Treasures and Timing
I sat in my Honors World Art Studio Class freshman year expecting to have the opportunity to make pottery and create beautiful art. Within the first few minutes I was handed…a textbook. A...
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There and Back Again, a Georgian’s Tale
To immerse oneself in unfamiliar surroundings is the most effective way to broaden one’s horizons and to be able to understand other’s opinions and points of...
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No Sleep In Istanbul
Saood Abdul-Kabir peers over me as I dipped a big toe into sleep. As soon as I was drowning in the blackness of sleep, Saood encroaches...
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My Trip to Wisconsin Dells
Vacation: A special trip for the purpose of recreation or relaxing. While this is true, my favorite reason to take a vacation would be making memories with my family. Every few years my mother...
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through my mother’s eyes
People only care about material things. Even in my poor neighborhood, everyone made sure they have the right look by buying Jordan and snap back hats. I begged my parents for everything thing I seen...
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Alors On Danse
“Pardon, Pardon” uttered the determined sea of commuters on the streets of Paris. Other than that, they kept to themselves, and we kept to ours. It became clear that rushing businessmen...
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A Volunteer At Home
My favorite and most meaningful trip started on June 9th, 2012, my first day of volunteering in Nicaragua. A few months back my friend proposed a plan that her, my father and I took a trip down to...
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Wet Cars, Wet Shoes, and Dampened Spirits
Everybody has one. One vacation during which all forces of the universe work together to create the perfect storm of events, a storm that picks you up by the collar of your shirt, tosses you around,...
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Nothing Like New York
One theoretical conversation lead to one of the best experiences of a lifetime. An annual trip between my mother and her friends was the topic...
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Fear is Fear of the Unknown
I was overwhelmed to be back to such a historic and majestic park surrounded by tall elegant trees that were covered in a faded blanket of snow. It was surreal. There were birds singing happily in the...
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Adventure in Oregon
My Mom walked into my room in Colorado saying, “Crystal, you have way too many things, we don’t have room for all that.” Confused, I looked down and only saw one suitcase and two...
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But when I grew up, I put away childish things.
I remember my experience with one of the most notorious things about travel: lost luggage. Though I used to not define Strippi as luggage, she was lost. My father and I were traveling...
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Switzerland Swept Me Away!
This summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Europe with the Voyageurs Florida Ambassadors of Music. The trip lasted 16 glorious...
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To Germany and Back Again: A Tale of Exploring and Gaining Independence
June 12, 2012 8:30 a.m. MSP Airport, Security Checkpoint I was crying. The trip to Germany hadn't even begun, but my eyes were wet as my friends and I waited in the long...
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Waltz Across Texas
As author Mary Lasswell once said, “I am forced to conclude that God made Texas on his day off, for pure entertainment, just to prove that all that diversity could be crammed into one section...
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Running Late
“Good Lord I’m late!”,I screamed as I barreled down the hall. I looked up at the clock. I could feel it mocking me …”6:45a.m”, shamefully late as usual....
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Digging
As a five-year-old, I remember sitting on the salty shore and contemplating whether or not my friends could have been right when they told me that if I shoveled long and hard, I would hit China. ...
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Island Ecology Trip 2012
This past June, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to the largest Bahamian island, Andros Island, on a school trip. With a population of only...
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Dream Trip for the Fiercely Patriotic
I stood with nerves tingling among a small, shy group of teens at the airport. I, at fifteen years old, paid for my own tuition and plane tickets to come on this four-day Washington D.C. trip...
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Strawberry Fields
Earlier this summer, I was fortunate enough to be chosen to attend a Girl Scout "Destination" program to New York City. "Destinations" is a worldwide program that encourages girls...
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Home Is Where The Heart Is: Scotland 2009
Home is where you hang your heart, and it’s fair to say that my heart has stayed in Scotland since we arrived in Edinburgh (pronounced Edin-burrah to those of you who dinna kent) in March,...
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Small town girls in the Big Apple
Ever since my mother was a little girl, dreams of traveling to the big and bustling city of New York flourished.; I was no different. Both of us, having grown up in the quaint and sleepy towns of...
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My Trip to Paris. Discovering a New World in the City of Lights.
In May I traveled to Paris, France with 19 other...
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The Week Abroad that Changed My Life
A year and two months ago, (yes I know the exact duration) 19 of us traveled to the beautiful country...
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Surrounding Myself with Culture: My Beidaihe Vacation
Greasy takeout, kung-fu, and Jackie Chan are some of the stereotypes that come to mind when most people think of Chinese culture. Being of Chinese heritage, however, I have experienced the true essence...
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Storm Warning
As we pulled through the entry gate of the nearly deserted Nebraska campground, I peered out the car window at the lake— Lake Minatare. It was by far the spookiest-looking lake I'd ever seen. ...
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A Child’s Tribulations
I used to mistake traveling for leisure, believing that going abroad was simply an intensely exhilarating expedition. However, I learned otherwise last summer during a six-week home stay in Germany. Upon...
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Beauty’s Pure Form
Early on a July morning, I rubbed my eyes and roused myself from sleep. Normally my godmother and her family let me sleep, but not today, today we were going to the mountains. In an effort to fully...
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I’m In My Happy Place
I step back from the microphone with a smile on my face, letting a small sigh of enchantment and...
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Stanford Trip
My past year has been uplifted to new heights! on August 7th I embarked on a journey to Stanford University in California to attend the People to People Student...
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They are More Afraid of You Than You are of Them
I just returned this past week from a vacation with my family to South Dakota. The soul reason for this trip was to visit family members. It...
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Our Trip (Which Involved a Castle and the Longest Sled Run in the World)
While we all love excitement, my family has never been known for its dedication to thrill seeking. But when some good friends asked us to go sledding with them, we immediately agreed. After all,...
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Istanbul Family-Friendly Hotels And Restaurants
In the past decade, tourism to Istanbul, Turkey has increased significantly, with families from around the world crowding its hotels and restaurants. The year 2011 saw more than 31.3 million...
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Lost in a Foreign Land
My family of six had been talking about traveling to Europe for years. It didn’t happen until just recently. During the summer of 2011, I went on a family vacation to Italy. We traveled to...
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Alaska After Dark
The empty theater was dim at 3 a.m., illuminated only by the strings of delicate lights lining the aisle floors. Our voices came out hushed, absorbed into the thick carpet, the endless rows of red velvet...
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The Building of a Fire
I remember arrival quite well. We were in the Grand Canyon National Park. The trees were such a radiant green and the sky was decorated with blue-gray clouds. There was nothing out...
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Castle of Miracles
" Here we are girls! We made it at last!" shouted my mother. Anyssa and I peered out the car window and what we saw before us brought huge smiles to our faces. There was a a sign that...
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Costa Rica: What Tourists Don’t See
In our first trek into the third world my family left for Costa Rica during the winter of 2010. What I had envisioned to be a tropical paradise with expansive sailboat harbors and multi-million dollar...
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A Paris Morning
I blink my eyes groggily, as my eyes focus on the white ceiling above me. Next to me, I can hear my brother softly breathing as my mom and dad tiptoe around the room, pulling together our necessities...
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10,000 Miles Worth of Memories
Traveling about 10,000 miles away seems like a crazy trip to make, especially landing on one of the world’s most populated nation: China. Coming from the airport...
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Heating Up in the City of Hotpot
As I boarded the narrow puddle-jumper that would take me to my final destination of Chengdu, China, I couldn’t help but feel a bit queasy. Now this kind of queasiness wasn’t from the...
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I Love This City: 6 Weeks in Chengdu
Melodious voices rise, mixing and dispersing above the steamy pavement of a corner-side pavilion, attracting curious passersby. Actually, the staring eyes are more likely drawn by the fact that these...
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Wondering at the World at a Wonder of the World: My trip to the Taj Mahal
I swat a few flies away from my face as I plaster on a confident smile and proudly pose in front of the Taj Mahal in the blistering heat. The Taj is undeniably beautiful. Neither photographs...
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Outrunning the Sun
It was a bit of a misnomer. Of course, I didn’t find out until much later that there were no wolves on Rising Wolf Mountain. In this season of life, everyday seems to bring new...
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The Magic of Marakesh
A couple of years ago I went on a vacation to Marakesh, Morocco. The old part of town is a labyrinthine maze of shops and stalls (called souks). I kept wandering through this vast sea of stalls amazed...
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Misread Signs
After such memorable experiences as enjoying boat rides and exhilarating sailing lessons in the Vancouver Harbor and an afternoon at Playland at the PNE, on our final night of my first out of the...
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Experiencing the World, and Myself
Adrenaline rushed through my veins; my world seemed to close around me, leaving me like a beacon of light in a world of forever growing darkness. The thoughts of backing out flooded my mind; I couldn’t,...
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