ALICIA UNDERLEE NELSON
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f the word "travel" conjures up images of riding a gondola in Venice, hiking the Great Wall of China or hitting the slopes in the Swiss Alps, Alicia Underlee Nelson would like you to expand your mental horizons a bit. "I could talk to people all day long about how to live like a traveler in their own community," says the author of the recently published "North Dakota Beer: A Heady History." "We’re curious and open to new experiences when we travel because we engage our senses and we’re not stuck in our old routines. There are so many ways to mimic that experience in our day-to-day lives. Living this way has really changed my life." The 36-year-old is a West Fargo-based travel writer and photographer who covers the history, culture and food scene in the Midwest both for her own website, Prairie Style File, as well as outlets such as Food Network, USA Today, Delta Sky and Thomson Reuters.
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Travel Writer, Photographer & Editor
Prairie Style File Before you get all starry-eyed about the life of a travel writer, though, she has a couple caveats. "Travel writing looks glamorous from the outside," warns Underlee Nelson, who, when she's home, serves as a board member for the New American Consortium for Wellness and Empowerment, "but in reality, it’s lots of research, note-taking, networking and fact-checking. "I might only have an hour of free time a day on a trip. I’m traveling, but I’m definitely not on vacation. "People always assume that I drank a whole lot of beer while writing my book. I wouldn’t have even gotten through the piles of research material if I had. But I have sampled beer from all the breweries
in the book. That’s just good journalism!" And when you've been to as many places as she has, you're bound to pick up some practical travel advice, too. "Whether you travel for business or pleasure, knowing the basic pleasantries in the local language makes life much easier," says Underlee Nelson, who recommends a language-learning app called Duolingo. "If you do business with people who speak another language, it’s imperative. It’s a tremendous sign of respect and really strengthens relationships. This app makes languagelearning really simple. You can breeze through a few lessons on your phone whenever you have a free moment."
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