Oh, The Places You'll Go!

So I think it is official, the scheduling dept has lost my phone number. I have flown 1, yes that's right, 1 trip this month and that was a quick Detroit red eye turn! Not really a trip at all! But I am now very rested up and ready for summer flying! I am wishing and hoping and praying that June will be an awesome month of flying. I already know for sure that I will be putting my toes in the sand of the Mediterranean at the end of the month for sure. I was able to pick up a Malaga trip. I was hoping to get a Rome too, but not yet. I am however departing for Israel in T minus 3 days and I am stoked! Can't wait to visit the middle east for the first time. And Israel seems like such an awesome place, I think I would like to go back for longer than my 33 hour layover. One day! There are just so many great places to go and so little time to do them in. So I thought today's post would be about 10 destinations I am dying to go to. It is impossible for me to make a top ten list, but these are a good starting place. So grab a cup of joe, relax and take a verbal trip around the globe with me.

#1 ARGENTINA! 

Argentina really is on the number 1 spot of my list. I have wanted to go there for years and things just keep happening to prevent me from going there! I want to try Malbecs at their vineyards, eat chimichurried beef, hike the Tierra del Fuego and stroll the streets of Buenos Aires! And hello, Argentinean guys are cuute!





# 2 Indonesia (to visit my sponsor child!)

For 8 years now I have been so lucky to have sponsored a child through Compassion International. I started sponsoring Christo when he was only 6 and now he is 14! It as been so cool to see him mature though photos and his letter writing. I want to be able to go visit him and the amazing country or Indonesia. As luck would have it he lives on one of the less popular islands, near the city of Manado, renowed for their diving. So, who dives and wants to come with me?

#3 Copenhagen, Denmark

Why? I don't know exactly but I think it goes back to my love of a book called Number the Stars. Plus a friend was telling me about a part of the city that basically governs themselves. That seems like a cool place to check out!








#4 Istanbul, Turkey

East meets West, baklava, what more do you need?











#5 Fairbanks, Alaska

In the winter, to see the Northern Lights aka Aurora Borealis.















#6 Palua, Jellyfish Lake

You can swim with millions of jellyfish that have lost their sting! How amazing would that be?!








#7 Barcelona, Spain

Spanish, the Sagrada Familia, Mediterranean beaches, and again, seriously hot guys, who play soccer!









#8 Cairo, Egypt

The only remaining wonder of the original 8 wonders of the world are the pyramids at Giza. I want to see that!










#9 Reykjavik, Iceland
Sure you might have to fight off some volcanic ash, but that's got to be good for your skin right? Along with soaking in the hot springs and glacial mud baths. Ahhhh.








And last, but not least:

#10 Seychelles

Ok, I have wanted to go here for years, and the fact that William and Kate chose this country for the honeymoon tells me a few things. 1. They have great taste. And 2. I probably can't afford to go there. But the beaches look amazing! Ever look at a calendar with a beach theme? You are probably looking at a beach in the Seychelles. Clear water, white sands, swaying palm trees, its heaven on earth.

Putting Boring Behind Me!

Oh my gosh you all I have been wanting to do a blog update for days now, but things have been soooo boring that this is what it would have went like: Got up, drank coffee, ate breakfast, checked my email, Facebook, and as of a few days, Twitter, looked at work stuff and wanted to scream because there are NO trips available, did some Pilates (oh yeah, I'm starting to rock the killer hard core), checked my email and Facebook again, maybe straightened up the apt, did some German Rosetta Stone, watched some Spanish TV program, watched some USA TV, checked my email and Facebook again. Are you seeing a pattern here? Boring! I seriously LOVE my job, and being on call has its perks, I mean I did just sit around on call for 6 days and got paid to do the above, but that gets old and boring very fast. I can't wait to transfer to our NYC base. My friend there just told me that he was suppose to be going to Tokyo, but was trying to trade his trip to go to Amman, but messed up and lost both those trips and had 'to settle' for going to Moscow! Can you believe it?! I was so green with envy! Settle for going to Moscow, I'd settle for going to Omaha. No offense Omaha. But that is why the blog has been dry. That wouldn't have been a very exciting post now would it? But tomorrow I am off to the wonderful San Francisco area to attend my best friends college masters program graduation! So proud of her! She has been working on 2 masters degrees at a time and she is finishing on of them now! Can't wait to get to do some fun stuff in the city with her as most times I have visited before she has been studying like a mad woman. So I hope to have an exciting blog post come the weekend. Oh, and here's something to look forward to in the future: a post on my 33 hours in Tel Aviv, Israel coming up at the end of the month! So super excited! My first trip to the Middle East!

Make the Next One Count

Remember Sally from the Cat in the Hat? I feel like her today. "What a boring day. There's nothing to do." After having sat around on call for 3 days, which for some reason feels like a million this time, I am about to go stir crazy. Even though I have been out and about doing stuff, I feel like my four walls are closing in on me and I have to get out! Come on scheduling! Call me! My job, which I love, does have its drawbacks. One of the best perks about my job also gives way to one of the worst. While being on call allows me the chance to jet off to places like Bangkok, Saipan and Beijing at a moments notice it also lends its self to the mind numbing reality that you have to sit and wait for that call to pack your bags. So whilst I am just sitting around staring at walls, watching Gossip Girl and How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory and, well you get the idea, I thought I would blog about something.
After deciding to put my trip to Argentina on hold this month (due to a friend being out of town and needing to get a new passport) I was trying to decide what to do with my 9 days off at the end of May. I felt like that critter in Dr. Seuss' 'Oh The Places You'll Go" (I must be in a Seuss mood today) I think I have considered every state except for Nebraska. I considered going to Alabama and volunteering with the tornado clean up. Shockingly, as I inquired about it, all the websites I came too said most of the initial clean up had been done. I find this hard to believe and will be looking into it more, but it lead me to this post: Volunteering!
I have been very lucky and blessed to have been able to volunteer all over the world. From schools in South Africa, to construction in New York, I have enjoyed helping others, while at the same time feeding my travel bug.
Why should you spend your hard earned vacation volunteering? Well just let me tell you:
1: You will come home with way better stories than if you had just sat by the ocean drinking Mai Tais all week. (Don't get me wrong, this is great too.)
2: If you are doing something physical, you may come home a few pounds lighter.
3: You will feel great! Sure maybe it's selfish to help someone out knowing that its going to make you feel better. (Ever see the Friends episode where Phoebe tries to find a selfless good deed? They aren't out there! You WILL feel awesome!)
4: You will really get to see the people of the area you are going to visit and learn about them.
5: Often it will be cheaper than another trip.
6: You will be helping someone else! What better reason do you need?

You're still not convinced, I know. I understand giving up that week of beach lounging is a big decision so you can always start small. Maybe a weekend near your house? Maybe just one day on your trip? I guarantee there are 1,000's of places out there that would love to have you come visit and help out just for a few hours.
Hopefully, now you are thinking, "But where do I even begin to find somewhere to volunteer?" Well again let me tell you. It can seem overwhelming, there are a lot of wonderful organizations out there. There are a lot of companies now that offer volunteering trips. These can range anywhere from very light volunteer work, like the 1 day scenario I suggested above, or they can get down and dirty building houses or helping conserve the rain forest. I promise there is something out that that you can do that is tailored to your interests and talents. Here are some great websites to check out:
Volunteer Abroad This website is a great place to start! It allows you to search for opportunities via country or type of work and how long you want to go for. Once you see something you are interested in surf on over to :
Charity Navigator  This is the best spot to check out how good a charity is working. Are they efficient with their money? Where does the money go? How much do their CEO's make? Its a great spot to see if your organization is reputable.

Most organized volunteering trips cost money. This doesn't make a lot of sense to some people, me included sometimes. But you do have to think about the fact that the organization is organizing everything, often finding you food and housing, even transportation. You can avoid this and find your own way. Check out: Couch Surfing a community where people allow you to sleep on their couch for free. You are then free to find any organization in town that accepts volunteers!
So think of something you want to do; rock babies to sleep in the Congo, help save sea turtles in Costa Rica, support a girl that has been trafficked in Cambodia, anything that appeals to you and do some research! See what your next vacation can do for you and someone else. It may just be the trip of a life time!

Hot Springs, Gators and Margaritas

I feel like life has been a bit boring lately, even though I've been out and about a bit in the past 2 weeks. I hit a big milestone around this time last week, the big 3-0. Note, I did not end that sentence with an exclamation point. I am thankful for another year, but another year is also a reminder of how fast the years go and how few there could be left. You just never know when your last day could be so be sure to live each one to the fullest! Be happy!
Ok enough of that, on to my next soapbox: Cinco de Mayo! Here's a quick lesson on Cinco de Mayo. It is not Mexico's Independence Day (September 16) and it has nothing to do with any other country besides Mexico, excpet for France. That's right, France. May 5, 1862 Mexican soliders defeated the French in the Battle of Puebla. Obviously here in America Cinco de Mayo has taken on a different reason for celebration, Mexican culture and heritage. Much like we celebrate St. Patti's Day as an Irish holiday, we enjoy Cinco de Mayo as a Mexican holiday. So get out there today and enjoy some tequila, rice and beans and mariachi music, not Shakira, she's Colombian!
What else has this turtle been doing? Well, I rang in the birthday day with a stunning duet of Cecila, by Simon and Garfunkel at karaoke in Bozeman, MT. I took a soak in the 'Water of the Gods' out in Norris, MT. I enjoyed some seafood down in Orlando and watch some baby gators eat dinner. I moved to within a 10 min or less walk from work. Caught a local comedy show in Tacoma.
Here's to hoping for some excitement this week!