Frugal New York City Vacation
Cheap, thrifty, economical and prudent are all accurate descriptions of my mom's spending habits. However, she prefers the word frugal. She clips coupons and shops the “manager’s special” section...
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My Guatemala
As soon as I heard that Eli’s family had an opening for their trip to Guatemala, I knew I had to go. They were taking teenagers to Antigua to learn Spanish and volunteer. It took some convincing, but...
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da Vinci Day
As my foot landed on the elaborately tiled floor, a chilling atmosphere pricked my body. The air that embraced me was suffused with the history, the art, the surrealness of the images and work inside....
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The Treasures Concealed by Mesas of Arizona
“We’re here!” my sister shouts, as our van turns onto a dirt road. The faded sign says “Welcome to Immanuel Mission.” As our car bumps along the road, kicking up dirt into the hot Arizona air,...
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Fantasy’s Reality
“Here.” A neatly wrapped, red package fell into my hands. “What’s this?” I inquired. We had just arrived in New Zealand a couple hours before. This vacation was my “early Birthday gift.”...
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California Dreams
The sound of waves crashing paired with memories flashing behind my closed eyelids overwhelm me as I stand in front of the salty shore, and I wonder what actions in my life have led me to this one perfect...
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The Philippines: Living in a Childhood That Was Never Mine
To visit the country that my parents remember so vividly from their childhoods is difficult; living an Americanized life really detached me from identifying with Filipino culture. They grew up knowing...
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Reflections on Omaha Beach
Sand. As far as I could see, sand carpeted the expansive, harmless beach. Yet this wasn’t just any beach, and – seventy-one years before I arrived in 2015 – it was anything but harmless. My World...
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