Sunday 7 February 2016

Reflection & Advice - The importance of narratives

Since this will be my last blog entry, I will reflect on everything that I have done and seen in Groningen as a tourist. I really enjoyed the young and open atmosphere of the city that happily surprised me with its music scene. Groningen is not known for it, but if you dive deeper you will be able to find special music spots, for instance the jam session in the saloon and the Latin dance party. My advice for music lovers travelling to Groningen would therefore be: try to get into touch with people who live in the city to find ‘authentic’ spots and take a closer look at Facebook, where I found several pages where they post live music spots.

For me, making blogs was an opportunity to tell my story and help others. These narratives are crucial to understand tourist experiences. What do people see? How do they experience things? It also gives an insight to their own background, since people often write from their own perspective, as they want friends for instance to understand what they have been through. Narratives are also important in telling newly met people about things you have seen (as a tourist), so helps to create a bond with other people. Altogether, narratives reflect your identity and also help to shape it. My visits to spots in Groningen shaped my view of the city, and I will add this beautiful experience to my life to pass it on through these narratives. I hope I have helped others to find ‘The sound of Groningen’ through my narratives. If you have any questions left you can always contact me. Maybe I will see you some other time in Groningen!

Reference:
1) McCabe, S. & Foster, C. (2006). The Role and Function of Narrative in Tourist Interaction. Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, 4:3, 194-215.

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