Hello there, I’m Erica Buist.

This bit of the internet is mine. I claimed it. But you’re welcome to stay as long as you want.

I’m a freelance writer and journalist, formerly a staffer at the Guardian and before that the anonymous blogger How to Be Jobless – who, for some reason, everyone assumed was a man. On this blog, written under my real name and gender, you can expect posts about pretty much anything – travel, comedy, accent geekery, languages... and the fact that I’m writing a book might come up. The whole project is called The Deathtivals. In short, I am travelling the world attending death festivals – but you can read more about that here.

two questions

• Are you blogging because they've stopped paying you to write?

No. But thanks for that vote of confidence, Dad! 
I’m not a full-time blogger, nor am I writing professionally any less now I have this small campsite on the world wide web.

• Why BLOG at all, then? 

Honestly?

• Yes please

Ok: being a journalist involves asking permission to write, constantly. If you pitch an idea to a newspaper, magazine, website or book publisher, you not only have to convince them your idea is perfect for NOW, but that YOU are the only writer they could possible hire to produce it. It makes sense; publishing is a business and they need to be sure it's saleable. But the amount of time spent asking permission to write kind of chips away at the joy of getting an idea and the rush as the words start tumbling out.

This Is Not a Journey is where it will all tumble out, unedited, and without permission.

Feel free to stick around.