When I moved to Argentina, there was much I had to learn not only about the country and the Latin American region, but also myself. At the romantic, idealistic age of twenty-two, I bought my one-way ticket to Buenos Aires. I was prepared to volunteer teaching English, finish the novel I'd started the year before, become … Continue reading Buenos Aires: A Time of Struggle, Awakening, and Transformation
I recently took a trip to California to surprise my Dad for his 70th birthday. In between spending time with family, I stayed up late a couple of nights just reading previous journals and essays from high school. (I love to reminisce.) It baffles me how different my view on life was back then, and … Continue reading A 14-year-old’s Life Goals
The first time I went to Ecuador, I was on a massive road trip across South America. At this point, my experience with horses had been limited to seeing ponies at fairs when I was a child, and a scary horse ride in Northern Argentina. However, when I was in Ecuador later on in the … Continue reading The Wild Horses of Cotopaxi
Today's Topic: Worst Experiences! 1) What do you hate the most about traveling? I hate repacking my backpack. The moment I get to a hostel (or any other kind of accommodation), things come flying out of my bag as I rush to see my surroundings. It's like this everyday. Things- clothes, toiletries, shoes, books, towels, etc.- almost never return … Continue reading Travel Talk Tuesdays 4/8: Worst Travel Experiences
Even though the rain has ceased, Spring has sprung, and cherry blossoms are in full bloom throughout the city of Portland, their pink and white petals boasting vitality, my mind still wanders. I suppose this will always be the case; if my feet cannot roam, my imagination will. Meditations of the Caribbean pervade me: warm … Continue reading Things Remembered, Names Forgotten
Colombia. Drugs. Violence. Guerrillas. Death. Corruption. There is a common misconception within the US- and other first world countries- that these words are synonymous. I decided to write my Master's thesis on La Violencia, or "The Violence", in Colombia to prove that this notion was terribly false. From 1948 to 1958, the country experienced a massive … Continue reading Streets and Scenes of Bogota
Today I was reading through my personal Facebook feed and found some men questioning the purpose of International Women's Day. What, should we stop what we're doing simply to revel in women's beauty for an entire day? Um, excuse me?! This is only one of many issues that irk me. Women are not here on this earth … Continue reading International Women’s Day: My Heroines
Back in 2005, I had the chance to visit one of the world's oldest UNESCO World Heritage sites. Teotihuacan, located about 45 minutes northeast of Mexico City, Mexico, was built by the Teotihuacanos sometime between the 1st and 7th century, A.D. Its massive structures include the Temple of the Sun, Temple of the Moon, and … Continue reading Nuns at Teotihuacan
Stark Street Blues "Romancing the Stone" = Romanticizing the Zone I don't really remember that movie, but I do recall how much I wanted to be here. How much I wanted to go there how I worked and worked and saved and sacrificed money and time and friends and jobs and careers and family and … Continue reading Stark Street Blues
I'd been asking one of my friends, Magdalena Whitney of Four Whitneys One World, to do a guest blog post on my site for ages. She is also a travel addict, a budget traveler, takes her husband and two sons along on trips, and has managed to see more places than most people I know. … Continue reading Essential Advice for Finding the Cheapest Flights
Chronicles of a Travel Addict 