOR: I think my favorite photo of yours is the one featured in your Looking Back post (here) for the Lens-Artist’s Photo Challenge.

Check out the layered history in Dan’s photo, which is the kind of image that seems to speak 1,000 words.

PRIOR: And speaking of the Lens-Artist’s challenge, today is the final day for the 243rd challenge – with the “It’s Tricky” theme, hosted by Donna.  The photos I wanted to share for this week’s theme are of these sneakers hanging on a line.

It is so tricky to get those sneakers on the wire. And why do they do this? Is it a drug lookout signal? Does it mean someone died? I am curious. 

PRIOR: It is also TRICKY to capture a DANCER IN THE AIR – like you did in this next photo from Buenos Aires:

Click HERE to read Dan’s Buenos Aires Travel post

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PRIOR: Dan, I thought of your “dancer in the air” photo when I was leaving yoga class the other day – and the dancing Zumba teacher started her class.

And readers, as noted, I met Dan through the Lens-Artist Photo Challenge. If you want to know more about the Lens-Artists Challenge, click here and below you will find the list of hosts. 

• • Week 1 – Tina of https://travelsandtrifles.wordpress.com

  • Week 2 – Patti of https://pilotfishblog.com

  • Week 3 – Ann-Christine aka Leya of  https://lagottocattleya.wordpress.com

  • Week 4 – Amy of https://shareandconnect.wordpress.com

  • Week 5 – John of https://photobyjohnbo.wordpress.com

  • Week 6 – Sofia of https://photographias.wordpress.com

  • Week 7 – Anne of https://annegeephoto.com

  • Week 8 – Donna of https://windkisses.com/

  • Guest Hosts TBA

4) How did you come up with the name for your blog?

DAN: The name of my blog, Departing In 5 Minutes, unfolded from my love for travel. I began traveling when I was just 18. The thrill and adventure of traveling has never left my system.

5) Out of your many travels, which trip had the most twists and turns?

DAN: Our 2019 trip to Buenos Aires had the most twists and turns. We actually moved there. We sold everything we had in NYC, including our apartment. We’d been to Buenos Aires 4 years earlier and we didn’t even like it that much. But this was to re-unite the family. It’s a long story, but this time around, we loved Buenos Aires.

Then, in February 2020, we came back to NYC to visit our children. A month later, Argentina closed for the pandemic and we were locked out. 

PRIOR: Wow, you were locked out of your home country? That must have been so tough. I find it interesting to learn what everyone was doing when the pandemic dropped on us in March 2020. Last month, I interviewed another Dan, author Dan Antion, and right before the pandemic he started his retirement! Anyhow, what did you end up doing if you could not go back to Argentina?

DAN: Argentina stayed closed for two years, so in that time, we got comfortable in Mexico. And now, we are back in NYC.

PRIOR: If anyone wants to read more about some of Dan’s adventures, his post “Hoping to Find our Place in the World” has some additional info – with some more fantastic images: https://departingin5mins.com/2023/03/25/a-terrifying-turned-wonderful-once-in-a-lifetime-adventure/

6) Do you have tips for packing when you travel? The reason I ask is because my husband’s friend, Mike Bruce, gave us a really great tip a few years ago. The tip is to have light weight clothes for traveling: the easy-to-wash items that dry quickly and do not weigh a lot. It was similar to what Gallivance shared about traveling “light” (here).

DAN: Yvette, Aixa and I are still finding our way with packing for traveling. We always make sure to find an AirBnB with a washer/dryer. Now, some hotels have washer/dryers, too.

PRIOR: We also try to find places that have laundry options. Especially on longer trips – being able to wash clothes is crucial for me. And the lightweight clothing are easy to wash and it also means we travel light. 

DAN: We’re a disaster when it comes to packing. We always overpack, and then buy too much. One flight, our suitcases were so overweight, we actually stuffed clothing into pillowcases. They let you bring pillows on flights. They didn’t realize, though, that ours weighed 10-15 pounds. We won’t do that again.

PRIOR: Hahaha – that is funny – and quite clever to use the pillowcases – yet I can see why you would not want to keep doing that. 

7) While NOT traveling – what is a typical dinner?

DAN: I’m lucky that Aixa loves to cook. She uses all natural and healthy ingredients and with a lot of Latin flavor.

8) Coffee and/or tea? 

DAN: We drink coffee every morning. For the past four years, we’ve been using an Italian Volturno Moka pot, because we can travel with it. We bought it when we arrived in Buenos Aires in 2019.

PRIOR: I like those Italian pots too. That reminded me of this image Ferris shared a few years ago: 

9) What is on your To Be Read list? 

DAN: The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley, which is a murder mystery. 

10) Do you use Spotify? Have you seen the show called the Playlist? We watched it in January and thought it was outstanding because of the artsy directing and episode flow! If you do not use Spotify – how do you listen to music? Radio, CDs, etc?

DAN: We haven’t seen The Playlist, but we are always looking for something to watch so we’ll give it a try. 

Usually, we listen to iHeartRadio, either one of their U.S. Lite FM stations or one of their Mexico City stations, 95.3 Amor. The Mexico station has three women DJs who talk about life. They’re interesting, but not as good as Delilah on the American station.

PRIOR: When I taught night classes, I sometimes would catch parts of the “Delilah” radio show and it made for a soothing drive home. Delilah sure can be an inspiration and she has such a gift as an INTERACTIVE DJ. The three women DJs in Mexico sound like they have a fun presence too.  I hope we always have some DJs around – even though sometimes I just want to stream music and have quiet. 

DAN:  I am not a music lover but I like listening to music on the radio because of the DJs and because they play a variety of music that we enjoy. So we are grateful for the option to listen to iHeartRadio, sometimes a U.S. station and sometimes a Mexican station.

PRIOR: Thank you so much for your time, Dan.

DAN: You’re welcome and I am glad to connect a little more.

PRIOR: How can we find you online?

DAN: You can find me at departingin5mins.com. It is also my Instagram username, but I almost never post on Instagram.

Thanks for joining us today. To see all of the Priorhouse Interviews  – go here.

Questions for readers:

• We briefly talked about packing for travels – Do you have any travel tips to share with us?

• Dan mentioned how the pandemic kept him out of his home country – did you have any major setback during the intial pandemic? (Besides having to stay home!). 

• Any comments or questions for Dan?

REMINDER: The 2023 #Dickenschallenge runs until June 9th… Inviting you to read ONE novella (or more novellas) and then chat with us in June (info here) (hosts are Trent, Marsha, and Yvette)

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