Sensational San Pedro Sula (June 2012)
Blazing. Unrelenting. Tropical heat attacks me from all angles in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. You’d think the heat would be enough to melt me, but no. The heat is worth it because of all the...
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Living in a Fairy Tale: Two Weeks in Edinburgh
Of all the destinations to which I had dreamt of traveling, Scotland was not a place I had ever considered. Of course, when I got the chance to go to the
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Who Said I Was Scared?
Years ago, I took a trip to Costa Rica with my school. My chaperones had many things planned for us, but I did not know how terrifying, yet fun they would be. Costa Rica is known for its beaches...
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“Memorable” (Mis)Adventures
It was the end of the school year; the time when students are antsy for summer to begin. I couldn't wait for the last day because four days later, I was headed to the great state of California...
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A Different Way of Living
When someone says “China”, a person would automatically think, Beijing, Shanghai, the Great Wall of China, Tiananmen Square, etc., all of the famous cites that people visit while going on vacation...
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Environmental Activist Adventures
As a Brazilian citizen who had never been back to Brazil, I was extremely excited to visit the homeland. It was the perfect trip before going off to college. Although I only spoke Portuguese before...
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My experience at the Rock Quarry Village
Last summer, I had the opportunity to go on a mission trip to Cambodia for a week and a half with my church's youth group as well as my father, the church's pastor. We stayed in the capital, Phnom Penh,...
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A Journey Yet to Reach a Destination
At four a.m. I saw the steam from the aromatic maté tea rise up from my mug. I packed light, ate bread and butter, and sipped my tea in a zombie-like manner. My host mother and I gave...
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Step Out of Your Comfort Zone and Into Amazing Memories
Every morning I opened up my bedroom door to the spectacular view of high tide crashing into el camino palmero, as I like to call it. As shown in the video, the view of the waves at the...
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Not as Planned
For some, the perfect vacation is planned, mapped out, regulated by someone else- perfect for the ultimate ‘tourist’ who won’t look for adventure and experience, but simply the...
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Driving Towards the Future
“Mom, are you ever going to use a blinker.” We have just pulled into Dothan City limits and my mother has yet to use a blinker and we have been driving for three hours. Most people...
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An Amazing Traveling Experience Within Lima, Peru
I have had many wonderful trips with my family to Lima, Peru in South America, which a few times, we did have unexpected things happen to us in the process, but turned out making...
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Magic Hands
That day was one of the most adventurous of the entire trip. Our family had planned a trip across Turkey, including visits to Istanbul, Cappadocia, Antalia, and Ankara. We had just arrived at Cappadocia...
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The Trip of a Lifetime
In April 2012, I had the chance to travel to Italy for nine days and I seized that opportunity. The time that I spent in Italy traveling all over from Venice to Florence to Pompeii, was one...
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Escape to Freedom
She stares at the ground, not believing the amazing location underneath her feet. She looks up at the sky waiting for someone to awake her, to bring her back to the reality of her limited life. After...
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“L is for Love”- Summer 2011 in Taiwan
On June 30, 2011, at 3:00 P.M., at the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, I boarded the China Airlines airplane alone. I was ready to embark on an adventure to Taiwan, ready to teach English as...
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“A Growing Experience with Many Unfortunate Events”
This trip began on March 7th, 2012 and ended on March 10th, 2012; set for the “Big Apple” aka New York City, with nine women, including myself. Yes, nine estrogen-filled...
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Banjar, India – The Best Experience Of My Life
March 29, 2012 was the day I stepped onto a plane to India. It would be thirty three hours from the time we left Salt Lake City to reach the little village of Banjar in Himachal Pradesh, India. ...
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When the Cherry Blossoms Bloom
Washington D.C. is perhaps most beautiful during April when the cherry blossoms bloom. People come from all around the country to witness the sight of the blooming buds that cover the vast majority...
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A Traveler without a Camera
The bike stood there, braced by the little sister of my host sister. It taunted me, waiting to see if I would give up my American habits and use it for actual transportation. I was in Stein, just...
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Reconnecting With Surf, Sand, and Family
The last time my entire family went to the beach was in 2008. We rented a beachfront property in the town of Brant Beach. My room had floor to ceiling windows facing the ocean, every...
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An Experience Never to be Forgot
The call of the rooster and the quacking of ducks awaken me instead of an alarm clock. No, not an alarm clock, for an alarm clock would require reliable electricity. Yet living in Chad,...
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An Unforgettable Trip to My Past & Future
I was born in Seattle, Washington, where I lived until I was four. At that very young age my mother, father, and I made the trek to Texas. I have lived there ever since. I haven’t been very...
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The Magic of Traveling
Traveling is quite a magical endeavor. No matter where in the world one journeys, it always seems as if the enchanting nature...
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Lions and Leopards and Rhinos, Oh My!
About 4 years ago, my family took an unforgettable vacation to South Africa where we participated in a three day safari. When my family took this trip, we were living in Madrid, Spain. Our plane tickets...
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A whole new world
“The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are” Samuel...
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Bat Flight
“Can we Dad? Puh-leeeez?” I batted my eyes. We had planned to leave Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico before lunch and had gotten to the park around 3:00 AM after a long night of driving,...
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A Glimpse into a Different World
Ever imagine walking up a bell tower to see the Alps towering in the distance. Or hike up a mountain to an abandoned castle that looks as if it came right out of a Disney movie? What about...
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The Deal on Israel
At age fifteen, I found myself on a plane with my family taking a fourteen-hour flight from JFK Airport into Ben Gurion Airport in Israel. After my freshman year of high school, no reward could have...
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Purpose at the Capitol
A tear dropped from my mother’s eye as she gazed at where I was standing compared to where I had stood. Originally from a deteriorating part of California, my future was supposed to be occupied...
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Social Conventions
Car drivers are honking aggressively and blatantly disregarding traffic laws. A walking vendor is bellowing out his wares and prices in hopes of attracting customers. A group of women is shrieking...
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My Family Vacation
Two summers ago, my family and I traveled to the huge state of California. Many might think we were going to the beaches or going to Hollywood, but we didn’t. We touched down in San Francisco...
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Selfish
Hearts beating fast, pounding in our chests as if trying to escape, feet longing for a break from the torturous...
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Life As A Kyrgyz Nomad
The woman handed me a bowl of Kumis and I took it with a nervous smile. Bringing it to my lips, I almost gagged at the smell, but managed to somehow swallow a small sip, forcing down a grimace...
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Finding Joy in Helping Others
This summer I traveled to Zambia with Heart of the Bride. Heart of the Bride is a missions organization...
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My Trip to Home
As I prepare for the exciting challenge that is college, I reflect on my past experiences, particularly one between my sophomore and junior year. While most young adults used their summer vacation...
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An Unexpected Treasure
It has been said that life can bring you on unexpected journeys; Journeys that bring you to the most beautiful and majestic places around the world. It is from the moment you leave...
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Ohio Key Club DIstrict Convention 2012
This past April, I traveled with some of my fellow Key Clubbers from Avon Lake to the Ohio Key Club District Convention in Columbus. I was not excited about going. The convention seemed to be boring...
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A Picture-Perfect Beach Vacation
As a last hoorah before college, my Girl Scout troop decided to take a weeklong trip to South Padre Island, a beach destination in Texas on the Gulf of Mexico. We had a blast: it was a great way...
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Bon Voyage! How to Travel to Paris With Kids
Paris is a great travel destination, especially with kids! There's so much to do. Although Paris is considered expensive, you can do it on a budget. To me Paris = Yummy food,...
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Atlanta: An Unbelievable and Unforgettable Adventure
Sticky beads of sweat trickled from my brow down to my sun-chapped neck as I braved the wrath of the unrelenting Georgia sun. The heat teetered on the...
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Kaleidoscope Adventure
I remember waking that day after a bout of dreamless sleep. I remember the strangeness that resonated through me knowing that, in mere hours, Florida would be a drifting dot far beneath me. I remember...
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Pondering Paul, Patmos, and Pastichillo
Imagine the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Imagine the enormous families. Imagine the thick Greek accents and the Greeks’ love for food. Imagine the pride they share in Greek culture...
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“Traveling; it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller”. –Ibn Battuta
Although I have not traveled nearly as much as Ibn Battuta, I have almost as much to tell. Through two short trips to the Middle East, I have gained the knowledge and experience...
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Beware of Shortcuts: A Nepalese Trekking Adventure
The winding taxi ride from Pokhara to Ghandruk in the Annapurna mountains of central Nepal was brought to a halt with the taxi driver’s pronouncement of a “shortcut.” My parents had lived in Nepal...
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Living Lessons
Just two years ago, I joined a summer program, Project Ascent, which sends American students to Sichuan, China, to volunteer in local communities and familiarize Chinese students with American Culture....
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Road to Paris Island
My adventure began the day my older brother James decided to join the Marines. Around October of 2011 he went into boot camp and about 13 weeks later he was going to graduate. We lived in Florida...
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