Some people have a real knack for extreme adventure sports, live for the thrill of adrenaline pumping through their veins, nerves that heighten the senses. Some might even say that jumping out of a plane or off a cliff are moments that make them feel the most alive. Those are the seconds that invigorate the soul.
I’ve been thinking about it quite a lot on this trip. I always keep a travel journal and am entranced by taking boatloads of pictures and making videos. Why? I’m not a professional. I don’t have thousands of followers, just a very normal blog that’s used as my creative outlet.
Continue reading “Why I Love to Create”
Nestled into a peninsula on New Zealand’s east coast, Kaikoura is simultaneously more and less than I ever could have asked for. More in its amazing scenery, nature, and ability to me bring back to those core essentials. Less because it did all of this with its beautiful, simple charm which reminds me that sometimes we don’t need so much to be ‘happy.’
Continue reading “Kaikoura: Hike, Sea Life, and Reconnect”
When I was younger, I wanted to be a marine biologist so I could swim with dolphins and spend my days on the water. Sadly, I came to the realization that that’s isn’t exactly what marine biologists do…
While those hopes may have been shattered, I did finally get to live out my dream of swimming with dolphins! In Kaikoura, New Zealand, we went out on a tour that was more than I ever could have hoped for. We spent an hour on the boat looking for a pod of dolphins, keeping an eye out for any splashing or fins. When we finally found them, they plopped us right into the water and off we went.
It’s more than I’ll ever be able to explain with words, so I put together this little video of my once in a lifetime experience. It still doesn’t do the experience justice, but it gives you a good idea of just how magical it was.
July 11 has rapidly crept up on me, and in just about a week I will be leaving for the adventure of a lifetime. It feels like the timing is right for me to share this little goodbye video I put together for my friends and family. It has certainly made me realize how lucky I am to have such positive, strong, supportive people in my life. Goodbye will be hard, but I’m thankful to have a home that’s hard to leave.
Seven. That’s how many colors there are in a rainbow, how many days there are in a week. Some consider it a lucky number, but to me seven is the number of continents on this big sphere of earth and ocean. And I want to visit them all.
I can now officially say that I have survived my exams! With the semester finally over, we are sinking into the heart of a New Jersey winter. Most of the time I imagine winter to be scenic and romantic, with towns blanketed in snow and quaint lights lining the street – you know, the typical Hallmark scene. But then December and January roll around and quickly remind me that it’s a lot more bare trees and layers of sweaters than I remember.
Continue reading “Surviving the Road Trip from Jersey to Florida”
I decided to call this 6 Nights in Bristol because after all of the traveling, trying to count how many full days I was there is kind of a struggle. Half a day Wednesday and half a day Tuesday, does that count as one full day or two? Should I count the minute I got to the airport in Heathrow or not until I got off the bus in Bristol?
ANYWAY, 6 nights, 7 or 8 days in Bristol, whatever you want to call it, and I still wish I had more time.
Continue reading “6 Nights in Bristol”
I’ve come to realize that I have a love-hate relationship with Bristol. I love her, but she hates me. Sam tells me that Bristol hates everyone, so at least she doesn’t discriminate.
It all started well enough. Wednesday we went out for sports night which was a doozy, with lots of dancing and happy-blurry memories. Unfortunately, I soon came to realize that my left ear still hadn’t relieved itself of the intense pressure from being on the plane. What started out as a dull ache on Wednesday had become both painful and deafening by Friday. Since then I haven’t heard a single thing out of my left ear.
Continue reading “On Bristol, Health, and Travel”
After an hour’s drive to the airport, a seven hour flight, and a three hour bus ride, I finally made it to Bristol! Needless to say, I’m very happy to be taking up the English way of walking everywhere because I think I’ve forgotten how to use my legs after so much sitting.
Sammy has an extensive week meticulously planned out for me, so I needed all of the extra sleep I could get on the bus and plane. Today, frisbee practice right off the bus. It became clear very quickly that I have no hand-eye coordination and should stick to soccer. As for tonight, a warm homemade dinner from Sainsbury’s before Sam shows me how the frisbee team does a night out.
Continue reading “…And so It Begins, Bristol”
