Welcome to my blog. I document my adventures in travel, style, and food. Hope you have a nice stay!
All tagged international
Two Februarys in Florida taught me how important it is for my spirit that I get away during the dreariest of months. I struggled to decide where I’d want to go in 2019. Finally, I found the right destination, and two weeks venturing to South Africa with a group of young professionals ticked all the right boxes.
After a week of jumping from one scenic and interesting town to another on New Zealand’s North Island—continually feeling like, “Wait! I want more time here!”—I was especially excited to have just one Airbnb rental in Nelson on the South Island for the next six nights.
My fifth day in New Zealand put us on the road again as we drove from the Hawke’s Bay coastal region, into the Wairarapa, and on to Windy Wellington.
New Zealand is 8,200 miles from my home in the Midwestern United States. Before January of this year, I let that distance keep me from seriously considering making a trip there myself. I told myself, “Some day I’ll do it." Apparently, what I needed was the right carrot dangled in front of me: an invitation to join two friends who have visited multiple times and could share their familiarity with me. On February 13, I landed in Auckland, New Zealand, and my first-ever two-week vacation began.
I had plans to spend the month of February—escaping Indiana's miserable winter—in sunny Jacksonville, FL. That all changed on January 4 when I got a text from my friend, Schuyler: “I’ve been thinking. Regardless how intrepid you want 2018 to be, you should find two weeks between mid-Jan and mid-March and connect with us in New Zealand.” Hold. The. Phone.
I spent my final few days in Nicaragua acting the part of a woman on vacation: exploring colonial cities, taking boat tours, floating in crater lakes, and sipping fresh juices. But Nicaragua's reality was never far away.
I felt I had some advantages on my trip to Nicaragua since I was friends with our leader. But separating from the group had its disadvantages, as well, which I learned quickly on our two nights in the city of Matagalpa.
Over the course of three days, our Alianza Advocates volunteer group visited three different schools in the campo on four occasions. One school was held in a standard building provided by the Nicaraguan Ministry of Education. One was a new facility built by the Project Alianza team. One was a private building provided by the farm owner himself for the kids living on his farm.
The campo. The bustling, working-class city. The colonial tourist destination. Over the course of my one week in Nicaragua, I spent time in each of these representative areas of the country. The result? I had both relaxing and uncomfortable moments but came away with a greater appreciation and understanding of the realities of Nicaraguan life than I would have if left to my own devices.
I enjoy traveling and exploring new places, but I generally keep it on the conservative side of the adventurous scale. So when I decided to go to Nicaragua this summer, my friends’ and family’s jaws dropped open, eyebrows shot up, and “What?!” was the first word out of their mouths.
Rather than try to fill my stories with informational background, I’ll instead share some interesting and helpful information here to use as a resource. Ready to learn about Nicaragua?
![Week 44: From High Tea to Gatsby: New Zealand’s North Island, Part 1 [Score +67]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58b4c7cc20099e8b54a9ad11/1522887363061-J6TNJ9P93TPCNNF3QYSC/NewZealand-phone-156-aem.jpg)
![Week 16: An Intrepid Expedition: Nicaragua [Score +62]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58b4c7cc20099e8b54a9ad11/1499132723992-QN00QMMFNSJQ64B712H6/Nica-OthersPics-0143-LaFundadora-Niki.jpg)
