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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South River Girls Soccer Takes Italy
If you ever have the opportunity to travel to Italy, I highly recommend taking the time to explore the beautiful cities that litter the Tuscan landscape. I had the pleasure of traveling with 25 other...
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Lesson Learned
Slapping yet another mosquito off my arms I sigh and trek through the small gap in the trees. Dr. B, our field botany professor, decided to get off the magnolia...
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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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Sand Castles in the Sky: A Trip to Sodus Bay
When people think of New York State, several iconic places come to mind: Niagara Falls, the Big Apple, the Thousand Islands, and the Adirondacks. Many New Yorkers have visited these places, so hearing...
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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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Idyllwild Pines: A Destination for Exploration
July 3, 2014 9:46 PMI usually wake up to skyscraping buildings and rush hour traffic and I’m used to the sound of...
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Expect the Unexpected
In March of 2014, I journeyed with my junior class of twenty-six students on a road trip to Washington, D.C. We not only visited the Capitol and most of its sights, but made numerous...
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Striving for More
Travel is a person’s way of expressing desire for something new, whether you’re conscious of it or not. People take trips for multiple reasons: visiting family, leisure, exploration, or charity....
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Big City, Big Lights: A New Home
Good morning Shanghai, my second home. The scattered rays of sunlight that manage to penetrate through the thick smog don't quite do justice to the city, a place better clothed in the sexy black of...
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The Beautiful Disaster
July of 2014. Nashville, Tennessee. My senior year. This was going to be one of the last vacations I take with my parents, so we decided that we should take a 2 week vacation and explore every corner...
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Cambodia: A Whole New World
Three days in Cambodia... That was all it took for the world to change my entire perspective on the world. Three days, and I was never again able to understand how we could categorize Americans as “impoverished.”...
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Wheels and Wildflowers: A Bike Tour Through Cade’s Cove
Grandpa tossed two helmets under the passenger seat and revved the engine. “I’m not wearing one.” He shoved his hand into the Skittles bag. “Me neither,” I tested. His glacier gaze cracked;...
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Yaritza and the Humanity We All Share
The last few decades have seen the rise of an America increasingly enamored of differences, ever more cognizant that diversity means fresh perspectives and ideas. I arrived in Costa Rica with this in...
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Bonding in the Ithaca Gorges
Traveling to Ithaca, New York in July 2014 was both illuminating and unforgettable. Although situated in upstate New York, the most un-foreign of places and only a four hour car ride from home, Ithaca...
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Can-Can with Strangers
The French culture has always been present in my life. My fascination stems from childhood; family members and friends constantly told me that the French culture was...
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School Trip Survival Guide
I am the queen of late nights and early mornings, the master of suitcase-sitting-so-I-can-get-the-zipper-around-this-last-corner, the grudging...
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Paris, the Beauty Within
I’ve always dreamed of going to Paris, France. Walking along the River Seine and having lunch by the Eiffel Tower. Wanting desperately to see the beauty that only Paris could give. After much consideration,...
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The Inception of Perception
Flashback to July 2nd – the day before I left on the trip of a lifetime. I had 46 less friends, less knowledge of foreign cultures,...
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The Africa They DON’T Tell You About
Many times when people write about visiting Africa, it tends to be about a missionary trip. The term ‘Africa’ is usually synonymous with poverty, dirt, corruption and illness. Africa is...
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As Far As the Eye Can See
My eyes flutter open as the smell of papaya and salt water fill my nostrils. As my vision returns after the long night's rest, I can see the dark wooden ceiling and greenish...
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When the Party’s Over, World Cup 2014
“Bro, can I get a selfie?” Never have I heard this as many times as Brazil’s World Cup this year. This simple phrase highlights something that makes my trip to the 2014 World Cup unique...
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A Not So Perfect Picture
Whenever I went to a party, my camera would be in my hands, capturing the moments that I longed to never forget. Even as a little girl, I had a training camera. Finally, at the age of fifteen I took...
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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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Journey to the Emerald Isle
While on my travels to the U.K with the People to People Student Ambassador Program I was most excited about going to Ireland. Not only because of how beautiful everything looks over there (my camera...
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Stressed But Blessed: London and Paris 2014
“No, I’m not too old to be a Girl Scout,” I told the man sitting next to me on the plane. I get tired of saying that. Before you ask, we do more than sell cookies, too. Way more in fact. At that...
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Hello Dalai!
It was about noon when I fully realized that I was much farther away from the Dalai Lama then I had anticipated. I suppose, in retrospect, that that wasn’t entirely in my control (the Kalachakra festival...
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Across the Pond in Ten Amazing Days
Buongiorno, je m’appelle Jessie. Wait. What I mean to say is, hello, I’m Jessie. I guess you could say I’m having trouble reverting back to speaking...
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A Thought-Provoking Adventure to Kenya
In July of 2012, my family boarded a plane bound for Kenya, full of excitement and a little apprehension. Our safari had been booked through Tim Melesi Safaris,...
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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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500 Miles
I would walk five hundred miles “Welcome to London.” Over a ten-mile trek through the city, I tripped on cobbled sidewalks and absorbed the sights around me—double-decker buses, towering...
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From Concrete to Campgrounds
New York City is arguably the most incredible city in the world, and I have the good fortune to have lived there for all 15 years of my life. It is buzzing with activity and full of culture. It is so astonishing...
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Pardon My French: The Art of Making Mistakes and Trying Anyway
France in the summer is lovely. I remember the buildings of yellow stone, ancient beyond belief to my American eyes; the canals whose water lilies inspired Monet; the countryside, passing in a blur...
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La Vida Rica
My trip to Costa Rica with Common Ground International was the most amazing experience of my life. First,...
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Moonscape Beauty
Scalding fountains and multi-colored pools were only a few of the magnificent sights I was encountering. Yet the fountains weren’t man-made,...
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Baring It All in Iceland
Nothing in the world could have prepared me for the Icelandic locker rooms.
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Detroit: A Harbor of Hope
As a child I remember taking trips to Mackinaw Island and...
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The City That Never Sleeps
The three hour train to New York left the station when the air was still crisp and new at seven in the morning. My mom, two...
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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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J’aime la France: A Story of Escargot, Lots of Walking, and the Best Two Weeks of My Life
When I was ten years old, my mother told me, “When you’re twelve and Andrew is ten, we’ll go to Paris.” When I was twelve years old, she told me, “We’ll go when you’re fourteen.” And...
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Great Adventure… I Don’t Think So!
Hurling through the air at speeds defying logic, twisting, turning, flipping upside down, then careening down terrifying heights, screaming until your lungs burn, is not my idea of fun. Roller...
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Victory at the Giant’s Causeway
As soon as we stepped off the tour bus, our guide apologized. "We don't normally have weather like this," He said. "It's usually so foggy you can't see four feet in front of you." The forty of us, all...
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World Beauty
?Something about standing alone, thousands of miles away from home, a certain beauty embracing my very being; I am gazing upon something that will remain a vivid picture in my...
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Where the City Leaves the Northwest Coast
I always find that the minute you go into a vacation with preconceived notions, they tend to rule your entire vacation, and limit your ability to really delve into something unique and personal.Early...
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Adventures Down Under
Travel is about more than just seeing the sights, it's about connecting with the locals and taking on new adventures that will lead you to the great unforeseen...
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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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I Left My Heart in the Heart of Art
Florence, Italy: birthplace of...
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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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The Solution For Which You’ve Been Waiting
Ladies and gentleman, I have the solution—the...
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