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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27 Hours to Florida
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Imagine fifty two overly-excited band geeks on a smelly coach bus for twenty seven hours. Now can you see why it was the worst of times? We thought...
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Israel: Discovering a Land of Cats and Conflict
Israel is a place that means many different things to many different people. When I made my first visit to the Promised Land, I came hoping to gain new perspective on a country that’s experienced...
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My “New York Times”
In April of 2014 my grandmother, mother, sister, and I took a trip to New York City. Despite the fact that I had been to “The Big Apple” before, I had never seen the city like...
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Scuba Diving in the Great Barrier Reef
Experiencing the world that lives under the sea has always been a great topic of interest, constantly peaking my curiosity. So, after just completeing my scuba certification, one can only imagine my...
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Scandinavian Wonder
During a vacation to Scandinavia with my mother, I was able to experience the atmosphere and life of several Northern European cities, albeit as a tourist. By car, ship and plane, we traveled through...
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How to Get to Puerto Rico Without Really Trying
In 10 seconds, I went from relaxing at home with an open schedule to frantically packing to fly to the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico for an entire week...
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What’s Left When the Frappe is Gone
In a tiny village called Istiaia on the island of Evvia in Greece, I came to accept the reality of me. My mother spent the first eighteen years of her life trapped in that village, forever under the watchful...
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Through the Mountains of Allure
What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the natural world? Solitude? Treachery? Grandiosity? The one word that comes to my mind is beauty....
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