Wake Up
“Marie, wake up. Wake up.” Early morning calls to the San Gabriel Mountains on sunny summer days wasn’t exactly how I thought I’d be spending my summer, but now...
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Vietnam Under the Setting Sun
The gray roads slid by monotonously as the shuttle hurtled down the road to the airport. Twenty-two hours later, the green oceans, looming mountains, and clear skies of Saigon appeared outside of...
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My trip to Mars (Indio)
Last summer, my cousins decided to call us up and take us on a road trip. “ROAD TRIP!” we shouted as we began packing up our things. Our uncle told us that he had a time share at...
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An Atmosphere Change
As I walked out of the airport all I could feel was the overwhelming humidity in the air of New Orleans, Louisiana. I sighed in relief as we finally arrived at the cool, huge Hilton hotel. My church...
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Trip to Roaring Gujarat
In the summer of 2011, my parents, my sister and I took a trip to India to visit our family. It took about 16 hours of flying time to reach Mumbai, where we waited overnight for the morning...
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Big Things Come in Small Packages: The Island of Barbados
My trip to Barbados in the summer of 2011 was without a doubt, one of the best trips I have ever experienced in my life. Barbados, the birth country of super-star Rihanna, the well-known cricketer...
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Chicken, Rice, and Beans in the Dominican Republic
“Bienvenidos a la Republicana Dominican!”—Welcome to the Dominican Republic. I had been anticipating for over a year to hear those words and when I walked into the Puerto...
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Immersion in Nature – Yellowstone National Park!
As a teenager I vehemently protest any attempts whatsoever to get me out of bed before 11:00 A.M., I consider this a longstanding tradition that I have upheld since...
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Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost
Of all things, I am happiest to have inherited my father's 'travel gene'. His tales of traversing the European continent with his own father instilled in me a powerful wanderlust, an...
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With Travel It’s Always a Surprise: A Camping Adventure in the Smokey Mountains
The senior project is a period before graduation that is allotted to the seniors of Columbus Academy to design a project, complete it, and reflect on it. Sitting in the chemistry room, we listened...
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The Big Apple Break-Up
My oldest sister once told me that young women in Japan idealize France to such an extent that when they eventually visit, they are most disappointed since it could in no way live up to their expectations....
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The Wholeness of Purpose
It was early spring of 2012 and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, the lawns were lush, and the sun was warm. We had traveled to D.C. for WAMUNC, a four-day Model United Nations conference at...
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The Will Of The Weeds
The air in Guilin is scorching hot, and temperatures have climbed to over a hundred degrees. Although we’ve escaped from the city to the countryside, we can’t escape the heat. Even the...
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Holding the Hands of the Broken Hearted
The planning of my summer vacation was a usual routine, but last year, I was a changed live changing lives around me. During the summer I go to the beach daily, help plan the family vacation to the...
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Memorable Chicago
My passion for travel is so great that I am planning to find a career that incorporates traveling as one of the job requirements. Even as a child when my parents would take my sister and I to new...
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The Space In-Between: Foreign Friendship
It was a lonely June morning in our Royal Blue hotel room in Helsinki, Finland. The sound of strange words in an unknown language echoed in my head as I waited patiently for an elevator. The number...
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“These are the children of Lebanon: they are the lamps that cannot be snuffed by the wind.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We’d like to welcome you onboard British Midland’s flight 8180 to Beirut …” In all my years on this...
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Windsurfing in Domaso
It was a sunny afternoon in Domaso, Lago di Como, also known as Lake Como, Italy. The wind blew through my sail, and we continued to cross towards the source of the wind. This...
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Return to Roots
Every summer I get the chance to travel to a new exotic place in the world. All these trips are exciting and memorable, but none of these trips compare to when I go back to my native country,...
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Dachau: An Experience That Humbled Me
A few years ago, my family and I traveled with a group from my school to Germany, Austria and Switzerland. We went through a humbling experience when we visited Dachau, a concentration camp...
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Empowering Women One Hospital at a Time
The taxi bounced down the side street over large rocks and dips in the road. Through the window I could feel the hot humid African sun beating down… I...
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The Record Breaker
Each city is significant for a distinctive reason. Some are best known for sights thought only to exist in dreams, while others possess history far more realistic than classroom textbooks can describe....
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Personalities of the Dusty Trail
We just finished an exciting morning of horseback riding—one of the few things I wanted to be sure we did before our vacation time was up. We found a homey ranch called
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A Light in the Darkness
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations...” is found in Matthew 28:19 and is the key reason for all mission work. This Spring Break I was fortunate enough to go half way across...
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Power Outage Goes Wrong
This past July, my family and I took a white water rafting vacation in West Virginia. We arrived on a Thursday afternoon, when the sun was casting down its hottest rays. Our cabin was upgraded for...
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Not Your Typical Textbook Travel
I gingerly lower my worn brown boots into the gently rocking boat and duck my head beneath the bright yellow tin roof. I hear giggles and excited squeals as my group begins to slowly move away from...
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Farah 3: The Lost Visitor at the Kariamulliwaikkal beach
A trip to the beach usually means sharing a small area with a large crowd of people while basking in the warmth of the sun. There might be fishing boats, kayaks, or surfers enduring waves while trying...
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“On the Route of the 19 Bus”, on the Border to the Rest of the World
I’ve been lucky enough to travel extensively throughout Europe. However, the most formative of my trips was one where I didn’t learn a new language, I wasn’t confronted with unfamiliar cuisines,...
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Unimaginable Silence
Before Mauthausen, we were just a group of 48 rambunctious teenagers from New York on a trip half way around the world. After, we would never be the same again. I will never forget the day that I...
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Teen Travel to Jamaica
I had been anticipating this trip for years. This would be my first time going to Jamaica to see my family and riding on a plane. On our way to the airport my mother started to go hysterical she...
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Nature and the Modern Human’s Reality
Miles away from civilization, camping at Lane Lake in the high Sierra, the conveniences of modern day life were almost completely gone. As I finished brushing my teeth that cold morning a few days...
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Hemkunt Sahib: An Adventure
Hemkunt Sahib is a Sikh temple in the Himalayas, surrounded by seven snowy mountain peaks. This is said to be the place where the tenth Sikh “guru”, Gobind Singh Ji found God. Many people...
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A Dance With the Pope
Here I stood; in the midst of the excited energy I received from the crowd I was surrounded by. After ten long yearning years, my wish had been granted and it seemed that out of nowhere I stood in...
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My Awesome Summer Experience
During the summer of 2012, I embarked upon an amazing trip that I will truly never forget. My family and I took a breathtaking cruise to three beautifully enchanting islands that we really...
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English Rides
When I try and think of my favorite travel experience, my mind goes numb and I’m forced to ride through various memories that include cute accents, long car rides, short plane rides and eclectic...
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How to Make World Peace
Tavarone is a tiny village nestled in the breathtaking, tree covered mountains of Italy and a destination on the Classics of Europe trip from People to People. People to People is a student ambassador...
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Culture Shock: German Style
America idolizes the idea of being the greatest country on earth. We are raised to focus on everything domestic, thus becoming ignorant to what is beyond our borders. I traveled into the heart of...
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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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