Green Gardens, Stone Walls, and Falconry Amidst the Rain
Our tour guide Nigel ushered us out of the van with a wide grin on his face and led the way towards the castle. It was overcast, the grey of the sky mirroring the grey stone of Dunrobin’s walls. My mom was carrying an umbrella with her in anticipation of rain. Nigel led us into the castle and, without hesitation, led us right back outside again into the gardens. Where the front of the castle was...
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Little Girl In A Big City
If I close my eyes, I can see it now. Somewhere in the city, there’s an L-train rumbling against a metal track, the clamor of voices inside is loud, but never overcoming the sound. Somewhere in the city, a tourist snaps a picture and the camera shutters crackle. Bright eyes shine as they take in the lights, the art. A man swears as traffic slows on the highway. Deep dish pizza cooks in a giant...
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Ngorongoro Crater: The Eye Opener
Our hardy, four-wheel drive Jeep jostled my sister and I around as we headed toward Ngorongoro Crater in Northern Tanzania. We had just stopped by at Mr. Macho’s, a quaint, little shop on the side of the road selling Tinga-Tinga paintings. We were delighted with my mom and dad’s selections and they were quite proud to have had an opportunity to test their hardly mediocre Swahili by saying “asante...
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Reminiscence at the Crater of Volcano
Every summer, my family and I would go on a trip to different parts of the country. One of the best trips I have ever had was our trip to Lassen Volcanic National Park. We had driven 8200 feet high, and walked about 1.6 miles to the top of the mountain. We took a one or two minute downhill road and entered the crater of the Volcano. It was called “Bumpass Hell”. Bumpass Hell was the largest...
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A Red Thread of Me Leads to Switzerland
In the summer of 2017, I went on a three-piece vacation through part of Europe for ten days. The trip guide, a teacher of mine, three other girls, and I through Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. Although the entire trip was nothing less than enrapturing, the country that I resonate with the most in my travels has been Switzerland. Our group traveled from Italy to Switzerland, and I felt a change...
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Frolicking through the Festival Fringe
The clock was ticking as we sprinted towards the open doors of the Tube. With the promise of a West End show in less than 2 hours, and a suspecting group to come back to, we knew we had to book it. “Come on!” shouted Sundance, our director’s wife. We pushed through a swarm of people and filed onto the still car. As I stepped up, I felt cool metal brush my arm, and I knew the doors were closing,...
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“Panama, Panama, Panama, Panama” – Van Halen
This summer I traveled out of the United States for the first time; I got to journey to and explore Panama. I am grateful for this experience, which took me out of my head and bubble. When I first landed in Panama I was immediately struck by the humidity. Being from Albuquerque, New Mexico, where there is typically no humidity at all, the 98% humidity of Panama City hit me like a truck. The air...
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A Fear of Thunderstorms and Falling in Love With a City
It is seven thirty at night in Washington D.C., and my family is rushing through a deluge, shoving through the flooded streets of the city and flinching each time the sky lights on fire, the thunder soon to follow. I count the seconds between the lightning and the thunder - three - and insist we find some sort of shelter. Unfortunately, the majority of buildings in D.C. lack any form of overhang, so...
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A Picture Into the Past
~Memory~ We were at my grandma's house in the little outside corridor connecting the house to the rest of the world. The only thing separating the two spheres was a tall black gate. (Every Lagos house has a gate). My father and I were playing and I wanted him to carry me, so I did what children do and lied. “Daddy, my legs are broken, carry meeeeee!” I remember his thick black mustache widen...
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Puerto Rico: La Isla del Encanta
Crash! A slamming door startles me from sleep. After frantically looking around to see the time, I lay down next to my sister, burrowing closer to ward off the frigid air pouring from the AC. The droning hum soothes me back into a drowsy sleep until I am again awakened by my parents opening the door. They are back from their morning waterfall hike and want to see if I am ready for breakfast and Old...
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Beholding Beauty
I had heard stories about the Grand Canyon before, as have most people. We hear how it is so enormous that you can hardly even believe it is real. There are tales of its immeasurable size and horrors of its deadly trails and cliffs. I had mentally prepared myself for these things before I had arrived. On May 30, 2016, I stepped foot onto the outer edge of what some may call the best of the “Seven...
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Under Montebello’s Trees
For my brother and I to travel to South Africa without our parents required a lot of effort from them. Since I still counted as a minor when I sat out a flight across the globe, my parents had to sign permissions for my brother to watch over me (in reality it was the other way around) and for my aunt to act as my guardian once I was in South Africa. This trip wasn’t just to shave away a chunk...
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