System disruptor and business strategist Shelly Omilâdè Bell sat down for a recent interview with Plant Medicine Integration expert Frantzces Lys.
Creator of the inspirational blog, Defying Resistance, Lys is also co-founder of travel podcast "Chronicles Abroad," and blog manager and content creator for Black Girl Ventures
Lys has traveled the world and lived in several countries, including Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica. She shared why she finally decided to settle down abroad.
Lys currently lives in Peru.
"It was a series of events. 2016 was a very tough year for me. A lot of things were happening. My son was going off to college. I was becoming an empty nester," she explained. "At that point, I was in entrepreneurship as a real estate agent. And my relationship was on the rocks. My father just died. So I was in a very blurred state and wondering what was next for me as a single mom in her I was 35 at the time. And none of my friends had kids as old as I had, so I was figuring out what to do next with my life. So I was like, 'Okay, this is in the opportune time. And my ex actually put the bug in my ear about traveling.' And I was like, 'Okay, something I always wanted to do.'"
In the summer of 2020, following the death of George Floyd, Black emigres felt powerless in the face of persistent racism, police brutality and economic struggles in the U.S. and chose to exit the U.S.
Lys admits that while she is happily settled in Peru, it took some adjustment.
"Over time, started to appreciate different cultures and started to let loose my rigidity and my misconception of how life should be. Because as Americans, we've been programmed to think a certain way. And then when we travel overseas and we realize, 'Oh snap, people don't actually live, think or feel this way," she explained. "It is going to be a culture shock, a visceral, excuse me, culture shock. But that's exactly what I feel like we need. So I'm very biased to the travel experience because it actually deprograms your way of thinking, and it also deprograms the way that you interact with people."
"The Shelly Bell Show" airs Sundays at 12 pm ET on SiriusXM Urban View (Channel 126)