A Different Type of Language
I wake up in a wooden hotel, the musty smell of morning fills the air. I get out of bed, hearing the creaking of the wooden floors beneath my feet. The entire hotel must have heard this through the...
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Feeling the Land of the West
Gone was the sea breeze and moist air of our salty South Carolina coast. Here in Kanab, Utah our lips cracked like the sand tresses of the red canyons we gazed upon. This place made us dig deep into...
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More Than Just a Museum Visit
Every summer I visit family in Seattle. The weather is always a million degrees cooler than Houston, TX, where I live. I love the change in scenery and lifestyle. Since I live in the suburbs, I am unacquainted...
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The Balcony
The four hour and thirty minute drive to Kemah, Texas was enough to give me the audacity to jump out the window and join the bugs as they splat against the passing cars. I sleep half the time and...
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Finding Myself from the Summit in Colombia
"I am American. I was born in America. My skin complexion might be slightly darker but I am American no matter what.” I had these words engraved in my thoughts and no one believed them more than I...
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The Unconventional Ideal Vacation
Imagine your ideal vacation. Where are you -- On a beach, a jungle, or by the pool in five star hotel. What are...
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Rediscovering My Roots
400 years of my family’s heritage lies rooted south of the American border, in Guadalajara, a blossoming city located in the heart of Mexico. An economic recession drove my immediate family out of the...
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Hiraeth for Haiti
For my spring break of my senior year, I applied to go on a mission trip to Haiti. To my delight I was accepted to go, and the day we were set to go arrived quickly. The first day was water truck day,...
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Exciting Expeditions In Ecuador
Traveling is always an exciting experience, especially when it’s somewhere foreign. Just recently, I spent 10 days exploring and volunteering in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands in South America. Not...
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Getting to Know Paris
I believe that the point of traveling is to escape a person's normal lifestyle, to break the habits of everyday lives. I grew up in a family of travel; we are always looking for new places to go in...
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Irish I Could’ve Stayed
Going into this trip, I was more excited to see cute red headed Irish boys than I was to see the Cliffs of Moher. I was more excited for the puns I would put as my captions on Instagram than I...
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Among the Smoggies
The smoggies is what they were called. Or at least that’s what my grandparents, who on a humanitarian trip with a local church, had told me they were called. Made up largely of third and fourth generation...
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Yellow Flowers and Invisible Fear
Fear is the one, invisible deterrent that stops me from making the most of my life. Fear is not a person or a physical obstacle, but I too often live my life dominated by its unseen hand. But...
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From Russia with Love
The boat that had taken us through the waterways of St. Petersburg docked at the entrance to Peterhof, signalling that at last we had arrived at the mystical palace and its famed gardens. Although our...
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Face to Face with the Top Predator of the Ocean
Orcinus Orca. The Killer Whale. They do justice to this nickname—a pod of orcas can defeat a Great White Shark. They are the top predator of the ocean. However, they are also curious,...
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Mint Tea and Cookies
Not even three days into the service trip in Rabat, Morocco, and already I heard something that seems to reflect the culture and resonates with me very deeply. “Service like this is what feeds...
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Top Baby Beach Getaways
Parents review their top baby beach getaways for that first vacation when your tiny traveler needs a gentle introduction to the pleasures of sun, sand and waves. As parents,...
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How to Survive a Volcano Hike
It’s a tradition in my family that we take at least one cruise annually. Last summer, it was a seven day cruise to the Southern Caribbean. We piled into the car, drove to the airport,...
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A Stitched Portrait of a Chinese Garden
To the left of my bed is my most prized possession: a collection of pictures, each representing a place explored and a lesson learned. My love for travel stemmed from a young curiosity towards adventure...
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A Mandir Medley
The sun sparkled high on this specific Sunday morning in Chicago, the weather perfect for the cultural encounter that awaited me. Yet, I was hesitant to interact with a society whose values and traditions...
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Foxes and Persimmons: Defining the Hoosier State
Our small group of teenagers huddled together as we followed our counselor into the clearing. Not three feet before us, the ground fell away into an earthen waterfall of rock and creeper vines. Thousands...
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Antarctic Marathon Adventure
One does not simply walk a marathon in Antarctica, at least not without three layers of jackets and sweaters -- I learned that the hard way. It was March 9, 2014. I, filled with adrenaline, looked anxiously...
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Too Close for Comfort
As I looked out the car window, we passed a short concrete hut-like building. And then we passed another, and in the next village, another one. I asked my mom what these strange buildings were. I had never...
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St. Lucian Paradise
The Caribbean islands have long been considered the ideal travel destination for their beautiful beaches, sunny weather, and vibrant culture. The island of St. Lucia embodies all of these notions and so...
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The Power of People: Helping Rebuild in the Birthplace of Jazz
Pulling apart a roof is not as simple as it sounds. As I pried the warped and rotting shingles away from a house damaged by Katrina, I felt a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment that I had never...
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Seoul-searching
Over the past few years, I've chastised my friend for being obsessed with Korean culture without understanding what Korean culture really is. I was angry because I thought her interaction with Korea, one...
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My Heart of Turquoise
I had never seen so many junipers in my life. The green, bushy plants stretched for miles into the desert of New Mexico like they could go on forever. We were far outside the city limits...
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A New Set of Cultural Binoculars
“You’re just different. You look like us, and your family is from here, but you’re so American,” Marilyn told me for the twentieth time. I understood well enough that being first generation...
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Remedy for Myopia
Lift up your eyes and see Windy Gusts o’er ocean corn: Prairie Vanishing. Lift up your feet and soar; Clouds stooping to harvest rain So farmers...
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China’s Treasure
I’m here. Ancient stones are only steps away from my touch. I see a high point in the glorious distance and make it my goal to at least make it there. I take my first step and just admire the wall itself....
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Yellowstone: A Disaster Only A Family Could Love
At the beginning of eighth grade, at an ungodly hour in the morning, my 36 classmates and I gathered at the airport in t-shirts, shorts, and hiking boots. Packed in our suitcases were outfits similar...
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One Love
I ease my water shoes into the chilly water, trusting our leader to guide us safely through the Dunn’s River Falls in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Our excursion group stayed together as directed: holding hands...
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Cycling Around My Sweet Potato Island
The chilling, fuzzy wind swooshed pass my ears covered with a cycling-head-kerchief. My neon yellow windbreaker jacket is dancing against the speed of my bike. I see the numbers on the odometer increase...
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Enduring Burdens as an Ally of the World
When we entered the Cibeles Palace in Madrid Sunday morning, trailed by a few early spring gusts, it was virtually empty, besides employees and a few Madrilenians tucked in corners of the offered reading...
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Spiritual Experiences in Switzerland
Her hand rested comfortably on my shoulder as we watched planes take off into the inky sky like birds in a sporadic flock. "Before you know it, you'll be on the other side of the ocean," my mother whispered...
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On Painting Impasto
When people think about visiting DC, they create an impressionist painting characterized by swirling shades of patriotism: dashes of museums crowded with artifacts, towering monuments, and ribbons of...
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From Gulf Shores to Skyscrapers
From the excruciating packing for the trip there, to the heart-wrenching packing for the way home, New York City had slowly crept into my heart, calling itself home. Coming from a small town...
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The City Does Not Have Soul– It Reflects Your Own
Living in Midcoast Maine and competing in the USEF equestrian circuit throughout New England, I am no stranger to travel. I have experienced the beckoning of a rustic, quaint town as well as the calm...
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Mortality and Sea Lions
I am standing on a cliff staring out at the Pacific Ocean for the first time. Below me sea lions wail to each other as they crowd the rocky crags of the cliffs, and I am in complete awe of just how...
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Europe by Eurail: A Student’s Tips
Join FTF's student correspondent as she rails across Europe with a Eurail Pass, a backpack full of guidebooks, and not-quite-enough funds. It seems that traveling across...
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A Rainbow of Silver and Grey
My white knuckles were frozen as I clutched the metal railing. Its silvery color glistened in the light. It was actually quite beautiful: The rainbow of greys...
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Coffee is the Universal Language
During my sophomore year of high school, I was fortunate enough to be able to travel to Austria with my school choir for a week long performance tour. The historic cities of Salzburg and Vienna provided...
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My Unique New York Trip
Glimpsing out our train's family room window I watched as, complete with the new World Trade building's opening that morning, the New York City skyline slowly became swallowed in a hazy mist of shrinking...
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A Spanish Walk to Remember — A Week of Camino de Santiago
As I gazed up at the arched cathedral ceilings, held aloft by massive Romanesque columns, my mind wandered during mass as I thought about the week my family had just spent completing the Camino de Santiago. ...
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The Mountains Are Calling and I Must Go
“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” These are the insightful words of John Muir, famed outdoorsman and conservationist....
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Oatmeal Walls and Sticky Sunlight
My body is about to give out, completely and pathetically. My heartbeat is slamming against my temples. And my parents are not here to ask if I am okay. It is just me and my clammy sheets of skin. The...
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The Guava Man’s Love
It is early in the morning, and my eyes remain closed. The room is small, antique, made of solid rock, dark and cold, but filled with the life of my family. My mother quickly comes to the small bed...
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Home Sweet Home
Just before I turned the knob of the door that would lead me to the family I hadn't seen in 9 years, I took a deep breath and berated myself for being so nervous. This is your family! I said to myself....
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Elephant Adventures
“It’ll be great!” my father exclaimed with enthusiasm. He was referring to an elephant riding attraction he heard about earlier that day. We were in Thandwe, a small village in the Southeast Asian...
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