Fall 2019

When I first went to Rome, I was 17 years old, and it was the first time I ever had been to Europe. I was a stereotypical teen, it seemed: I had a nice iPhone, I was a pile of angst occasionally, and I loved video gaming and sleeping. It seemed like I would be the last to love travel and the stress that came with it. However, I remember being giddy with excitement to see all the sites and learn a bit of Italian while walking through the ancient city. Before my family of four left the US, I had gotten a pocket-sized dictionary and even started using Duolingo to learn the basics of Italian.

This summer, my husband and I lived in Wasco, CA, on a nut farm (of the almond and pistachio variety, not a psych ward), while he worked an accounting internship.

Wroclaw, Poland, could be straight out of a fairy tale. Sitting on the Odra River banks, the town is made of twelve islands connected by 130 bridges. The town is full of breathtaking market squares, pastel-colored Renaissance mansions, Baroque palaces, and hand-lit gas streetlamps. As you meander the streets you might wonder if you’ve wandered into a magical land and are intruding on the locals—dwarves.

The Trail

As we walk down the road, we see the old man sitting on his porch, possibly just there for the view, possibly there waiting for us. As we cross the threshold to his property, we say hello to him, calling out: “Tay!” Dad! We ask him how he’s doing.

When you think of Italian food, what do you imagine? What about French food? German? Unless you’ve spent much time in Europe recently, you probably didn’t picture the döner kebab.

British Library, London, UK

Most people travel to Greece to see the Parthenon in Athens or to take pictures in Santorini, one of the most Instagram-worthy places in the world. While these places are all well and good, the spot you really need to visit is in the mountains overlooking Kalambaka: the Greek Orthodox monasteries of Meteora.

In a world of increasing connectivity, innovative technology, and hyper ingenuity, are we actually in a state of regression? You see, this summer I was in Oxford—the home of Oxford University and the inspiration for Hogwarts—and I spent most of my time glancing down at my phone. Whether I was looking for directions, making sure I got a good photo, or staying connected with my friends who were checking out London, I was missing the beauty all around me. In fact, there was a statue on top of a building that I didn't even notice until someone pointed it out. As I looked up, I wondered how I had missed it. The seven-foot-tall statue was staring right at me! It was something I should have noticed, whether because it seemed so creepy staring down at me, or because it looked like someone potentially about to jump from the roof.