A few bullet points:

• I didn’t end up going to NYC in October for a few reasons, but all is well and I’m leaving FOR REAL on the 11th of this month. When I start packing I’ll come back with an update.
• Not only am I planning this trip in a few days to NYC, I’m beginning to talk about a Spring Break trip to NYC AGAIN. I know, I know…but I’ll bring you the details soon.
• Lindsay Clark, travel blogger queen, took off today for Fiji to begin a wonderful new endeavor called The Nakavika Project. Visit her site to learn more and see how you can help!

I’ll be back soon with all the fun details!

Bourdain and Alcohol.

The two go hand in hand, naturally. 

Let’s start with Bourdain, though. 

OH MY GOD, SEEING HIM LIVE WAS THE MOST FREAKING COOL THING I’VE DONE IN MY ENTIRE YOUNG LIFE.

Ahem.

Yes. I saw Anthony Bourdain speak at the Idea Festival in Louisville, KY about a week ago. He covered the basic topics: food, travel, and why they fit so nicely together. Everything he said resonated with me in a very profound way…oh, and he also made me laugh a whole freaking lot. That man can say something so incredibly poignant and follow it with a joke about diarrhea caused by street food and make it seem perfectly natural and on purpose. 

If I didn’t admire the man before, I certainly do now. I just wish I had gotten the chance to meet him. My boss did…but we’re not going to talk about that.

Sadly, no photos were allowed in the theater, so all I have to remember him by are some crudely over-lit cellphone pictures. He DID have lunch in the same restaurant I had dinner in that night…kinda cool…I guess.

Oh, and I got quoted in an article in the local paper about his talk: Probably the lamest quote ever to be published in the Courier. Ever.

Anyway, onto the alcohol thing!

I turned 21 this past Monday. Oh, what a wonderful event. Nothing special though. Just me getting older, having sushi with my friends, getting a Lite-Bright, and then going to a bar later in the evening. (The Lite-Bright was a gift from one of my younger friends. I’m not sure if he’s telling me to remember my youth, or trying to remind me just how old I’m getting. Hmm…) But it was a good time. 

In ONE WEEK I will be leaving for New York City. When I think about it, my brain gets all fuzzy and my legs bounce involuntarily. I think it’s going to be an amazing trip. I’m still not sure what time my flight is…my friend has the tickets. For someone like me who likes to have things at least semi-planned out far in advance, this is a weird feeling for me. But maybe it’s a good lesson in spontaneity and what not. 

I suppose I should apologize for the large gap in my posting. You see, I’m back in school now. And I’m a senior. So I have a lot on my plate. I know, I know, lame excuse…but it’s totally true. I’ve have two internships, a leadership position on the radio station, and two classes that require a lot of out of class work, as well as my other classes. 

Goodness. I’m such a whiner. 

You know what’ll be a good break though?

NYC!

Ahhh, can’t wait. 

Take care all, and I hope to come back to you soon with more exciting travel stuff to talk about.

Life Updates Regarding Travel

Hellooo travel buddies!

Sad to think that summer is just about over…and I haven’t even left the state! Ugh. I’m itching to cross state lines (or leave the continent…whatever). I thought I would take a moment to catch you all up on what is happening in travel-plan-land AKA my life.

-My trip to New York City is on the move! Tickets are booked for mid-October. The next step will be to book the hotel and to, well…save all the money I can. I’d really rather not spend crazy amounts of money. My friend and travel pal, Sarah, and I have already gotten discount tickets, and we’re going to book a budget hotel…so I kind of want to keep the theme going. There’s plenty to do in the city for free, most of it being visiting rather iconic locales. To just walk around in Times Square or Central Park would be plenty for me….and plenty free! So, we’ll see if I can stick to an NYC budget.

-Louisville, KY is host to a very cool event every Fall called the Idea Festival. Brilliant minds and speakers come together and share ideas and what not. Pretty darn cool, you say? Well, it’s even cooler this year because Anthony Bourdain is a featured speaker! And yours truly got a tiiicketttt. I’m pretty stoked. (And I don’t use “stoked” lightly.) But really, I admire Bourdain and what he’s done for travel/The Travel Channel. He’s a brilliant, funny guy who just tells it like it is, and really wants travelers to experience more than a luxury hotel. I’m so glad I get to see him! And, bonus, it’s mere days before my birthday! Pretty sweet deal.

-You all NEED to check out STA’s World Traveler Interns. Their trip is almost over, and it seems like they’ve had an amazing time. Lindsay Clark, one half of the WTI duo, is keeping up with her personal blog [Nomadderwhere] as well, so please check it out. Good stuff, people. Good stuff.

That’s it for now. Hope you all have had a wonderful summer. Make the most of the last few weeks! The next trip I’ll be taking is back home for a week to spend some down time with my family.

Happy trails.

Get Over It

Hey everyone.

A couple weeks ago I was part of the worldwide event called the 48-hour Film Festival. I participated in the Louisville weekend, obviously, and it was such a blast. I had a great team to work with, and we had a lot of fun.

Our mission was to create a 4-7 minute video in 48 hours. Write, Cast, Film, Edit and everything in between.

Everyone who made a film had a few required elements: A genre randomly selected (we pulled Comedy), a prop (3-ring binder) a character (Bert/Bertha George the gardener) and a line of dialouge (“Just tell them Joe sent you”).

And without further ado, here is the film!

You like Miso? I like Miso.

The Tourist that Ate Times Square

Exciting news, blog-friends.

A friend and I have just purchased tickets to NYC for a mid-October trip!  This friend of mine is a regular New York trip taker, whereas I have never ventured father north than Ohio. So this will be exciting on many levels: My first trip to one of the best cities in the world, AND I won’t get lost!

I’m already making intense sightseeing plans. My list is going to be hard to accomplish seeing as we’ll only be in the city for three days. The main things I want to hit?

-Times Square (duh)

-Tiffany’s (even only for a minute. I need to have an Audrey moment)

-Central Park/Bryant Park

-An art museum. I think we’ll go to the MoMA. Maybe Guggenheim.

-Little Italy/Chinatown

There are a lot of other things I want to do, but with limited time I have to pick and choose. Or just not sleep, which we all know is possible in NYC.

Any sight suggestions? Favorite restaurants? Do tell…I have a few months to plan, and believe me, it’s all I’m going to be thinking about!

What-cation?

I was recently assisted to find a new travel blog, written by a Lonely Planet guidebook author. It’s called Reid on Travel, and it’s great. It’s fun and easy to read, and chock full of useful tid bits.

The following post is referencing something I’m very fond of: the “stay-cation.” This is the act of exploring one’s own town for a vacation, rather than going elsewhere. The author is all for them as well, but finds the term to be off-putting. I would have to agree.

What follows his argument is one of the funniest things I’ve read in awhile.

Please, check it out HERE.

Also, I’m brainstorming for my next video update. I’ll keep you posted.

What it’s Like to be Luggage

As a new part of my blog, I thought it would be fun to do occasional video entries. This is the first. Enjoy!

One more year

I have a lot of time to sit around and think this summer. So as I was thinking about summer itself, it struck me…this is my last summer as an undergrad. Last summer as a student, most likely. (Seriously doubt I’ll be doing grad school)

What am I doing with my last summer? Working, mostly. Waiting for a paycheck so I can start saving money for some semblance of a trip this coming year. But I’m also thinking about what I want to do with my life post-grad. And I think I’ve come to a decision:

I will throw my hard earned, expensive degree to the wayside for a couple years and teach English abroad. It’s  something that has been in the back of my mind, but I always thought I could do it later in life, as a kind of retirement thing. I know a couple who is teaching English in China right now who absolutely love it, and they gave me the idea to begin with.

I have a couple of options: One, I take an online course to recieve my TEFL/TESOL certification, which will enable me to teach all over the world.

OR, I can apply for a Fulbright ETA Grant, which will send me to one country for under a year on their dime to teach English. I’m thinking Malta, if I go with this option.

Either path I choose, it would be a great experience. The better thing about simply getting a TEFL/TESOL cert. and teaching abroad is that I will be getting paid as soon as I start working…which means I can start paying back my student loans. Yippee!

So what about that great Communication degree, you ask? Well, it won’t just be a pretty piece of paper to hang on the wall. Once I feel I’ve spent enough time teaching, I’ll begin searching for jobs relating to my degree. Perhaps even overseas. Being an ex-pat would be cool, I think.

Have questions about becoming certified to teach abroad? Ask me, I’ve been doing tons of research on the topic. If you’re super curious and can’t wait, I suggest visiting i-to-i, a travel site that specializes in adventure and volunteer travel, and offers great TEFL certification classes. I think I’ll be taking their online course.

More to come on this topic later, I’m sure. I’ll keep ya posted.