New Years from the Paradise
What an amazing surprise to wake up Christmas morning, singing the famous song Feliz Navidad when your...
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An “Augenblick” in Darmstadt, Germany
I wasn't aware how much my life would change when I boarded a plane to Darmstadt, Germany in 2011. I wasn't aware when I stepped out to see ‘airline’ replaced with ‘Fluggesellschaft.’...
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America As It Once Was?
There! I saw it, right behind those trees!," came the excited outburst of my younger brother. "Where? I don't see it," replied my mother as she attempted to catch a glimpse of...
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The Real Barcelona
Barcelona is a city of contrast. Gaudi's spires rise against sleek modern apartment buildings, and crowded, tourist-geared streets give way to quiet residential alleys. In some areas restaurant staff speak...
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Tajmahal – An unparalleled beauty
Woken up from my sublime nap, I felt the vibrations of the plane’s wheels as we skidded across the runway, to a complete stop. Our luggage, all five members of our family made our way toward...
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Road Trip Recollections
Road trip to remember, Explorations of everyday life, Sand, Sun, Summer. This past summer my family took a road trip down the west coast to spend time in coastal...
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New York City’s Lessons
For years, I wanted more than anything to visit New York City. I wanted to shop on 5th Avenue, stand on top of the Empire State Building, be transfixed by the lights of Times Square, and take in...
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French for a Week
Inside, the bus was complete chaos. My classmates, thrown into some unusual blend of unrestrained excitement and absolute terror, were screaming, hanging onto their friends...
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Under the Sea
The waves were choppy, but that didn’t stop me from going to the edge of the boat and drawing in a deep breath before taking the plunge...only to pop right back up to the surface. Life jackets...
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Fairytale of Thanksgiving
The night before our flight to Shanghai was absolutely hectic, full of tears, sweat, and all the chaos in between. It was as if some magical elf had barged into my room, stole all that seemed insignificant...
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An Enchanting Little Island
When most people think of Australia, they think of the cosmopolitan cities, or the baking orange sands of the outback. When I had the opportunity...
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Great and Wonderful Egypt
"Wake up Ade, Iv'e got something great for you and I know your going to like it !", this is what I heard one faithful sunday morning of 2009. You see my father did have something great...
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You Gotta Love the French!
What I recall most about eating my first real French crepe was how delicious it was. The jam’s flavor doesn’t stand out to me as much as how the crepe melted in my mouth. It was pancakes...
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Just A Day With My Brother
The sun beat down on our bare backs as we jogged along the water’s edge. I could feel the heat starting to burn my skin, turning its pretty fair complexion into a far more burdening red one....
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The British Are Coming!
My name is Emree, I live in London, England and am traveling with my aunt and uncle for holiday. Emerson is my older sister, who will be going off to a university in the fall and is also traveling...
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My Trip To Haiti
My family and I embarked on a trip to Haiti for our spring break vacation in April of 2012. My father was born in Haiti and thought it’d be wonderful to return and visit our family. On the...
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Magical Journey in Maine
Until now, my travels were ones that most people only dreamed about. Summers on the beautiful Croatian coast, spring break in South Africa, winter in the Austrian Alps. I had grown up overseas, and...
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Calabria, Italia
In the spring of junior year, I had the opportunity to participate in a cultural exchange with a high school from Calabria, Italy. This two week stay in Italy confirmed that I want to continue my...
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Our Journey Across America
My family and I are close-knit have always enjoyed travelling together; experiencing new places is something we look forward to doing every summer. However, from Jacksonville, Oregon, the farthest...
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A Reconstruction of the Memory of Paradise
Memory is truly an unfortunate thing. It chronicles our entire life, forms our reality of the past, and defines who we are and where we’ve been, and yet it’s so elusive. It’s transience,...
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Half Dome: Not for the Faint of Heart
Ever since I was a little girl, I have always been up for an adventure whether it was running a 5K in third grade, skiing at six years old, or...
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The Trial of Myself in Salem Massachusetts
I entered the new residence hall, almost feeling like I was going into a prison. I passed a security check, noted the strict rules that I must abide by, and followed the staff member onto the normally...
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Journey to the West
The summer of 2007 my neighbors, the Fongers, invited me to explore the western side of the United States. We traveled from our house, in Clarksville Michigan, all the way to Montana. This...
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Pura Vida Costa Rica
“Pura vida!” (Pure life) “YOLO!” (You Only Live Once) These were our mottos throughout our adventures in Costa Rica the summer of my junior year. They describe and represent...
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12 hours to go
Trapped....I've been trapped in this car, traveling 80 miles an hour for 12 hours. I wish i could say that I slept through them all but the truth is, my anxiety forced me awake all 720...
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The Day I Conquered Superman
Four years ago, my mother took my friend and me to Six Flags America in Maryland. It was the year I decided to brave Superman: Ride of Steel,...
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Tour of India’s Historic Landmarks
In the summer of 2011, my family and I had the opportunity to visit India (for the third or fourth time) to see...
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Twists and Turns Not to Nowhere
There are no family vacations-we cannot afford them. My parents and I- we go on drives. Usually hour long trips to nowhere and back. Then one day, in late February, we miraculously had some...
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Metropolis in Metamorphosis
The acrid scent of cigarettes deluged our nostrils the second we stepped on Tegel Airport’s turf, the jetway creaking underneath the weight of 20 over-packed...
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Eight Days in Ecuador
As we drew closer to the city, the strange dots of light drew my attention away from the Spanish-speaking movie. Below us, life buzzed in the downtown business capital of Ecuador. From the air, it...
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Upward Bound program California Trip
Going on vacation to California was a time that I will never forget because to me it was like an adventure. The adventure that I experienced was amazing...
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My Trip Across the World
This July fifteenth through the thirtieth I traveled to Changchun and Beijing, China. I went through a program called the Confucius Institute that was based in Cleveland State University. It was not...
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A Journey Through Golden Fabric
It took 32 hours and three different flights to get to Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Being born into the United States Military, travelling long distances was no new experience for me. Except this time it...
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Dirtied Innocence
There was a time when I thought all law enforcements were good. There was a day when I thought they would help me when I was in trouble. There was a time…that I trusted them, but it all changed...
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Las Islas Encantadas Translation: The Enchanted Islands
I am not really a nature-lover person, just the thought of insects crawling up my legs and stepping on gooey mud when hiking up a mountain grosses me out, but this trip was an exception. Seeing volcanic...
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Holding on to our good old times
It was the summer of 2011 when some of my family members arrived in New York City. They live in Colombia and our only chance to spend time together is for a couple of weeks every other summer....
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Compassion in a Foreign Land
Night had fallen when 20 of us found ourselves in the middle of excited chaos
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Awakening the Soul
I arrived in South America with the understanding that as an exchange student I would be filled to the brim with memorable experiences. Little did I know at the time that one of my adventures would...
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Vacation Takes You.
“You don’t take a vacation, vacation takes you”. Such accurate words to describe my experience during my travels away from home July second through the seventeenth. I...
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A Trip Back in Time
My family doesn’t travel very often and by extension, I don’t travel often either, but with the trips I have taken, I’ve learned one thing. You don’t have to travel to the...
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The Journey to My First New York Skyline
With city lights below me and the pitter patter of rain on my window, I was ready to see it. I wanted a beaming welcome....
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A Night for Remembrance
Washington D.C. is arguably the most historically significant city in America. Sure, cities like Boston and New York City impacted our history, but no other place has been the capital for over...
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The Real World
Thick shrubbery punctuated by cowboys leading their herds to a watering hole comes to mind when one thinks of Wyoming. Indeed, upon my return, everyone smiled when they learned where we had been—and...
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The Week My Eyes Were Opened
July 15, 2012. 3:00 a.m., my alarm sounded. My tired body was quickly energized when I remembered that the day set before me was the beginning of a journey like nothing I had embarked upon before.
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My Cultural Immersion in Spain
My recent travel experience was not just seeing another country, but rather experiencing it. Recently, I had the privilege to travel to, live, and study in Alicante, Spain. I spent three weeks this past...
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The Dark Side of Venice
My greatest impression as we left Venice was that it is a dying city, although that was not my first impression. After multiple delays that stretched our overnight train...
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The Beauty of Adventure
I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with the clean foreign air a thousand miles away from everything I’d ever known. I looked out into the peaceful night, my eyes traveling over the...
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Walking on Sugar
Growing up in a society that embraces technology, my experiences in Boracay have opened my eyes towards a different kind of beauty. I had never been...
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