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Hello Dalai!
It was about noon when I fully realized that I was much farther away from the Dalai Lama then I had anticipated. I suppose, in retrospect, that that wasn’t entirely in my control (the Kalachakra festival...
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Indian Identity
After we settled into the apartment my grandparents have lived in for years, I was presented with something I had sincerely missed: authentic South-Indian cuisine. Living in the United States and being...
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Across the Pond in Ten Amazing Days
Buongiorno, je m’appelle Jessie. Wait. What I mean to say is, hello, I’m Jessie. I guess you could say I’m having trouble reverting back to speaking...
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The Lone Mushroom
In an attempt to discover pieces of myself that may have been hidden, I decided in the spring of 2014 to explore the...
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New York – A State of Mind
The Big Apple, The City that Never Sleeps, Gotham City. Whatever you call it, New York City is dazzling and unforgettable. The Statue of Liberty stretches her arm upwards, her torch pointing to the...
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One Fraction
Four journeys. Eight plane rides. One fraction. At age two, I flew over the Atlantic Ocean guided by my Senegalese father and part Portuguese, Irish, German mother for the first time. Our destination...
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A Thought-Provoking Adventure to Kenya
In July of 2012, my family boarded a plane bound for Kenya, full of excitement and a little apprehension. Our safari had been booked through Tim Melesi Safaris,...
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The Week I Danced in New York
The Saturday before Thanksgiving in 2013, I boarded the plane and was off to New York. I was ecstatic, and even though it was early in the morning I was full of energy. I was practically jumping off...
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Get Some Red on Your Shoes in St. George
I fell in love one weekend, not with a boy, but with a place that changed my life. I returned from my weekend getaway with red dirt sticking to my white socks and to my hiking shoes. And it stuck to...
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I Shall Return
Going back to the home of my ancestors was now or never. The Philippines, my parents said, was Third World: No paved roads, No streetlights, No running water, Sweat, and Mosquitos....
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The Mission of a Life
The power to change the world. At the young age of 17, I never thought I would have that chance. Now, after a mission trip to Black Mesa, Arizona, I believe anything is possible.Twenty-five people...
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500 Miles
I would walk five hundred miles “Welcome to London.” Over a ten-mile trek through the city, I tripped on cobbled sidewalks and absorbed the sights around me—double-decker buses, towering...
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From Concrete to Campgrounds
New York City is arguably the most incredible city in the world, and I have the good fortune to have lived there for all 15 years of my life. It is buzzing with activity and full of culture. It is so astonishing...
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Cars, Stars, and Road Trips
The plan for “Roadtrip 2k14” was brilliant, in my opinion. My little green Honda Accord got excellent gas mileage and had proved itself to be a reliable car over the past year it had been in my...
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Cancun Family Beach Vacation: Attractions, Adventures, Tours
Cancun is one of those destinations that has taken on a certain mythical status, after four decades as one of the major beach destinations in the Western Hemisphere. In those years...
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Dinosaur Digs In Canada’s Prehistoric Paradise
At the incredible Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology, about 90 minutes' north of Calgary in Alberta's badlands, families can ogle the...
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A Youtful Dowager: Fairmont Empress Hotel, Victoria Island, British Columbia
The beautiful Empress Hotel is a landmark on British Columbia's Victoria Island that has attracted stylish travelers for close to a century. Many of today's grandparents (and their parents, as well)...
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Simple Joy
First time out of the country and I was petrified. My parents weren't accompanying me, I had no idea how to fill out the customs form (what is a customs form anyway??), I was bound to forget to take...
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The Silent Lake
The afternoon was ripe with excitement and the car was stuffed...
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Remembering American Sacrifice in France
In tenth grade, I visited France with the Normandy Academy through the National WWII Museum to study D-Day. It was incredible to win the essay contest for the trip....
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A Hawaiian Hike to Remember
Through my finals, meetings, and extracurricular activities the idea of basking in the Hawaiian sun was one of the only things keeping me going.I enjoy keeping myself busy. I am on the youth...
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Pardon My French: The Art of Making Mistakes and Trying Anyway
France in the summer is lovely. I remember the buildings of yellow stone, ancient beyond belief to my American eyes; the canals whose water lilies inspired Monet; the countryside, passing in a blur...
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I’ll send you a postcard, dear.
July 4, 2014, and New York seemed to go hand in hand.My family and I arrived in New York to be kissed by light rain and embraced by dim sunshine. Our disgruntled taxi cab driver could have cared...
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La Vida Rica
My trip to Costa Rica with Common Ground International was the most amazing experience of my life. First,...
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Moonscape Beauty
Scalding fountains and multi-colored pools were only a few of the magnificent sights I was encountering. Yet the fountains weren’t man-made,...
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From Wildlife to City Sites – The Town to Beat All Others
Portland, Oregon seemed like a paradise, coming from the drought-stricken and fire-prone city of San Diego. Teeming with lush forestry and exotic Northwestern animal life, nature was around every corner....
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Discovering the Culture of St. Lucia
My family enjoys cruising and it is the type of vacation we take most regularly. Last April we went on a cruise to the Southern Caribbean...
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A Quebec City Weekend By Rail
Enjoy charm, history, music, adventure and great food - all with a French accent -during a weekend rail trip to Quebec City in Quebec province, Canada. Many Americans think of Francophone Canada as...
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Mont Tremblant in Summer
Even with a really long five-day weekend, there's not enough time for all the fun activities at Mont Tremblant, Quebec's top mountain resort, for active families visiting in summer. Seven...
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Discovering the Hidden Cozumel, Mexico
This author relishes the other side of Cozumel, Mexico: an island off the Riviera Maya coast of eastern Mexico where a family beach vacation becomes a cultural exploration.It's interesting...
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The Magic of the Ancient Waters
The world is a beautiful place; full of surprises, secrets and newfound treasures. Within the intricacies of the world, it’s a remarkable thing to find a place where you feel most content. I discovered...
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Awakening Adventures
I was 14 and blinded. When my family and I landed in Roatan, Honduras, I was looking for romance, relaxation, and a tan. I was not looking for a life changing, mindset altering, adventure. Little did...
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Learning to Breathe
For ten days during the summer of ‘13, living with the locals and 6 girls I barely knew in the quaint village of Uvita on the...
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Accidental Encounters in Alaska
Heat, humidity, and Houston, this is all you need to describe my summers. My only escape is when we go on vacation. My favorite was Alaska in 2010, when I was 12.My...
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Baring It All in Iceland
Nothing in the world could have prepared me for the Icelandic locker rooms.
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The Heart of Honduras
Seeing new parts of the world have opened my eyes to the different people that drift through the world virtually unnoticed by the world around them. Visiting...
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Alsace Wine Route Of Northern France
Our family loves to explore the region surrounding our home in Heidelberg, Germany so we took the advice of a well-traveled friend working with the USO and visited what she thought was the most quaint...
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Phoenix – Scottsdale, Arizona Attractions
Phoenix, Arizona is a well-organized city with plenty of family attractions -- great museums, parks, golf, sports and other activities for the whole family....
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Chicklets, Knots, and Seashells
We come to gawk at the scenery with our heads strained back, admiring the sunset setting along what looks to be the end of the ocean. We run our diamond-laced fingers along the intricate wood carvings...
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Be Sure of the Unsure Step
Amusement parks, fancy hotels, beautiful resorts - these are the places I like to visit. Everything is provided for me, and I can just go around doing what I want. So when my parents said that we should...
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London Theatres Celebrate Kids Week in August
Thanks to the ongoing support of the Society of London Theatres, Kids Week - now in its 17th year of sending kids free to the great London...
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Detroit: A Harbor of Hope
As a child I remember taking trips to Mackinaw Island and...
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The City That Never Sleeps
The three hour train to New York left the station when the air was still crisp and new at seven in the morning. My mom, two...
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In My Bottle of Sand
When one thinks of Egypt, widely known icons including the Nile, Sphinx, mummies, or the pyramids usually come to mind. This article, however is about none of these things. This article is about the...
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A Camp that Changed My View of Life
When you meet people from other countries, with backgrounds and beliefs different than yours, you are able to learn many things that you would not ever imagine. This summer,...
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Touching, Seeing, Understanding
During the month of November, 2013, the junior class at the International School of Americas (ISA) visited a multitude of places throughout the deep south, including Birmingham, Alabama, a place some...
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Inside A Snow Globe With Tiny Travelers
The Canadian Rockies are so striking, they wouldn’t be out of place on the inside of a snow globe, making Banff and Lake Louise popular destinations...
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