Category: World Wanderings

When I was young, I was bit by the travel bug. Since then, I’ve been extremely fortunate to have the ability to not only travel to numerous countries around the world, but also live in foreign countries. These posts include stories about my travels, cultural differences and travel tips.

Logos of the Peace Corps and Americorps side by side

Recognizing Service: Peace Corps & AmeriCorps Weeks

March 4, 2016

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you–ask what you can do for your country.

My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

President John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, 20 January 1961

When President Kennedy spoke those words, the Peace Corps was still being workshopped by a group of motivated students and the seeds of AmeriCorps were stuck back in the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps.

Service for your country was considered in the terms of the military. Even today, when people use the phrase, “served their country,” it’s pretty much exclusively employed in reference to members of the military. Attend any major league sporting event and you’ll likely hear a “salute to our service men and women.”

But the reality of service today is much more multi-faceted that simply military service, and today is right in the middle of the time of year that is meant to recognize that service, as it is the end of Peace Corps Week and the beginning of AmeriCorps Week.

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vejigantes, costumed and masked adolescent boys at carnival in ponce puerto rico

Celebrating Carnaval in Ponce, Puerto Rico

February 26, 2016

Carnival. That party that happens before Lent every year, with places like Rio de Janeiro or maybe Venice coming to mind. Images of lithe, bronzed women in sparkly costumes and huge feathered headdresses or intricate masks and elaborate gowns and suits.

But the truth is that Carnival is celebrated across the Caribbean, and in a number of places around the world. While New Orleans’s Mardi Gras is perhaps the most widely known version in the United States, Ponce, Puerto Rico’s second largest city, is also known for its Carnaval, known as Carnaval Ponceño.

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the sun set over the ocean with tide pools in the foreground

Vieques: An Island Getaway on your Island Getaway

February 19, 2016

Most people head to Puerto Rico as their very own island getaway; sun, surf, sand, what more could you ask for. Turns out there’s another island that you could stop off at for a few days to have an island getaway from you island getaway: Vieques.

But why would you want to go out of your way to get there? Sun, surf and sand are already covered, remember? How about some of the best diving and snorkel spots, the best bioluminescent waters and beaches all to yourself.

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A scene of dry forest plants with a short bush in the foreground

Hiking in Puerto Rico’s Guánica State Forest

February 12, 2016

Puerto Rico is known as La Isla del Encanto, or the “Enchanted Island.” No doubt, the beaches with crystal clear waters, gorgeous keys and small islands, and a mountainous rainforest, including El Yunque National Forest, are big parts of what makes Puerto Rico feel like an enchanted place. But I’d add the Bosque Estatal Guánica, or Guánica State Forest, to that list.

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View of the El Yunque Rainforest through an arched window of a tower

Camping in Puerto Rico’s El Yunque National Forest

February 5, 2016

As the fading light slipped through the spectrum of golden-yellow to cool-blue, the coquís began their daily symphony, starting with just a few chips and croaks that grew to a roar as darkness filled the corners in the rainforest. This is the heart of El Yunque National Forest, the only tropical rainforest that is a part of the U.S. Forest Service and one if the oldest forest reserves in the Western hemisphere.

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A cloudy sky with a yellow diamond sign reading risks ahead

4 Tips for Traveling Solo and Staying Safe

January 8, 2016

My first experience traveling solo came when I was 18-years-old, when I split from a program I was on and decided to go it alone in Australia for five weeks. The second time was on a weekend trip to Amsterdam during a 10-day class in Paris. Since then, I’ve added on Thailand, Laos, Bhutan, Cambodia, Nepal and Egypt to my list of international destinations which I have ventured to alone.

I love solo travel. I love the freedom it affords me for spontaneity and that I am able to enrich myself in ways that are important to me. I’ve also met way more people in the times that I’ve traveled alone than I ever have when I have traveled with other people. When I tell people about traveling solo, responses almost always fall on a continuum of “Aren’t you scared?” to “Isn’t that dangerous?”

I had a friend reach out to me for some assurance with traveling to a place that has been labeled “dangerous,” recently, and her response to the advice I gave was, “Have you written a blog post about that?” I realized that I hadn’t, and so here it is, my advice before embarking on solo travel – particularly to places that are often considered dangerous.

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A group of people all wearing clothes made from the same cloth pose with a sign for their group

Top 4 Cultural Experiences of 2015

January 1, 2016

I had the opportunity to take advantage of some extraordinary experiences and participate in some wonderful cultural exchange this past year. It was truly wonderful and I cherish these memories, and as this is the time of year to look back and plan ahead I want to share some of those memories and cultural experiences from around the world.

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Screenshot of iPhone apps

3 Apps I Couldn’t Travel Without

November 13, 2015

Smart phones and apps have reached the point of ubiquity, even in many developing nations. As a result, many more people are traveling with their smartphones in tow and leaving larger laptops at home. The nature of smartphones and their software being bundled up in apps means that there are so many niche apps out there that can do some pretty specialized tasks, many with traveling specifically in mind. These are some of my favorite apps to use when I’m out on the road.

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A minaret of a mosque silhouetted with the sun directly behind it

Iftar: Breaking Fast on the First Night of Ramadan

June 19, 2015

Yesterday was the first day of Ramadan, and as a non-Muslim in a majority Muslim country I prepared myself and set out to try and get a sense of what this religious fasting looked like here in Egypt.

I ate leftovers and fruit in my cousin’s apartment, filling up before I left as I knew finding food outside would be difficult. I pulled up a walking tour on my iPod that visited eight mosques and Islamic structures and ended near Al Azhar Park, where I intended to watch the sunset, listen to the call to prayer and possibly people watch families picnicking the breaking of their fast.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to visit all of the sites and I never made it to the park to watch sunset. Fortunately, I got to experience Egyptian hospitality and broke fast with a family in the back streets of Cairo, truly giving me an experience of what iftar, the evening meal during Ramadan, is like.

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