Ahhh travel blog, how I've missed you so. It's been since 2007 that I've contributed anything to you, but you have not been forgotten. Every so often you take me back to a time and a place that was full of curiosity, intrigue, adrenaline and damn good fun.
It's not that I haven't taken any trips since we last met, but these trips haven't shaken up my reality enough to inspire me to write about them. Given, in 2010 almost every flight I boarded was booked with 24 hours of the departure time (how's that for spontaneous?), so needless to say I didn't have much time to think and/or process the travel event as a whole. If 2010 taught me anything, it is to take your vacation early in the year.
I feel like now is a better time than ever to jump back on the travel (and blogging) bandwagon. A handful of interesting people from different countries, cultures and different destinations have come into my life past few months, and it’s really reinforced my love and longing for the unfamiliar that comes with traveling. Some of these were people moved from abroad to the U.S., some were acquaintances turned friends who moved elsewhere in the world, and I also met the first person I know to visit all 50 U.S. states (and he was only 26). All of their stories are quite impressive and have reconfirmed my need to get out there and see things again for myself.
Today, I booked three trips.
One to Lawrence, Kansas to watch my beloved Jayhawks play a basketball game. I’m sure an outsider would not think this seemed like a glamorous trip, but I am beyond excited to go back. This is where it all started for me… in a classroom in the J-school where my kickass instructor told me about this study abroad program she taught at in Italy. A couple semesters later, there I was living in Italy doing the same study abroad program, meeting some of the coolest people I’ve ever met, drinking amazing wine, weekending in southern Italy, skinny dipping in the Mediterranean, sunbathing on the beaches of Barcelona, Nice, Monaco, Sorrento… oh and let’s not forget the time where we ripped shots from a bottle of Jack Daniels as we circled the Isle of Capri on a private boat tour (we may be cultured, but I never said we were classy). Point is, my parents did a great job of opening my eyes to tons of different cultures, but this was my first real trip on my own. I liked it so much that I went back the next summer to find out what the rest of Europe was like. I’m ready to get back there…
Which brings me to the second (and third) trip I booked today… London, with a side trip to Morocco. After my bad week kept getting worse, a business acquaintance turned supposed-to-be-flatmate, turned good friend invited me to visit her (and what was supposed to be my) flat in London. Just so happens she was looking for a friend to go to Morocco with for a few days too. Bonus! I’m super stoked to get back to London, the place I thought I’d be calling home right now, and see what I’m missing out on. I’m also super stoked to get my first passport stamp from the continent of Africa!
But I won’t get to London, Agadir and Marrakesh if I don’t make it home in one piece from skiing in Tahoe. I leave on a ski trip with a random (or is it?) group of people on Tuesday. I hesitate to call all of them friends yet, but I’m certain by the end of the trip they all will be friends for sure. I haven’t been skiing out west since I was little so wish me luck! And thanks to the Northwestern Alumni Association for opening up their ski trip to alums, their family AND friends, otherwise I wouldn’t be going.
So, my dear travel blog, I promise not to neglect you for 3-4 year increments ever again. And, to myself, I promise not to neglect the need for exploration that long either.
Compare where you are to where you want to be and you'll get nowhere.
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