A Beautiful City with a Dark History
I remember being there. The very grounds where many people were sent to their deaths. It felt so unreal seeing all that remains. You know that moment that you could not believe that a part of history...
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You Trippin’?
Leather seats with oversized pillows, hostess serving chicken and apple juice, 39,000 feet above civilization, clouds overshadowing the wings, front-row views of sunsets. That...
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I Always Knew, but Now I Know
The scene that lies before my eyes could best be described as hell on earth. As I walk down the school bus stairs and onto the dusty Guatemalan soil, I can’t take my eyes off what is before me. I...
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A Sky of Stars
When I was a freshman in high school, I was a part of this program called Expedition Academy which was for advanced students who also had a love for the outdoors. From Quehanna, to the Laurel Highlands,...
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All It Took Was a Little Faith, Trust, Pixie Dust…and eBay!
There it was! As I squinted into the sun, not only did I see the gates, but I saw my impossible dream coming true. I never before realized a 12 year old could pay for a vacation to Walt Disney World!
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Accidentally Amazing: My Trip to Haiti
Sweat dripped down my temples as I sat perched on the off-balance wooden chair. The street behind me bustled with activity and the foreign language chattered in the background. I glanced around the...
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Green Lessons in a Shell
Green. And slimy, too. All nestled in their shells. Anything that is green and slimy belongs...
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Old New World
Bullet holes still dot the walls outside the Pergamon Museum...
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Building Hope in Mexico
Let me back up a little. I come from a family that travels. Sometimes we travel for fun, sometimes for adventure, and sometimes for cultural experiences. About every other year, we travel for missions...
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Barfing in the Light of the Stars
I come from a family of six very large boys, and the most frequent response I get after divulging that information is “Oh your poor mother!” I smile and nod, thinking back on the good times I’ve...
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I Know the World, But Have Never Left America
T?t c? b?t ??u v?i It all started with my dad, a war refugee from Vietnam. Ever since I was a little girl, I heard stories of “life back in Vietnam.” Stories that included...
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The City of Lost Souls
Although my story is not considerably phenomenal, it is unique. Because unlike most, I will not tell you a memory of greatness, but rather one of realization. When asked about your...
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Cammino di Assisi: The Characters and Challenges that Made It So Much More than an Italian Pilgrimage
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A Day in the Life of Japan
This past June I flew to Japan. I was deliriously underprepared for the experience that awaited me. I had crossed the Pacific Ocean to attend Tokyo’s...
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Journey Back to Darwin
“Stepping out of an airplane into the balmy, pleasant air of Baltra Island is definitely not the way Charles Darwin made it to the Galápagos Islands,” I thought to myself, as I walked toward the...
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The Silk of Uncertainty—My Tentative Journey Underground the Guatemalan Jungle
My eyes are bleary, eyelashes split by Guatemalan sun. My hair is damp and tangled in hot, wet air. I tug a tee-shirt over the damp swimsuit that I must have fallen asleep in. I hope there aren’t...
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Alive and Coarse and Strong and Cunning (Or, How I Learned to Be Independent by Getting Lost in Downtown Chicago)
(Title taken from Chicago by Carl Sandberg) The thing about going to Chicago is that you have to realize the city will inevitably steal your heart. With skyscrapers stretching to the crowds,...
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The Eerie Struggle
We were waiting in line to go to the top of the Empire State Building. Our time was ticking and we only had 3 hours left in the city at most. To start off our impromptu 5 hour excursion, I witnessed...
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The Last Homely House
I'm the kind of person who is easily enthralled by the romanticized ideas of adventure. Having always loved fantasy novels and the like, the concept of exploring something...
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I Traveled Incomprehensible
I sleepily opened my eyes to daylight, heard locusts whining, and sat up with my sheets sticking to me. It was 5:00...
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Here’s What I Didn’t Learn In The Classroom – From A Teen Girl Travelling The World
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A Journey Into the Past
The humidity of the monsoon season envelopes me in an embrace as I step outside of the car. For a moment, the loud commotion from inside ceases, and I half-heartedly welcome the smoldering heat as I...
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Smiles Across The Miles
Falmouth, Jamaica, marked the third port of call on the cruise my family had...
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Elephants in the Shadows
We were more or less protected from the heat of the sun by the tall trees surrounding the narrow dirt road. The van jolted along over potholes and speedbumps...
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Naïve Yet Sophisticated — A Journey to Paradise
Pupils dilated and fist clenched, my heart palpitating as we make our way up the prominent Rocky Mountains. All I am telling myself is “I can’t believe I’m here, I can’t believe I’m seeing this.”...
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Rain That Cleanses
When I first walked out of the airport in Kolkata, I felt like I had hit a wall. It had been hot in the airport, but in June in the heart of India it was impossibly humid...
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Discovering Family of the Past, Present and Future
Crying. Tears that lead to wracking sobs, the only thing you would hear if you watched a woman reunite with a man who she had not seen in twenty-seven years, her brother.
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An Unexpectedly Wonderful Trip
When my parents said that we were taking a spontaneous trip, visiting the family cemetery was definitely not what I had in mind. Traveling over two hours to Melrose, Louisiana was not my idea of fun....
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Get Lost in Paris on June 21st
There is no better time to plan a trip to France than in late June when the temperature is 70°F all day and the sun doesn’t set until 11:00 at night. While I did know that being in Paris during...
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A Ferry Crossing
About a year ago, my older brother, my mother, and I decided on a whim to shoot up to Burlington, Vermont. We had no idea what there was to do or see, but we had heard about the city’s vibrant culture...
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From Tourist to Traveler
Lost. That’s what I was last summer before I went on a life altering adventure to France, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy. I had devoted sixteen years of my life to being the best I could be in school....
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Unexpected Magical Memories
As I loaded my iPod with music in preparation for our ‘Summer Road Trip’, I knew my mother, my sister, and I were going to be spending many hours together in the van. Our starting point was Tempe,...
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Finding News in Dead Places
Attending the summer journalism camp at Eastern Illinois University and on assignment to explore “Small Town America,” Krystina and I, two aspiring journalists ventured into Teutopolis, Ill. T-town...
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Blind in Costa Rica
I have lived my whole life in Colorado, a place known for its natural beauty. I have grown accustomed to the magnificent Rockies and the incredible sunsets. I have taken for granted my ability...
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The Unexpected
The biggest mistake that families make when planning their vacations is operating under the assumption that everything will go perfectly. Despite past experiences,...
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My Trip to China 2007
It was the summer of 2007 and I stared out the window of a crowded bus taking me from Hefei to Tongling, China (P.R.C.). My life had started here in 1996 and then I was placed in the Tongling orphanage...
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(Re)new York
I’m writing this blog post on a plane, returning home from what’s probably my 25th trip to New York. After so long, they begin to blur together into a mess of lights and cabs and street meat, albeit...
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Jammin To A Different Rhythm
When you hear the name, "Jamaica," do you see white sandy beaches and beautiful blue...
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An Untraditional Vacation
Most people go on vacation to relax, have fun, and make memories that’ll last a lifetime. Although my family had these expectations when we visited Nigeria in 2008,...
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The Treasures You’ll Find
I remember hearing the name Bugg’s Island and daydreaming about what treasures were awaiting to be discovered. Since as long as I can remember, my family, and our friend’s...
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I Think It Really Is My Kind of Town
This past spring break, my family and I embarked on a vacation to Chicago. Our main intention was to visit the University of Chicago and Northwestern...
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The Week I Danced in New York
The Saturday before Thanksgiving in 2013, I boarded the plane and was off to New York. I was ecstatic, and even though it was early in the morning I was full of energy. I was practically jumping off...
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Get Some Red on Your Shoes in St. George
I fell in love one weekend, not with a boy, but with a place that changed my life. I returned from my weekend getaway with red dirt sticking to my white socks and to my hiking shoes. And it stuck to...
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Remembering American Sacrifice in France
In tenth grade, I visited France with the Normandy Academy through the National WWII Museum to study D-Day. It was incredible to win the essay contest for the trip....
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Discovering the Culture of St. Lucia
My family enjoys cruising and it is the type of vacation we take most regularly. Last April we went on a cruise to the Southern Caribbean...
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Accidental Encounters in Alaska
Heat, humidity, and Houston, this is all you need to describe my summers. My only escape is when we go on vacation. My favorite was Alaska in 2010, when I was 12.My...
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Detroit: A Harbor of Hope
As a child I remember taking trips to Mackinaw Island and...
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A Camp that Changed My View of Life
When you meet people from other countries, with backgrounds and beliefs different than yours, you are able to learn many things that you would not ever imagine. This summer,...
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Touching, Seeing, Understanding
During the month of November, 2013, the junior class at the International School of Americas (ISA) visited a multitude of places throughout the deep south, including Birmingham, Alabama, a place some...
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The Lights, The Sounds, The Scenes…It Could Only Be New York City
The delicately carved stone bodies posing above the Grand Central Station entrance was the first New York scene I laid eyes on. Suitcases still in hand, I was already in awe of the trip that had barely...
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Back to My Roots: Exploring Pakistan
There was a large stone wall dividing the world of high-class Pakistanis and absolute poverty. Inside the walls was a fragile community; educated, English-speaking locals who lived in large homes and...
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My Teacher Got a Lap Dance
Sometime before I decided that band class was the meat grinder of my school's curriculum, I went on a trip to Chicago with my school's Wind Ensemble. My class and I travelled to play...
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