Travel

Before Planning for 2015, a Travel Adventure to La Gomera

December 28, 2014

I’m unpacking my brain. Unpacking all the wonderful-but-stressful bits and pieces from the last year: all the highs and lows of running a business, plus personal milestones like planning a wedding and moving into a new home. Unpacking the signatures, the paperwork, the timelines, the accomplishments and failures. Piece by piece, little by little, emptying […]

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What It Takes to Live the Life You Want

June 30, 2014

Last week my soon-to-be husband left for a two-month, 3,500-mile bike trip on the West Coast. His brother is joining him, and they’re calling it #NoRestOutWest. Friends and family keep asking if I miss him, and of course the answer is yes. But missing him isn’t the overwhelming feeling in my gut right now. What […]

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MH370: How to Pretend You’re Working When You’re Actually Checking for Even a Minuscule Update on the Missing Plane

March 14, 2014

Before we even got out of bed this morning, while my boyfriend and I were laying side-by-side looking at our phones (as we do every morning while mustering motivation to start the day), Ben said to me, “Any news on the plane?” I hopped over to The New York Times to assess just as he […]

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On Remembering How to Travel (South Africa)

January 28, 2013

I forgot a pair of flimsy flip-flops, the kind you wear as protection in a hostel’s grotty communal showers. I forgot a messenger bag to carry during my walks around the city, toting instead my backpack, which makes a traveler’s belongings within a thief’s reach. I forgot to bring cash, thinking I’d use my debit […]

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Giving Away My Birthday for Charity: Water

January 1, 2013

Last year at the World Domination Summit, I watched a powerful presentation by charity: water founder Scott Harrison about how to help families around the globe access clean water. I expected a cliche pitch, but instead found myself tearing up in that auditorium. So I pledged to give away my 32nd birthday– no big celebrations […]

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What I'm Doing With My $100 From #WDS2012

September 5, 2012

If you've followed this blog from the beginning, you might remember a post in late 2008 when I asked for your help. I was visiting a family in Cameroon that had hosted me six years before as a college student. It was a polygamous family, with four wives and about 20 children. And this family […]

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Why ‘Lost Earnings’ is a Bullsh*t Excuse That Will Hold You Back

June 18, 2012

While walking around Washington, D.C.’s peaceful Roosevelt Island last weekend, my boyfriend and I started scheming on a big trip. We’re in the very early stages of scheming, when you throw out all the possibilities and all the obstacles and all the what-ifs to get a sense for whether the dream could ever really happen. […]

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Creating More Moments That Matter

May 30, 2012

Ever have a weekend or day or hour or even just a MOMENT when you say to yourself something like: Wow, this is what REALLY matters. This is what life is ABOUT. That’s how I felt after hiking in Shenandoah National Park this weekend (and leaving my computer behind): Now I’m back to the grind […]

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How Travel Changes You

May 28, 2012

My neighborhood is full of construction. Loud, ANNOYING road construction that makes it take forever to get wherever you want to go. Before traveling in Africa, I would’ve seen all those cones and equipment and traffic jams as simply that: annoying. But after spending time in a place where roads often aren’t paved at all […]

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Using a Kindle Touch While Traveling

March 28, 2012

I finally jumped on the Kindle bandwagon! My new Kindle Touch — a holiday gift from the fam — accompanied me on my trip to Nicaragua and Costa Rica last month. While I’m thrilled to integrate this gadget into my reading life, it does have a few drawbacks specific to travel. So here’s my take […]

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