Where in the World is...?

When we were little, Carmen Sandiego was never easy to find. She could be at Mount Rushmore; she might have stolen the Lincoln Memorial off the National Mall; she probably wasn't in Yosemite, but it was hard to say for sure. It took some persistence and dedication to find her.

I never thought I'd be as hard to keep track of as Carmen Sandiego. After all, I always know where I am so how difficult could I be to find? Pretty difficult, apparently, if we track by the number of texts I've received over the past month reading, "Where ARE you?" or "Are you still in the US?" Inspired by a recent post on my Facebook wall, I'm chronicling my recent and upcoming epic adventures so you'll never again have to wonder whether I'm in the States (at least not for the next six months).


Recent travels:

Israel: I went to Israel in December with Melissa, my former NCCC team leader. We got to spend nearly two weeks with my three adorable nieces, who are now 4, 2 1/2, and 1. Aderet is learning to write (in Hebrew before English), Nava speaks mostly coherently and with a great deal of enthusiasm, and Dina is entirely mobile and loves surreptitiously snacking on crayons. My sister continues to be herself, which is always a good thing.

Jordan: During our trip to Israel, Melissa and I took a day trip to Jordan to see Petra. This was mostly motivated by our discovery that Petra was on the BBC's list of 50 places to see before you die. Also, it's ancient and I love old stuff. We had an amazing time and got a great, if all-too-brief, insight into another culture.

London: My mom and aunt decided to go to London for New Year's and I was the lucky beneficiary as their travel companion. We saw three West End shows (London's equivalent of Broadway), including a fantastic musical production of Legally Blonde. We enjoyed wandering through the Globe Theater and taking a day trip to Stonehenge.

Upcoming travels:

Ghana: I depart for Ghana on March 12th and start my program orientation one month from today. I'll be spending four weeks there volunteering at an orphanage, followed by an additional few days to experience the culture outside of my volunteer placement. Why Ghana? Its reputation is as a warm, safe, friendly nation and the volunteer program through which I'm traveling is very highly reviewed. People who've been there absolutely love it and I know the children will be amazing. I'm looking forward to this trip a lot.

Barcelona (and perhaps France): I'll fly from Ghana to Barcelona for two weeks there, including ten days with my mom. I've never been to Barcelona but southern Spain is beautiful and I hear amazing things. I look forward to fun workouts on the beach and enjoying springtime in Europe. Somehow, I'll get from there to Rome.

Italy: After my dad taught himself Italian, he decided it'd be good to go to Italy for some language immersion. We'll be spending a week each in Florence and Rome (both of which I love - I'm looking forward to revisiting the Roman forum and Michelangelo's David) and two weeks biking through Tuscany. I consider this the best possible type of bike training for my upcoming triathlons (whenever those may be). I expect sunshine and gorgeous hill towns steeped in centuries of history and culture.


And the USA...

I'll be here until mid-March and will return a week into June. At that point, my sister will visit along with her husband and all three children. They'll be here for about a week, which should be amazing. I'll also be visiting DC this summer to see some certain special friends. After that, I plan to settle down in New England for another fantastic year of service in AmeriCorps.


See, that wasn't too complicated? Right?? As always, the best way to reach me will be via email and I'll try to share world-travels adventures on here at some point. I'm optimistic for pretty pictures.