Playing Nice

Hello Fellow Travelers!

After a very exhausting program, I am off to Boston here in about twelve hours. DC is always nice, but having spent a great deal of time here I am ready to move on. One thing I have been struggling with is how to play nice while working a travel program. Unlike most jobs, you cannot leave a travel job behind while you are still traveling. This means that if there is someone who does not jive well with you, or is incompetent at their job, you have the *cough* pleasure of not only working with them, but lodging with them, eating with them, and even unfortunately socializing with them. 

How can you relieve the stress without being rude or sacrificing your sanity?

I'm not sure I can answer this question apart from the cliched deep breathing, developing a happy place, or totally disengaging the person. 

Do you have any suggestions? Post a comment below! I will be updating again very soon as this is a very short blog. 

When you happen to find yourself naked, hiding in a bathroom...

Hello from New York City Fellow Travelers!


I arrived here on Sunday with no problems. Over the past three days I have spent a fair amount of time taking a small group of Australian travelers around the city. The first night we saw Times Square, fifth avenue, Columbus Circle, and a great deal of Central Park. There is simply nothing like spending your 21st birthday at the Olive Garden at Times Square with two wonderful Aussies.

Monday we went to the Empire State Building and the American Museum of Natural History.   Tuesday was the Met, the MoMA (which was closed), Mary Poppins on Broadway. After the show we did Times Square again (I'm quite sick of the place actually) and watched the red carpet at the Spider Man Turn off the Dark Premier. I wasn't expecting to see any celebrities, but we were able to see Matt Damon, Steve Martin, and Bono.

I should mention, I purposely explaining these things in catalog format because, which is often the case, while there might be destinations, this blog is really more about the mental process of traveling. Also, if you've been to museums before, you have seen them all before.

I've learned several things this week: It's ideal to have a built in compass on your watch (which I do not have) this can save countless "double back" blocks after you get off the subway, several times I knew which direction I needed to go in, but not which direction I was headed until I had crossed two blocks and could gauge the street numbers; it is always a good idea to keep your room key in your pocket even when you enter your room. I accidentally shut my door on the way to the bathroom and had to sneak down two flights of stairs and into our program office to hide until a master key (to have someone bring me cloths ) could be located; and finally, just because something worked well one year, doesn't mean it will again. I brought my shoes I wore last year, but unlike last year, my feet are acting up. It doesn't help that I have probably walked over 250 blocks these past few days.

Today is an easy day, just hanging back in the dorms and on campus (staying in a dorm at Columbia University). 

Departure Day

Hello fellow travelers!

Well, I'm officially 21, and today is the start of my travels. First up: New York City.

I've never been to NYC, but I find it quite unexpected that a dream of mine that I've had since I was a child is coming true today. I've always dreamed about spending my twenty-first birthday in New York City. While it is a little different that I had perhaps dreamed, I am excited nevertheless. I'm armed with a freshly stocked Kindle, a fully charged ipod, and a couple of birthday twenties stuffed in my back pocket. Bags are packed, for the most part, and I'm, unfortunately, wide awake.

One sudden change in my mind is that I am really envisioning a life that combines travel and work. As of right now my work with an international student leadership organization is thrilling. I'm working my way up in the company, and plans are in the works to even travel internationally with the program. I'm going after this life that I've always wanted. I'm looking into the International Tourism Management Institute, a school that I've heard can really help you enter the industry. I could really see myself enjoying the nomadic, educational, and exciting life that many tour directors lead.

Here's a brief itinerary of my travels:
Sunday June 12th- Saturday June 18th: New York City
Sunday June 19th: Philadelphia
Monday June 20th-Thursday June 23rd: Washington D.C
Friday June 24th- Sunday July 17th: Boston (arrive in Denver late)
Tuesday July 19th: Travel to LAX, then overnight in Hawaii
July 20th: Arrive in Majuro, the capital of The Republic of the Marshall Islands.








Currently reading: Vagabonding by: Rolf Potts

Intentions

Hello There Fellow Travelers!

So, here I am, starting what is perhaps one of the most cliched things on the face of the planet: a travel blog. Originally, I had no intention of ever doing this, but the more I thought about it the more I realized how much traveling I actually do, and the perhaps the importance of documenting my travels.

Regardless of the excuse, I am about to embark on the longest journey I have ever undertaken. On June 12th, my 21st birthday, I will travel to New York City, followed by Philadelphia, Washington D.C, and then spend a few weeks in Boston. While this isn't what I'd call "authentic" travel, it is travel nevertheless. Upon my return to Colorado, I will have about a day and a half to prepare to travel to the Marshall Islands to teach for a year. I am quite apprehensive of this trip. Until a few days ago I only knew that I was going to the Marshalls sometime mid-July, to some island in the south Pacific.

I still have no idea which island I will spend a year of my life one. I also am unsure about my funding. While I have enough money to pay my bills, I cannot get a definite answer on loan deferment, something that could, foreseeably, through a wrench in my plan. Everything happens for a reason.

My journey starts in a mere 23 days.

I am not sure if I will have internet access in the Marshalls, running water, or electricity. For this reason this blog could epically fail, but I suppose that's a chance I'm willing to take. Perhaps I can entice someone to co-author this blog and post written messages from me on here.

With graduation behind me, and my sentimental nature, I'll leave you with a quote I've been thinking about:

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.  Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.  ~Mark Twain