Rotary International Exchange to Italy 2007-2008
“Oh my God, I look like a prostitute.” ...
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“Te Quiero” Coooosta Riiiiica!
Costa Rica...Rich landscape, beautiful forests, extraordinary plant and animal life, and...killer moths! From the moment I stepped off the airplane and gazed out over the San Jose Valley,...
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Iterations of Equality
Parvati stood out from all the other women in her village. She could read and write. She was confident and charismatic. She looked men in the eyes when she spoke to them. She spoke to them. And when...
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London Bridge
Cold. Cold. Cold. My boots clatter against the icy cobblestones to this repeating mantra. I try to wiggle my toes to see if the sleet has seeped in beneath three layers of socks—but they are too numb...
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Club Crocodile Resort, Whitsunday Islands of Australia
Club Crocodile Resort on Long Island, part of the remote Whitsunday island chain off the eastern coast of Australia was a paradise I had never before experienced. Reachable only by...
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New York
The reputation of New York is one unlike any other; one with characteristics from the brutal and depravity of slums populated with the...
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Irish Family Adventures
The ability to travel presents the ability to free one’s mind, body and soul...
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Across the Pond
Earlier last year I went Manchester, United Kingdom, and it was the best experience of my life. My father lived in England, and has been trying for the past...
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Conflict Travelers couch surfing Belfast
My friends and I are conflict travelers: if the destination has at one point been a conflict hot spot, we are much more likely to spend a disproportional amount of time visiting, lingering around, casually...
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beauty at hand.
most of us have that one solid picture in our minds of what "vacation" looks like. there is that place we frequent throughout our childhood that begins to hold even more meaning as our life becomes...
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THE CALABAR VISTA
Any one visiting calabar in Nigeria would agree that it is a fine knitting of colourful, beautiful and serene environment, culture and people.There is a sharp contrast...
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My Experience at Grant Park on Nov. 4, 2008
I had to write this, 12 hours later, because I was still very emotional and could not put my emotions into words yet :)
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Thailand Adventure
Traveling outside the country for the first time by ones self is an eye opening experience. When I was a senior in high school, there was a Thai exchange student in my physics...
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Vietnam: My Other Home
Vietnam is known for it's delicacy of dog and cat meat. Did I eat any? No; I was raised in America where these creatures serve as cute, loveable housepets. That's a bummer. Isn't eating exotic dishes...
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Rapt about London
I looked out the wide windows of Heathrow Airport and noticed the sky was filled with a light shade of gray, dabbed with only a dozen clouds. The sun tried to peak out from the clouds, glowing lightly...
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Central America
Being a child in an upper middle class family, and having parents who love to travel, I have been fortunate enough to see may places and...
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Free Dheisha, Palestine
Nothing brings home the reality of oppression and injustice more than the plight of Palestinians in Israel. Since the formation of the Israeli state in 1948, Palestinians have been...
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Park City, Utah Ski Spectacle
Welcome to Park City, Utah!; A town filled with a luscious history of discovery, struggle, and success. Park City offers an adventure of wealth, potential, and freedom that can suit everyone. From skiing...
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Amsterdam
Happy New Year to everyone and thank you for continuing to read my journals. Unfortunately, Kara and I had to conclude our trip and have both returned home. She is back in Chicago and I am back in...
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The Wisdom of Coconuts
“So, you want to learn black magic,” the kindly guru said, bald pate and sea-blue eyes shining with wise amusement. “Well, uh, I was more hoping to study the role...
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London Town
Back from three days in London - I resurfaced in Bratislava yesterday morning at 9am after a sleepless night. I got into London last Friday around noon and slowly made my way to the hostel....
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“Awakening of the Soul”
As I struggle to climb the majestic hill in Alista, Jalisco, I begin to comprehend why our ancestor’s land is a precious treasure. I understand why many from the pueblo don’t...
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Viennese Winter
I can still recall my early 2009 trip to Vienna, Austria as if it were just yesterday. The colors, still so vivid and fresh, and the people and the sites still linger in my mind. They remain engraved...
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Who Downloads “The Beach” in Thailand?
I don’t recommend taking a 14-hour bus ride to anywhere in your life. Sure, it sounds awful enough, but I cannot explain the uniquely agonizing delirium that came on after hour 12 or so. We took...
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This Backpack is A Lot Heavier Than I Thought
I'm currently sweating in a dingy hotel called Smile Inn. As welcoming as it sounds, the name is entirely ironic. The rooms are cramped, a little dirty, and the reception desk is exceptionally unfriendly....
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Adventure in the Ruins
Living in the united states we gain a large sense of diversity and different cultures all come into one community. However, when we are submerged into another society we learn the much...
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Cremona
In the summer of 2008, my family and I took a trip to Europe. As a classical violinist, I was so excited to see places that were so rich in culture and full of musical history. The highlight of the...
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JITLI
I was given the opportunity to not only travel to Spain and Israel, but to make a significant change in the way that Jews and Muslims approach the Arab-Israeli Conflict. As a junior in high school,...
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Žilinska Lyžovaka Slovakia
Last week the Horeny family - close family friends - invited me to Avilina for the weekend. Avilina is a small city in northern Slovakia situated...
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Where the Campus Path Leads
There are times when I gaze out of my dorm room window. The view from the fourth floor of Lockhart Hall looks out onto the main walkway that runs through campus. The walkway is long, straight, and narrow....
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Bangor: The Retail Capital of Maine
For those who aren't familiar with Maine, we are not known for our shopping. With the exception of one city. People, especially those from northern Maine, flock to this city to get the best bargains...
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Ballad of the Off Course Valient
I had recently got word that my great uncle of whom I had never met would be singing in a concert in a town not...
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Tips for Europe Touring: Sibling vs. Spouse
Now, I'm sure no one wants to hear all of the funny stories that won't be nearly as amusing to others as it was to us. So, instead, I am going to offer up some advice and tips about traveling...
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Travel back to the Middle Ages!
Have you ever wanted to go on a vacation into the past, where there are minstrels in the streets? Walk through the food court where smells of campfire and meat roasting tantalize the senses? Colorful...
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If I went to the Yellow River…
The historic Yellow River, considered by many to be the center of Chinese civilization and spiritual life has been the object of countless poets, writers, painters, and song writers for hundreds of...
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My story
In Arizona I experienced a drought that had nothing to do with the weather. Instead it was a drought of lifelessness. Every teenage girl and boy seemed to be identical clones of one another. Differences...
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A Lesson in Argentine Bartending (Literally)
It is 4:17 a.m. There are still people in the bar, leaning on their chairs and singing (badly) with the sound system. Depeche Mode. ...
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My Years at Zhu Wu Elementary School in My Hometown Shenyang, China, Before I Came to the US
First day of elementary school in my hometown, Shenyang, China, my class started out with 51 students sitting in a classroom in a relatively well-reputed elementary school. Sitting at an one meter by...
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Go West, Young Man (v.2)
"You ready?," I barked out as I opened the rear driver's side door and tossed the case of RedBull and carton of Camel Lights on the creamy leather seats. "Hell yeah!," my cousin responded, hanging...
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The Amazon Adventure
The Amazon adventure all started out when I was interested in bringing the Christian gospel into the villages of the Amazon jungle. I read about missionaries in the jungles of South America and I...
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Week 2
With little internet access and frustration at not getting done what we need done our patience is evaporating quickly. The weather here is hot and between 12 and 7 o'clock nobody goes outside. However,...
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Saharawi Refugee Camps
First Week We awoke long after everyone else, but it was still fairly early. The family greeted us – a mother...
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The Greystone Inn, Lake Toxaway, North Carolina
An isolated private castle in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Greystone sits above Lake Toxaway and welcomes families with gracious service and outdoor recreation.How many family-friendly, luxury properties...
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Trip to Nice, France.
We stood at the corner of a gravel lot in Le Parc de la Colline du Chateau. The four of us passed a soccer ball back and forth, the sun on our faces, just off an 8 hour flight from a gray and rainy...
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