I walk through the airport in Seoul, South Korea with a heavy suitcase stuffed to the brim with a months worth of clothing. Blink. I am on a plane, flying through the starry night sky for 11 hours. I read and watch a movie in a desperate attempt to stay awake to adjust to the time zone in the U.S. Blink. The plane is quickly approaching Seattle, Washington. With a loud thud, we land, and I smile. I am home.
I recently traveled to Beijing, China on a three day tour and had the most amazing time! Since the tour was so short, our group was constantly on the go, driving all around the massive city of Beijing from 8 AM to 10 PM, stopping at many historical and cultural sites. Although it was a whirlwind of a trip, we were able to hit most of the big tourist destinations and also some of the lesser known gems. We watched an acrobatic show, walked along the Great Wall of China (It was so much steeper than I thought it would be!) ,toured both a jade and silk factory, and went to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, the Summer Palace, Wangfujing Night Market, and the Bird’s Nest where the 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony was held! In three days, we were able to see many sites in Beijing, but there is still so much to explore there. I only hope I can go back someday to this fascinating city.
Last week for spring break, my mom and I traveled to Hong Kong with two other families. I absolutely fell in love with the city in just the three short days we had there. Having such a short amount of time in HK, our group was constantly on the move, exploring many different aspects of Chinese culture.
My favorite thing is to go to places I’ve never been. -Diane Arbus
This year for Christmas, my family and I traveled to Thailand; we absolutely loved it there! The whole trip, I found myself wonderstruck by what a magnificent place I was experiencing…
The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust
Last week, I was lucky enough to travel to Tokyo, Japan for a school trip. Our school went to an art festival for military schools across Asia called Far East Creative Expressions. There were acrylic, watercolor, digital art, and many more art workshops for students to learn and improve upon their craft. I, of course, attended the photography workshop! It was a very busy and exhausting week, but I had an amazing time learning about what I love and exploring the wonderful city of Tokyo. I had the opportunity to go to the observation deck of the Tokyo Tower, explore Harijuku (internationally known for its youth fashion and culture), visit many art galleries, eat traditional Japanese food, and walk through Shibuya (which has the busiest crosswalk in the world)!…
Before we moved to Korea, we had to drive across the country to Seattle, Washington for our flight to Korea. We decided to make this drive an epic two week trip, stopping at places we had never visited before. The first major place we stopped was Nashville, Tennessee…
In June, my family and I took a trip to New York to visit my sister, Alex, who lives there and is going to school. The timing couldn’t have been better because my best friend, Claire, happened to be in New York at the same time for her 16th birthday! Claire and I hadn’t seen each other for a year since my dad got transferred from a base in Utah to South Carolina. With so much to see and do in only 5 days, I knew I had to make every moment count…
The Gypsy Journals 