It’s my favorite time of year, and I can resist the blog-itch no longer!
But before we dive deep into the vortex of candles, spiced wine, gingerbread, and all the carols our little lungs can sing, an interlude…
Some of you may have been wondering where I’ve been these past few months. To answer that question, we need to go back almost exactly half a year.
Paradise.
After concluding my service as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Indonesia (and a short stop in the paradise of Raja Ampat, Papua), I hopped over to Australia. Ever the adventurous woman, my mom met me in Sydney. We took in the vibrant metropolises of Sydney and Melbourne, brushed up on Australian history in Adelaide, toured the vineyards of the Barossa Valley, rode the rails into the rainforest, ate wattleseeds, ooh-ed and aww-ed over tiny penguins (and kangaroos and koalas), shivered in the mountains, saw whales from the top of a lighthouse, discovered glow worms (and millions of stars) in the forest by night, and dove the Great Barrier Reef. Just to name a few highlights.
Our hearts were warm, but our teeth were chattering.
It was a trip of a life time, and a truly extraordinary experience to share as mother and daughter.
But it certainly wasn’t the end of the summer’s adventures!
After two weeks back in Gainesville, my parents and I joined my aunt, uncle, cousin, and cousin’s wife in Alaska. ALASKA. Talk about dreams coming true.
Moose Family!
I grew up tracking the Iditarod every year, and becoming a dog musher was my childhood aspiration. Anchorage, Denali, and Juneau delivered on sled dogs, glaciers, moose, bears, caribou, foxes, beaver dams, and some darn delicious king crab. We traveled by plane, car, boat, and then train, arriving in Whitehorse, Canada.
Another trip of a life time, and another irreplaceable memory of time with family.
The family that travels together…
Then I was in Spokane for a few days with more cousins, back to Florida for three days, and finally we set out on the last installation of the marathon summer: driving up the east coast to our old stomping grounds in New York and back. Along the way we visited friends and family, which (after more than two years) was some honest-to-goodness chicken soup for the soul.
Good times with good friends – we’ve come a long way from middle school!
All this to say that I am now in Germany – surprise! I arrived in mid-September, and have been working as an English Teaching Assistant via the Fulbright Commission. That’s a fancy way to say that I help English teachers out in their classrooms in exchange for paid living expenses and a great excuse to spend a year in Germany.
Now that you’re all up to date on the happenings of the past six months, we can move on to the important stuff: German Christmas.
But before sending a post your way that is full of holiday cheer and all things beautiful, let me address one more question.
Why?
Why travel? Why spend more than two years in Indonesia only to pop over to Germany? Why so many trips in one summer?
First, I need to point out that I understand my ability to travel is a great privilege. I have benefited from the taxes that many of you pay in order to live and volunteer abroad. I have also received help from my family and friends along the way. These are both gifts for which I am immensely grateful, and I hope that the work I have done and will continue to do to encourage better education and international cooperation will act as my gift in return.
In the end, it’s quite simple. I travel because it connects me to people and the world we all share. At the risk of getting a little cliché, I believe that peace with one another, peace with our world, and peace within ourselves starts with stepping out our doors, meeting our neighbors near and far, and respecting and delighting in the natural world.
Ok, I admit it…probably about 50% of my interest in travel is related to food. You caught me! (But seriously, there are international delights to discover right in your own community, like this Ethiopian food I tried in Spokane. Spoiler: it was amazing.
Understanding different perspectives, both human and ecological, help all of us live together with greater harmony and dignity.
These principles apply to all people and environments which lie outside our daily spheres. They can be located across the world, but also across the street.
In a time when many seem willing to withdraw from global conversations about poverty, war, and our environmental impacts, I hope that the spirit of travel will continue to work inside each one of us so that we may connect with the individuals, cultures, creatures, and ecosystems that all deserve a voice in shaping our world.
Alaska
Worth a Journey 