2012 February | Native Foreigner

Trading In — Snow Boots for Flip Flops

Sunny skies, warm weather and blue water…I’ve arrived! Today was my first day back in Costa Rica and I couldn’t miss the opportunity to sink my winterized soles into the sand. There were familiar faces and places. Everyone remarked how nothing had changed. Of course, that’s not true. Things always...

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Reverse Culture Shock: Music Therapy

After spending both five months abroad in Italy and a year-and-a-half in Costa Rica, I have noticed that most travelers never forget to pack some type of mp3 player (most commonly an ipod). With headphones popped in each ear bud, people are accustomed to drowning out the noise around them....

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Last-Minute Chaos — The Storm BEFORE the Calm

I look up at the clock…it’s nearly 4:00 p.m. I have only a few more hours until I need to have my life packed into a suitcase and a backpack. I’m not panicking. I’ve been to Costa Rica before. I don’t have the nervous jitters that I had on my...

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Going back…

What is it like to go back to your second home? Strange. As much as I wish I could say it felt like I never left, I simply cannot. Six months after I officially left Samara, I was back. In reality, not much had changed. Many of the people and...

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Travel Thirst Thursday – The Sahara Desert

Sweatin’ in the Sahara The Sahara Desert, which lies in the northern portion of Africa stretches across several African nations. Considered the largest hot desert in the world, the Sahara occupies about 10% of all of Africa. However, its dry climate and high temperatures (up to 130° F) make it...

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A Generation of Travelers

Gen Y – the generation of self-absorbed, lazy twenty-somethings who expect instant gratification. Managers hate us. Parents are baffled by us. But we love ourselves and our lives. That’s at least true for those of us who are choosing to defy the status quo. What exactly do I mean by...

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