Lenicka Lee

The earliest lighthouses were nothing more than fires built on platforms to mark the entrances to ports, but nowadays lighthouses are towering structures with electric lights and revolving lenses that shine light miles out to sea. Where can you go to walk where lightkeepers have walked before? Many lighthouses no longer fulfill their original function, so consider visiting a few of the oldest lighthouses still in operation around the world.

Slavery. When you hear that term, Roman conquests or the American Civil War might come to mind. The sad truth is that slavery is still very much alive today in the form of human trafficking. According to the US Department of Justice, human trafficking “is a crime that involves compelling or coercing a person to provide labor or services, or to engage in commercial sex acts.” Both victims and perpetrators of human trafficking wear many faces and are not exclusive to specific genders. Anyone can be a victim. Anyone can be a perpetrator. This horrific practice is a global issue, but the Nepali–India border is notorious for it. One organization’s fight against human trafficking in Nepal is providing hope for the future.

Can you imagine what a week-long, over-the-top, mega celebration in honor of a guy who wrote about someone who couldn’t tell the difference between a windmill and a dragon might look like? Imagine perhaps the most intense of renaissance fairs overflowing from the city’s central plaza into the narrow, cobbled streets and you’re almost there. This is the image of Semana Cervantina, a festival held annually in Alcalá de Henares, the birthplace of Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote.