The five types of travel companions: The Homebody

You probably had to twist this friend’s arm to get them to agree to travel with you in the first place.  You think to yourself, you know they’ll have an amazing time, but you’ve just got to get them out of their shell.  Once you arrive at your destination, they’re much more keen on chilling at the hotel or hostel than getting out and exploring.  They’ve packed their entire DVD collection, and plan on making their way through it before the trip is over.  They’d prefer an American hotel chain to a quaint guesthouse, and McDonald’s to the local cuisine.  When you do go out, they’re pretty keen on sticking to the beaten path and doing the bare minimum of sightseeing.

Pros: Okay, I’ve painted this person in a pretty negative light.  But there are some pros to traveling with The Homebody.  For one thing, you probably won’t get into trouble.  While sticking around a hotel isn’t very interesting, you’re not likely to get lost, pickpocketed, or have any other mishaps there.  This person is also great for taking a beachy, laid back, all-inclusive resort type of trip. The Homebody is great at relaxing, and if that’s what you want to do, he or she is your go-to companion.

Cons: If you yourself don’t fall into this category, then traveling with this person can be very similar to traveling alone. If you want to get out and explore, chances are you’ll be flying solo.  If you like being alone, this isn’t necessarily a con, but definitely something to take into consideration.  Like with The Tourist, you’re less likely to experience the local culture if you’re traveling with The Homebody.

The bottom line: If you have to move heaven and earth to get someone to come on a trip with you, you’d probably be better off alone.  Some friends are better for just hanging out with when you’re at home.  If you try to force someone out of his or her comfort zone for the sake of having a travel companion, it’s likely your experience will be less than stellar, and theirs probably will be to.  Invite them to accompany you to an all-inclusive resort or the spa, and let someone else fill the role of backpacking buddy.

 

“Finding beauty in negative spaces”

I’ve mentioned a few times here that I’m currently a senior in college.  Right now I’m working on my undergraduate thesis, the most epic piece of academic work I’ve ever done.  It’s the culmination of almost three years of laboratory research, and months of writing and data analysis.  Needless to say, with the due date looming 24 hours from now, it’s a stressful time.

Luckily for me, self care is one of the strengths I’ve cultivated over the last for years.  I’m very skilled at going to my “happy place,” or doing something I enjoy, when I’m feeling ridiculously stressed and overwhelmed.  Usually planning trips and buying plane tickets is a great way for me to escape a really stressful time, but obviously doing this every time I’m feeling stressed isn’t realistic.  Nevertheless, I manage to modulate my surroundings as much as possible on a student budget.

As you can see, today was a beautiful day in Cambridge, MA, so I decided to go to one of my favorite cafes, Cafe Pamplona, to put the finishing touches on my thesis.  Like planning trips, however, spending time outside isn’t always a reliable mood booster, especially living in New England.  One of my other favorite strategies is buying fresh flowers, and putting them right in front of me when I’m working.

It’s hard to feel sorry for myself when I have such beautiful flowers sitting right in front of me as I write.  Of course, reminiscing on past travels isn’t a bad way to “go to my happy place” either.

I picked up this traditional Portuguese tile (on the right) at a flea market in Belem, Portugal, and it always reminds me of my time living in Lisbon.  If you’ve been to Lisbon, you know that these tiles are everywhere in the city.   The tulips are a great mood-booster as well.

Note: the title of this post is taken from the title of an album by Seether.

Tales of travels past- Sydney, Australia

My second big travel adventure, and the one that got me addicted to travel, was a 3-week trip to Australia with People to People in 2006.  Australia is a fascinating country, and definitely merits a trip longer than three weeks.  However, as a fifteen-year-old with limited travel experience, the three-week supervised trip was perfect for me.

The trip started in Sydney, with a tour of the iconic Sydney Opera House.  I was fascinated by the photos of the Opera-House-in-progress, taken decades ago.

We also climbed the Sydney Harbor Bridge, from which we saw breathtaking views of the city.  Sadly, cameras weren’t allowed on the climb.  We were strapped into grey jumpsuits and connected to the bridge by harnesses.  This is definitely a great, albeit pricey, activity to do in Sydney.

Sydney Harbor Bridge from inside the Opera House

At the end of our trip, we actually paid an unexpected visit to the Sydney Aquarium.  Finding Nemo had just been released, so seeing all of the “characters” in the aquarium was exciting, even for a bunch of disinterested 10th graders.

Being six-years ago, the details of this trip escape me, but what I remember most vividly is my enchantment and excitement with being on the Other Side of the World those first days in Sydney.

Have you ever been to Sydney?  What was your first memorable travel experience?

In like a lion

Last night we got the only legitimate (in my opinion) snow in Cambridge that we’ve had all season.  Growing up in the mid-Atlantic (Maryland, to be precise) I always loved snow days.  But in Massachusetts, snow rarely incites the level of panic that it does in states south of here.  So in the last few years, snow has become a bit of a nuisance.  There are no days off of class or work, everything goes on as normal, but with the added difficulty of walking through slush and ice.  Nonetheless, it is nice to look at from inside.  Here’s a view of snow-covered Harvard from my window:

Okay, it’s not quite snow-covered at the moment, but it is March after all.  When the cold and the snow do get to be too unpleasant, buying a beautiful tropical flower always helps to cheer me up.

I absolutely love birds of paradise, but they make me especially happy on a cold, wet, dreary day like today.

What do you think about snow?  Do you get snow days, or do you have to brave the elements no matter what?

Dear Internet…

Welcome to my first ever blog post.  I’m pretty much a newbie to blogging, so please excuse any violations of blog etiquette that I may as yet be unaware of.  This blog will mainly be about my travels, but as I’m still in college at the moment (for another 2 months and 23 days, but who’s counting?) there’s not much travel going on over here.

In two weeks I’ll be going to Costa Rica to visit Arenal during my spring break.  I’m super excited for this trip, especially because I’m going with my best friend and staying at a fancy resort.  With that said, staying at fancy resorts isn’t my typical M.O. when it comes to travel, mainly because when I’m at a fancy resort, I tend to spend the entire trip there.  So, I’ll be reporting on my trip to Costa Rica, trying to incorporate as much adventure as possible, but the main objective of this trip is RELAXATION.

If travel of the more adventurous sort is what you’d like to read about, here are the trips I have planned for the next year, which you can look forward to hearing about in the future:

• exploring my parents’ new hometown of Raleigh, NC
• deep South USA road trip in June 2012
• Southeast Asia– Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia in July 2012
• Virginia Beach, VA in August 2012
• Brazil (and maybe Argentina) in August 2012

In September, I’ll be moving to Durban, South Africa for a year.  I’ll be traveling the continent and reporting on expat life in my spare time.

For now though, I’m living in Cambridge, MA, trying to make it through the homestretch of college with some semblance of sanity.