Girls Trip

Have you ever belted out a tune with friends just for the sheer joy of it? That's how we're kicking off our latest episode of "Get Out the Group Chat" In this episode, we embark on a journey filled with laughter, adventure, and unforgettable memories as we delve into the world of group travel with your crew. Join us as we share stories, tips, and insights on planning, navigating, and making the most of trips with your friends. From spontaneous road trips to exotic destinations, we've got you covered with everything you need to know to turn your travel dreams into reality with your crew by your side.

Transcript

Tanzania: 0:00

One, two, three, four. Get your friends about the group chat Group chat group chat. William Hasse was in the air, Air air.

Shavonia: 0:12

The devil. He don't like it. Stump that devil. Stump that devil.

Tanzania: 0:17

Oh well, oh well Woo.

Shavonia: 0:25

I don't know what got into her the last.

Tanzania: 0:26

Do you like that version?

Shavonia: 0:27

I don't. I think that's the version Write in the comments. Did you like that version? Yeah, yeah, I'm pretty sure you guys did. Let's do a little sing off.

Tanzania: 0:33

I want somebody else to sing the song for us. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I want to hear your versions. Post it on social media.

Shavonia: 0:47

Make sure you tag us. Yeah, no, yeah, all right, welcome to episode everything you do to me. No, welcome back to get out the group chat.

Tanzania: 0:50

My name is shavonia marie my name is tanzania black and we're so excited to have y'all back with us you know why we do this?

Shavonia: 0:58

because we want to see you guys in your communities thriving, surviving and, you know, living life great living your best life.

Tanzania: 1:07

Okay, and so today, yes, we want to talk about the trip.

Shavonia: 1:11

See, that's why I got my like trip like this oh stomach after that like yeah, I'm going to harai like I got the vacation earrings yes, my sunflower earrings, so much fun making all the girly and cutesy and stuff and I got mines on, because you know I'm from New York and I'm just like, but no, go New York, but no, it just takes us to like our favorite trips, right, right, and the recent one was the New York trip we just did.

Tanzania: 1:40

Yes, so for me, that's why it was not my favorite trip, but it was a trip. Yeah, no, I'm just kidding, it was cool, it was cool it was a vibe.

Tanzania: 1:48

for us, cuts and slices was the best part. I'm not gonna lie Brooklyn Cuts and slices in. What is it, brooklyn? In Brooklyn, new York, is pizza like I've never had before. Now, chicago pizza is still the one, the two and the three, but cuts and slices, where they did with that shrimp it's, I mean, it's a meal on top of pizza yeah, it was a salmon pizza.

Tanzania: 2:08

For me that was sweet, the sweet and whatever that was fire, if we could have went there every day, for every meal I would have but that that train ride to brooklyn was not the vibe. It wasn't not the vibe at all. So new york was good yeah um.

Shavonia: 2:23

Another one we had was my favorite. I think a little bit um not favorite, but it's it can it's up there um was our essence. Girl friend trip that was essence was good. This is a vibe, the concert that was like the cons going to the concerts, dressing up going to the essence part and getting all the free stuff. All the free stuff and then just seeing random celebrities.

Tanzania: 2:46

Like we saw Felicia Rashad. And I just like I be wanting to pass out, Like all these amazing people.

Shavonia: 2:53

We saw the people from Elementary, not Elementary. I always say it like that. Everybody always say it.

Tanzania: 2:58

Abbott Elementary.

Shavonia: 3:00

Abbott Elementary, but I don't say it. What is Abbott Elementary?

Tanzania: 3:03

I always say it like that. Why do you say elementary.

Shavonia: 3:05

I always say it like that Everybody fights me over that. I don't know, but I always say it like that it's hilarious. So we see the movie from Abbott Elementary we seen them?

Tanzania: 3:13

No, we didn't see them. We saw. Yes, we did.

Shavonia: 3:25

It was like four of them that came. Chris, who else was there? Quinta Brunson wasn't. I see her um the I don't know. Oh, the Caucasian lady she was. I forgot about that. Yeah, essence was good if you have not been to Essence you need to get to.

Tanzania: 3:31

Essence this summer. Essence is black. Essence is everything like the black people there have so much joy like you don't get out of attitude, everybody's complimenting, everybody's so nice. It's just such a good experience from the concerts, from the food. It's in New Orleans. You're going to eat good the whole time. Make sure you make some reservations for the place that allow you to.

Shavonia: 3:53

That was my first time doing it. I know y'all did it the year prior, but I couldn't come. I went last year and we're expecting to go again this year, but I always heard people talk about it. You know he thought it was for, like, the aunties.

Tanzania: 4:09

I don't know if we, the aunties- it's because you're an auntie, Shay, I mean but if somebody would have told me in my younger years no, I would have went in my 20s. I would have went in my 20s, Absolutely Like guaranteed the black excellence and I love seeing that.

Shavonia: 4:22

So for me I was like, and I didn't even know they did all the film and stuff, like I knew nothing of that. I don't know if maybe I ain't looking at the right stuff for. Essence or Essence. Don't put out the right stuff, so it's ultimately having a compartment.

Tanzania: 4:33

So if you're interested in business, they have stuff for business if you're interested in health if you is really an opportunity for you to learn and glean from some of the best I love I love essence, absolutely.

Shavonia: 4:45

Yeah, that was my, that's a free promotional uh but no, we enjoyed that. Yeah, yeah, now my top, my top trip.

Tanzania: 4:53

What's your top? It's always going to be california.

Shavonia: 4:56

Oh my god when we went to la.

Tanzania: 4:57

I can't let la go like I need to go back again like you ever. Just I know it's not home for me, it's like a vacation, I don't know, but it's just like we were at some little rink-a-dink restaurant and it was just like. It was like I could breathe and it was just like there was no flies.

Shavonia: 5:17

There was no flying insects. I don't know how y'all don't have no flies.

Tanzania: 5:19

Pollution. But either way it goes, it was just a good experience. It was just a good freaking time. Worst trip.

Shavonia: 5:28

Let me hear it Worst trip, dang, worst trip. Let me go check. Yeah, some years, oh y'all travesty that's what?

Tanzania: 5:39

oh no, I wasn't thinking about that one. So no, that's a trip where we went to um kansas city. We went to iHOP with international house of prayer and you know, we're going up north, we're from like living in mississippi and there's like a whole winter storm and that experience of trying to get back to mississippi and stuff else. We end up getting stuck in a hotel and like they had no hotel room. So we were all of us it had to be like eight, nine of us like just in the lobby of this thing and it ended up being like a news station that came.

Tanzania: 6:09

Oh, y'all got to show that clip, no, I cannot find that, but Joseph was like this is a travesty on national television. So yeah, that was a tough one. We was at um bridging little itty bitty car, but you know, we made it back home because we're here today, but that was not my worst trip, what's?

Tanzania: 6:26

your worst trip. I just said the trip I went. I don't know if I would say it was like horrible, but so this is like. So me and my friend tar you know, we didn't meet through. We've been friends for a long time so we didn't be through it about. You know all the things, yeah, and I am I don't know how you be broke, in particular about hotels or these type of things, but we was like let's go to the coast. So if you're from mississippi, the coast is like, um, the gulf coast right um, and so we're like, yeah, we're gonna go to the coast.

Tanzania: 6:51

So I don't know who made the reservations for the hotel, but we get to the hotel and it looks like you might as well go in and human traffic mean prostitution, like all the things that. That's what it felt like to me. Now I don't know about the experiences to everybody else in there and I was just like I'm not gonna say that and I'm like getting irritated you told him that I had to some extent, because me and tara end up getting into it about it not tar.

Tanzania: 7:16

Yes, absolutely tar. Don't be, she don't be, she don't be at one deal with my shenanigans but. I was just like I can't. I can't do this man. So we actually did not end up staying in that hotel, we end up sleeping in the car, I think taking a shower at um, like anytime fitness or something like that the next day like. So we I mean we saved some coins and we drove around mobile so we could find a safe place to go to sleep.

Tanzania: 7:38

We was crushed up in this car, but we made it do what it do somehow. The next day we was on the little what's the little things that you get on on the water jet skis. Yes, I don't know how we yeah, so we was on a jet ski the next day.

Shavonia: 7:53

I can't remember any like for real, just worse trips not family trips no family trips.

Shavonia: 7:59

Okay, if you're saying family, I can go family. Um, yeah, I think recently, me, my dad, my mom, oh, we was in connecticut and we had to, um I think we had just came back from paris or something. We're in connecticut um seeing her brother or something, and my mom usually is really good, she likes to like study, like this hotel is good, blah, blah. And so she, I guess she said she was so mad, she was like this is not how the pictures look, it was a bad. Me and my dad was like in this room, like I know you lying, like we was mad, it was like the couch was weird, the chair was it it's just like a no name.

Tanzania: 8:41

I don't even know, I don't even know like I can't, I can't.

Shavonia: 8:47

That's how bad it was and literally like me and my dad was uh, we can't do this, it was.

Tanzania: 8:52

So it's like stuff like that, like so, speaking of that, so then how exactly would you say you deal with preferences on trips, because especially like a friend group. Now I don't know how a while was, 26 of us in one hotel room.

Shavonia: 9:04

But that was me, it was my fault. That's how I know it was me.

Tanzania: 9:06

But, like, how do you deal with people's preferences? So some people like going on vacations or trips and they want to just sit and relax in the pool in the room. There are other who wants the it itinerary with the question, with all the activities, and they want everything to go on time. Yeah, unfortunately I happen to be that person you are. So how would you say you balance the different purposes you'll be planning trips from for us and everything?

Shavonia: 9:25

yeah, um, I think it's just going by the majority. In a sense, I will go um like even though with the cali I think we had a good, somewhat itinerary, because we was, it seemed like we was doing something every time. So I I do believe in maximizing the time, but I am like a chill two person, like, I think, for my brother when we went to vegas. We just chilled is whatever we wanted to do. We wanted to do.

Tanzania: 9:50

So I think it goes by the the people like whoever trip it is but how do you determine if you got a mixed group of people who some want to go, some want to stay? How do you?

Shavonia: 10:00

determine it.

Tanzania: 10:01

I will say I don't feel like we have a good balance, but that's just. All we did was like okay, if you don't want to go, we leave, right, that's what we did, you think?

Shavonia: 10:06

that's the balance. I will say yeah, I will say let it, let the people choose. I feel like, unless you want it to be a strategic like at essence, we did take a lot of group photos and I remember I don't know if somebody commented at one time like where is this person? It was just like they weren't here. You know what I mean?

Shavonia: 10:24

They were doing something else, or you know what I mean. So it made it look like, oh, y'all not all together, but it was like they chose to do something else at the end of the day.

Tanzania: 10:33

So um, I, I so do. I don't want to hear the people we're about to leave.

Shavonia: 10:42

We want to go over here to the convention center.

Tanzania: 10:44

We're ready to go, because we had already said the day before we was leaving at this specific time. How do you feel as a person? We'll be like okay, shay we're about to leave you. What are your honest feelings? Don't tell me what you should feel, how you'll truly be feeling.

Shavonia: 10:54

No, no, no, I believe. Yeah, we did it plenty of times. Oh okay, I just want to know how you felt. Oh, um, I think it's fine, because I think some people are just like that. They want to go from. You're like that, you, you know, move on to the next thing. Once you get done seeing what you need to see, you move on to the next thing. Me, I think it probably like. It just takes me a little bit time to adjust to like I think that's what I am like you like to move real slow and you like to be late.

Tanzania: 11:21

I just have my own timing.

Shavonia: 11:24

You know, just like y'all left me when, um, I remember that morning, I think y'all was like well, we're going. He was like shay, you can't go by yourself and you can't walk by yourself.

Tanzania: 11:34

I'm grown, I could walk anywhere by yourself when you're traveling, because by myself she's. I don't know if you could tell in this chair, but she's very little. I know you're lying, she's very kidnappable you ain't too big to be kidnapped.

Shavonia: 11:48

But no, I feel like it's yeah, just let. I think, let the people be great, I think, put the itinerary out there. If they don't abide by it, move on. Don't feel bad, don't feel sad, unless you do want the little photo ops and all that stuff. But other than that, that's their fault, and I'm talking to me, I'm like it's their fault if they miss out on that. You know what I mean okay.

Tanzania: 12:09

So, as a travel agent, what's the best way to save money doing group trips?

Shavonia: 12:13

um, I would say, um trying to book all at once people. A lot of people don't know. If you're doing 10 plus, you actually get very good flight benefits if you book it in a group.

Tanzania: 12:25

If you book 10 people's flights at one time, you'll save on the flight. Oh yeah, so the price will actually go down?

Shavonia: 12:30

Yes, they just want times about 10. No, no, you're really, because I book.

Tanzania: 12:35

Well, who is you booking through doing this?

Shavonia: 12:36

This is just my regular booking site. Okay, but you physically it was just calling the physical airline and you just have to have 10 plus to do that and most of the time, shoot how many. It was like 12 of us in that room. I felt like why did we have that many people? Literally? I just remember laying across the foot of the bed, I think me, you and Ikea, I think, was in one bed. I was like why?

Tanzania: 13:03

why we're not doing that again. It's, we're not. I declare it right.

Shavonia: 13:06

I prophesy that into our futures, that we will not we will get a hotel deal or something we will not.

Tanzania: 13:12

We will not do that, so so let's, let's say this let's, let's help the people out on planning the trip. Okay, we have not planned this trip out, so when we did this before and Shay actually does not know what we're gonna say, okay, let's plan essence right now, like in a very summarized, short way, so we have not told any of our friends.

Tanzania: 13:29

We're going to essence. We've considered it a dab right. Um, I don't plan on going to essence as many days we did last time, just because, like a couple weeks prior, I'll be in illinois, so you know money. Um, so let's plan a trip. So how do we first start by going about planning this, so I would say first, it's always you know, get out the group chat.

Shavonia: 13:46

So you're going to get into a group chat of the people who want to really go so you're going to ask people establishing the amount? Because if you don't know the amount that makes it hard on rooms um like gas travel, all that so establish the amount first.

Shavonia: 14:01

Uh, once you get the amount, establish what hotel is best for you. To be honest, I'm not gonna lie to you. I remember looking back on essence when we left essence the last time and like booking was already ridiculous yeah, um so, oh yeah, my friend told me the other day that she just paid 500 per night. Yep, for a regular. That's and that's about right.

Tanzania: 14:20

That's literally so almost probably how we ended up in one room yeah, no, I get, I get why we did the one room oh, it's so sad, but no, um, yeah, just figuring out um the hotel you want to stay at.

Shavonia: 14:34

Um always make sure, depending on the people you have and how you want to maximize your time, I wouldn't per se go to a hotel that's 20 something minutes away, because you're dealing with new orleans, you know a bunch of traffic, so I wouldn't go too far out.

Tanzania: 14:50

Um yeah, so if you have to go airbnb and it's easy for you to walk, that was one of the benefits of where we were.

Shavonia: 14:55

I love where we were. I ain't gonna lie, I think it took was five minutes less than five.

Tanzania: 14:59

It was like, right there it was we.

Shavonia: 15:00

We was the right there, and so we weren't right there to the concert area.

Tanzania: 15:04

No, that was the problem when it really is no happy medium. So either you're going to be close to convention center, you're going to be close to the other area where the concert, but I think we.

Shavonia: 15:12

We only did two concerts um last year. We went more days to the actual uh convention center so that made sense, because we kept going back and forth. So I would say stay there more than you can get a freaking Uber to the concert.

Tanzania: 15:27

So we're figuring out who's going, so you can go to a hotel.

Shavonia: 15:32

Do you want to drive? How far are we from there? Six hours, five hours, five hours.

Tanzania: 15:37

Are you flying? Are you driving you?

Shavonia: 15:39

don't need to fly when it's five hours. I don't think when you have a big group, because you can save your coins a little bit on whatever else you want to do. So I wouldn't book. If I'm within four to five hours from the place, I'm probably not booking a flight if. I'm that close, to be honest, unless it's cheap. Now you give me a $60 flight.

Shavonia: 15:56

I'm in there like swimwear, because I swear let me know if y'all need some flights, because I swear I'll be finding the google flights. Be flighting and I'll be in there. Forty dollars I was forty dollars to la, forty dollars to la, sixty dollars to memphis when I needed a so yeah, okay, so we got travel.

Tanzania: 16:15

Okay, what's next?

Shavonia: 16:16

and then so, uh, you got travel, you got that. Then decide if you really want to do the concert. You remember some people not everybody wanted, I think it was me, you and nike. Go check out that video of us falling asleep at the remember, oh, yeah, yeah don't say who you fell asleep on.

Shavonia: 16:35

The people know the people. Y'all write in the comments who. Who we fell asleep on. Y'all know the artist, um, but yeah, so figuring out if you want to go to the um concerts or not, because that's really the biggest as far as expense yeah is those concerts now I do know there's an element of essence where people are going to like the parties they have like not crews, but like boats, parties and all that sort of thing.

Tanzania: 16:56

So assessing really what you and your friends want to do, are you like our friends? We know for sure. Enjoy the convention center that part is free. There's no way we could go to essence and not fully do the convention center. That was fun, um, and I thoroughly enjoyed the concerts we got to see tabitha brown you remember she gave me five more and I was so happy.

Shavonia: 17:15

But yeah, it was so much fun and kevin stayed, he literally was like right there talking to me. But yeah, he talked to you, he did for like one quick second.

Tanzania: 17:24

What did he say?

Shavonia: 17:25

I don't know. He said hey or something. He didn't say no, I want to show the video. Oh, what is it? Thank you.

Tanzania: 17:34

I didn't see it and I was there, okay, but yeah, so make sure you guys know exactly you can do travel and then decide what you and your friends want to do and know who's doing what and when they're going to do it correct it says some deadlines too, because you gotta have deadlines so you can pay for everything.

Shavonia: 17:48

That's the takeaway that's the tip? Yeah, because if you don't, what happens is the hotel goes up, flights go up, so you gotta have put some deadlines to it, make sure you get partial payments on certain things um, that's, even if y'all gotta just start putting in one person's cash up to store to win an ecb. That's what usually.

Tanzania: 18:05

Yeah, that's how we do it awesome, well to our friends um, we're going to essence this year and we know you didn't know, and we know that you also invited you to go to chicago and we're not telling you to pick. We're just letting you know.

Shavonia: 18:15

You know the opportunity we got chicago birthday, so we're gonna be there. That's another trip coming up june what 20, whatever june something we're gonna be there my birthday, so yeah, so yeah, we got some trips planned ready, excited, so we encourage you to plan a trip you know, um you only have one good little life to live, so make sure you experience it

Tanzania: 18:37

and experience it with the people that you love. Yes, I love that. So we're about to get into our friendship stories. This is where we share with you a story and then you let us know if this person should get out of the group chat or if they should stay in the group chat. All right, all right.

Tanzania: 18:52

So I don't even know when this started, but my group of friends consisted of five people. Although it was a small group was formed. It's completely understandable that some of them with someone specific from a group, and not always the entire group every single time. But for some reason they created other group chats in which not everyone is included me to be specific, and they know. I know about these group chats and still haven't added me. For some reason, these small groups started hanging out more frequently without actually everyone involved being there. By now. It feels as if they are just avoiding me. It's been months since they've been hanging out without even asking me if I could join them. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but it makes me feel a little bit insecure. Should they stay in the group chat or should they leave the group chat?

Shavonia: 19:37

I think she needs to get out if they're really going to keep her away from hanging out. Now I can see that happening Cause you remember we have a friend that, um, you know we had one group but it was like a prayer group and I don't know what happened. Y'all didn't. Why are you saying y'all Cause I didn't start it.

Tanzania: 20:02

I didn't start it either. Only one person can start the group, so it couldn't be a y'all. So yeah.

Shavonia: 20:09

So yeah, I remember her saying y'all leaving me out the group, da, da da. And I'm like, hmm, not thinking too much about it, and it just kept happening to you, kind of like, okay, she probably really wants to be involved in the prayer for real. So I think she finally got it, but I wouldn't say now the difference is she ain't never stopped hanging out with us. So the difference from that story.

Tanzania: 20:35

So we just started neglecting her? Is what you're saying?

Shavonia: 20:37

Yeah, we never neglected. Like that story is. Like they're intentionally have an event without her. You get what?

Tanzania: 20:44

I'm saying, yeah, that's a little weird. So it seems. It seems as if some of the people were getting closer to others.

Shavonia: 20:50

Then they may be everybody that happened.

Tanzania: 20:52

So maybe that small so like. So if there's a group of five, maybe there's two, that like somehow become besties over time yeah, and they're continuously hanging out and not necessarily inviting the third person, right? Because?

Shavonia: 21:03

they're, but maybe they're besties like right, maybe they click better. That's even happened. I feel like in our groups in a sense. Really Do tell. Yeah, I feel like certain people click gel better than other people and I don't think you should get mad because somebody else is gelling better than somebody else.

Tanzania: 21:21

So then, what is your actual stance on what this person should do then?

Shavonia: 21:24

Oh no, no, I would say now technically just have that conversation. Oh no, no, I would say now technically just have that conversation.

Tanzania: 21:31

You don't know that they probably click better and want to do stuff, or they may not be aware that they're doing it, Like time just be flying and you just be forgetting that yo we ain't hung up, but I ain't forgetting a whole other person now. But it's not like it's three people, it's a group of five.

Shavonia: 21:55

So it's a pretty large group, because maybe saying hey, then it's true, then we pick out of that group. Once somebody says hey, I'm going to this event, then we make another group saying, okay, this is the people for that group. We're not just randomly writing in little groups. It's not me, you and I can't say, yeah, you want to go this way?

Shavonia: 22:09

nah, we write in the big group first yeah whoever says, yes, I want to go, then we move it. You know what I mean, like yeah. So I think they're just intentionally you gotta be leaving her out for a reason, they gotta be something.

Tanzania: 22:22

So that's why it's always a conversation like just have the conversation at the end of the day, communicate right right because if you don't communicate and say hey, you're leaving me out, just like my friend did, because you know what what that person not telling is. They might just be a flippant introvert and maybe they done learned over time. This person like being by themselves anyway, so why would I continue to put myself through that rejection asking you to go?

Shavonia: 22:41

somewhere and hang out with us, and we know you're not going to go. There's always multiple sides. They don't be telling the full story.

Tanzania: 22:45

In these stories, they just telling their perspective.

Shavonia: 22:47

You gotta remember that. You're right, you're right all right y'all well.

Tanzania: 22:50

Thank you for joining us on this episode to get out of the group chat. We hope that y'all will finally get y'all trips out of the group chat. Okay, this is what we were created for to convince you to get out there. Get out there and make new friends. Get out there and have some fun. Get out there, enjoy the life that God gave you, because if you still moving and breathing, girl, do something with your good old life.

Shavonia: 23:07

Okay, and don't forget to like, comment and subscribe. Share with about five people and we will see you guys next time. Get out the group chat.