Big City, Big Lights: A New Home
Good morning Shanghai, my second home. The scattered rays of sunlight that manage to penetrate through the thick smog don't quite do justice to the city, a place better clothed in the sexy black of...
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The Beautiful Disaster
July of 2014. Nashville, Tennessee. My senior year. This was going to be one of the last vacations I take with my parents, so we decided that we should take a 2 week vacation and explore every corner...
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Cambodia: A Whole New World
Three days in Cambodia... That was all it took for the world to change my entire perspective on the world. Three days, and I was never again able to understand how we could categorize Americans as “impoverished.”...
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Hope For Cambiaso
In late July of 2014, I retracted back to my “home” village in the Dominican Republic for a week. By joining the Village Mountain Mission the year before with my mom, and building homes for impoverished...
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The Unexpected
The biggest mistake that families make when planning their vacations is operating under the assumption that everything will go perfectly. Despite past experiences,...
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Wheels and Wildflowers: A Bike Tour Through Cade’s Cove
Grandpa tossed two helmets under the passenger seat and revved the engine. “I’m not wearing one.” He shoved his hand into the Skittles bag. “Me neither,” I tested. His glacier gaze cracked;...
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A Day of Discovery
I wriggled my way into a grey and slightly damp wetsuit. The air was hot and muggy, and the sky was a brilliant blue. I stood in the slight shade of the building on the docks in Cancun. I was here with...
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Yaritza and the Humanity We All Share
The last few decades have seen the rise of an America increasingly enamored of differences, ever more cognizant that diversity means fresh perspectives and ideas. I arrived in Costa Rica with this in...
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Red, Black, and Gold
The streets were devoid of vehicles. Views of the people of Mainz were few and far between as we walked the cobblestone streets. My friend and I were anxious to get to dinner. This was not because we...
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I Come From Elsewhere, But I Come From Here
The sun is blazing, and the humidity is turned up a thousand notches. However, my Western sensibilities remain undisturbed, as my mind is a preoccupied whirlwind of endless...
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Bonding in the Ithaca Gorges
Traveling to Ithaca, New York in July 2014 was both illuminating and unforgettable. Although situated in upstate New York, the most un-foreign of places and only a four hour car ride from home, Ithaca...
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Time Travel in Eight Days
This summer I did not go to the sandy beaches in the Bahamas or uptown England, but in only eight days I participated in a college tour that traveled back in time through eight...
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Can-Can with Strangers
The French culture has always been present in my life. My fascination stems from childhood; family members and friends constantly told me that the French culture was...
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My Trip to China 2007
It was the summer of 2007 and I stared out the window of a crowded bus taking me from Hefei to Tongling, China (P.R.C.). My life had started here in 1996 and then I was placed in the Tongling orphanage...
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School Trip Survival Guide
I am the queen of late nights and early mornings, the master of suitcase-sitting-so-I-can-get-the-zipper-around-this-last-corner, the grudging...
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Paris, the Beauty Within
I’ve always dreamed of going to Paris, France. Walking along the River Seine and having lunch by the Eiffel Tower. Wanting desperately to see the beauty that only Paris could give. After much consideration,...
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(Re)new York
I’m writing this blog post on a plane, returning home from what’s probably my 25th trip to New York. After so long, they begin to blur together into a mess of lights and cabs and street meat, albeit...
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Juan Dolio
On an oppressively hot day in mid-July, armed with hundreds of hastily assembled ham sandwiches and bundles of clothes, I climbed on a bus and rode with thirty other students through the dusty switchbacks...
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New York Is Not All About the City
The first thing that pops in a person’s head when they think of New York is automatically related to the city. I grew up on Long Island so the first thing that pops into my head when I think of New...
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The Inception of Perception
Flashback to July 2nd – the day before I left on the trip of a lifetime. I had 46 less friends, less knowledge of foreign cultures,...
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New York’s Most Memorable Sight: The Empire State Building
If it weren’t for the automated elevators I would have pressed every single enticing button, just to see every magical floor. It took three...
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Home is Not a Place
The only thing different about her was that her hair was a bit longer than last time and that she had changed her glasses to have tortoiseshell frames. She still wore the same, serene expression, casual...
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Wrong Turn Made Right
During the summer of 2012 I had the opportunity to travel from my suburban town in Minnesota to Chicago with my youth group from church. We...
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My NYC Adventure With My Concert Choir
It’s the lights, the shops, the street performers, the attractions and the peoplethat make New York City a perfect place to explore. I traveled to NYC with the Moose Lake Concert...
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Tropical Paradise, Elephant Rides and… Cultural Discovery?
After a mentally and physically exhausting two week mission trip, my team and I were beyond ready to enjoy some well-earned fun in the city of Chaig Mai, Thailand. That morning we...
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A Heroic Tragedy
The day was March 31, 2014 and all I heard was crying, screaming, and harsh stomping as the noise quickly filled my ears. I rushed towards the horrific news that my twenty eight year old brother Alfonso...
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Jammin To A Different Rhythm
When you hear the name, "Jamaica," do you see white sandy beaches and beautiful blue...
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The Africa They DON’T Tell You About
Many times when people write about visiting Africa, it tends to be about a missionary trip. The term ‘Africa’ is usually synonymous with poverty, dirt, corruption and illness. Africa is...
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Four Seasons At Whistler Blackcomb British Columbia
Get ready to hit the ski slopes, the mountain bike trails or the lake, with family traveler reviews about Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia, Canada.If British Columbia is Canada's premier...
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As Far As the Eye Can See
My eyes flutter open as the smell of papaya and salt water fill my nostrils. As my vision returns after the long night's rest, I can see the dark wooden ceiling and greenish...
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The Un-Disney Walt Disney World Resort
The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel, actually two wings of a large convention center in the heart of Orlando's Disney World, is the perfect destination for the family who wants to do Disney...
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When the Party’s Over, World Cup 2014
“Bro, can I get a selfie?” Never have I heard this as many times as Brazil’s World Cup this year. This simple phrase highlights something that makes my trip to the 2014 World Cup unique...
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Ecstatic Elijah
“First we’ll have to cross crocodile pond, and then we’ll go up ice mountain,” little Elijah said, as he clasped my hand tightly and started to sprint across the gym. The five year old was one...
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I Think We’re in Kansas
The road north curves and winds through the valleys of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains just as the summer breeze cuts through the New Mexico maple and pine trees that line the luscious terrain. ...
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Asante (Thank You)
Journal Entry Day 5: “As I step off the bus into an unknown desolate, I...
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Keep Dreaming
The real magic happens when I close my eyes. I usually squeeze them really tight when I want to get a good feel of the ocean breeze in my face. As the sun settles in for the night, the sand beneath...
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An Untraditional Vacation
Most people go on vacation to relax, have fun, and make memories that’ll last a lifetime. Although my family had these expectations when we visited Nigeria in 2008,...
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The Trip That Has Forever Changed My Life
Most people look at the world as this picture perfect place where everyone lives a life either the same or better...
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The Treasures You’ll Find
I remember hearing the name Bugg’s Island and daydreaming about what treasures were awaiting to be discovered. Since as long as I can remember, my family, and our friend’s...
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When in Rome, Relax As the Romans Do: What My Italian Adventure Taught Me About Life
‘Twas the night before I was set to leave on my first European vacation, a two week trip to Italy. My bags were packed, my camera charged, and my passport updated. I was sixteen and expecting...
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Meeting My Grandfather
My parents came to the United States in 1990, six years before I was born. Three years after they moved, my grandfather passed away. Although he died before my birth, he was extremely proud that my...
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A Not So Perfect Picture
Whenever I went to a party, my camera would be in my hands, capturing the moments that I longed to never forget. Even as a little girl, I had a training camera. Finally, at the age of fifteen I took...
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Cambodia to Thailand: A Tale of Monuments and Mango Milkshakes
When it comes to traveling I’m always up for anything and everything. I love sight-seeing at places like the Great Wall; but I also enjoy the atypical experiences--eating rooster head and thirteen...
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Mid-Winter in Manhattan
I thought I’d seen New York. I thought...
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I Think It Really Is My Kind of Town
This past spring break, my family and I embarked on a vacation to Chicago. Our main intention was to visit the University of Chicago and Northwestern...
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Journey to the Emerald Isle
While on my travels to the U.K with the People to People Student Ambassador Program I was most excited about going to Ireland. Not only because of how beautiful everything looks over there (my camera...
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