traveling the world, with six.

My aunt posted a link on facebook to this wesbite called 

 http://www.sixintheworld.com

unfortunately the link was announcing the passing of the sweet mother in this family, but it lead me to the great discovery of what her life was. 

This women, quite incredible, traveled the entire world with her four kids and husband. They took "live life to the fullest" with full sincerity. 

I've spent the last two hours reading about their adventures, and how it all began, and I can tell you now that I'm truly inspired. 

If there's a will, there's always a way. 

One of the places...

where I've always wanted to find myself... 

is real. 

I still remember the first time my friend Jadon showed me this picture, probably four years I ago. 

I cried. 

A little green town, underneath the Swiss Alps. 

something tells me part of me belongs there. 

truest words

Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake.

travel.

Taj Mahal 

I travel: to learn and grow, to challenge myself, stretch my limits and foster an appreciation of both the world at large and the chair waiting in front of the wood stove back home.

 Cape Town, South Africa 

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain

 “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller

 Cambodia 

 “There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

 Paris, France

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” – Miriam Beard

 Halstatt, Austria 

“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” – Lao Tzu

 Holland 

“Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going.” – Paul Theroux

 Scotland 

“Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen.” – Benjamin Disraeli

 Machu Picchu

“Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe" Anatole France

 Beijing, China

“I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless, as it extends into the world around us, it goes an equal distance into the world within.” – Lillian Smith

 St. Petersburg, Russia 

“Adventure is a path. Real adventure – self-determined, self-motivated, often risky – forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind – and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black-and-white.” – Mark Jenkins

“Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” – Cesare Pavese

San Francisco or bust

a couple weeks ago, trev and i went to San Fran for the day. 

what a BRILLIANT idea it was too!

we rode on trolleys// ate pizza// looked at seals// played old coin machines//

saw the golden gate (for trevs first time)//  walked in a farmers market & ate fresh fruit

enjoyed some giant burgers// almost got swazzled by a gypsy fortune teller// found the Congo & China right next each other #bestfriends// and searched high and low for some rad shades. 

twas such a swell day! 

and since i gave jer a play by play of our day, i have some awesome instgram photos to share.

better to post late then never at all, eh? 

enjoy!

a bit on leaving.

im lingering with everything i do.

& i'm trying to drag out as muuuuuuuuuuuuch as humanly possible.

BUT. i gotta get excited again to 

go, go, GO!

Ok, lettuce be honest here. 

I actually am really really excited to go! 

I get to discover a whole new world! 

& do it with some amazing girls! 

things have been extremely good here at home.

extremely. 

But nothing could hold me back from the world, 

my life IS the world. 

It's a good thing home is wherever love is,

or else the world would be a pretty lonely place.

so wherever I go, 

I'll never be lost. 

because of what i have right here, right now.

always. 

we're always together. all of us. 

:)

so, ready or not..

World, here i come!

Guilin, China

other wise known as the Dr. Seuss mountains. 

I'm going there. yeah baby!

God made this for you

because if you take a walk outside, you will remember that all that beauty was made with you in mind. 

The Dark Hedges, Antrim, Ireland

i belong a lot of places.

i belong near the ocean. With my old long blonde hair blowing in the wind as i hold my elbows against my light purple hoodie. toes in the sand.

i belong on the top of a tall grassy hill. laying right in the middle of a sun ray.

i belong on a metro train. eyes open wide, ears filled with a musical composition of greatness.

i belong at the bow of a boat. arms open wide, skirt flying up.

i belong in a large white bed. snuggled by a feather down blanket and the softest pillow your head will ever know.

i belong in the blue eyes of my cousin Cody, the arms of my cousin Tashi, and the mind of my Uncle Mike.

i belong in a meadow of yellow flowers as the sun sets. arms open wide.

i belong on the hard cold floor of my yoga class room. peaceful to the core.

i belong right in the middle of a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie.

i belong in my living room at three in the morning. with a cup of cocoa in hand, and twinkling christmas tree lights in my perfect view.

i belong in the smile of my dad. the one that makes his cheeks chubby like a child.

i belong on a horses back with closed eyes.

i belong plopped in front of my computer screen at nine o' clock when Glee comes available to me.

i belong in the same room as Jadon and Shelbi singing a perfectly harmonized duet. tears over flowing.

i belong in the childrens hospital. on my knees, over come with gratitude.

i belong next to Sergey and his PSP. him and his mullet. me and my hat.

i belong on long walks with Trevor. talking till our throats are sore and our minds are blanketed with complete tiredness.

i belong in the moments where my mom is happiest.

i belong in my friends memories. at the time i was strongest, and made a real difference. a real good one.

i belong on the misty mountains of China. The place where Dr. Suess was inspired.

i belong on a bus. rolling over golden orange hills of red and brown.

i belong in a caroling group. standing next to friend and friend, lungs bursting, tears streaming, heart pounding, gratitude exuding.

i belong in the window seat. looking out at the coloured playground and dying trees.

i belong so many places, i forgot. because i've placed myself in so many places i don't.

in califronia

i came to California. 

on whim, just this last Thursdays.

I'm still here. It's my last night. 

i don't know if i came to just see my family, to talk to my uncle Mike about religion slash life, to get away, to be sure i didn't back track, or just for the heck of it. 

of course it has been great, seeing my family is ALWAYS great. I really love them all :) 

but once again, the phrase, "Wherever you go, there you are." has rang true. 

you cant.. run away from your fears, or anger.

you can't search the world for peace and harmony..

you have to set your feet firmly where they are, and create that which you are in need of. 

whatever it may be. 

and, if it just so happens you can't create whatever it is you need.. then you should focus on giving what you need, to someone else. Be someone's hug, friend, safety net, or adventure. 

I'm not going to China to escape my home. to post pone college. or to flee an endless sea of no nice guys..

I'm going because i want to make a difference in peoples lives. and as a head teacher, you are given the direct opportunity to do just that.

i am going to learn more of another culture. to embrace a part of the world, i have never known.

i am going so i can become strong. 

if only i will remember this, when the going gets tough. 

my mind plays a lot of tricks on me. and its pretty easy to loose focus. 

but, i do know how important it is to LIVE where you ARE. exactly. 

granted, i'm horrible at it. But every day i wake up, i renew my goal to embrace THIS day. these moments. 

and thats the most important part. to try. 

so i may be in California currently because its just another form of my running,

or i may be here simply because i am. 

but either way, I'm glad i am here.

just as i am glad wherever i may be.

seriously. :)

unique moments

as i am preparing for the opportunity to go with ILP again, to China, this upcoming spring semester, i have been thinking about all the things that made my past experience great.

the little things they can't really tell you about. ya know?
those things that are unique and specific just for you.

I had a lot of these things, or days, or memories. & i can only hope that China will bring as many, if not more. :)

i think my top five unique things are:

1. getting up in the middle of the night to fill a craving of cookies and cream yogurt.
{they had THE best kind!}
2. watching the skeleton baloon float arund the metro stop on our way to church.
3. sliding across the ice on my stomach, on our last night in Moscow
4. talking about alien weddings with Janelle, past experiences with Jenny, and listening to Ariels funny stories while watching her hand actions.
5. playing Star Wars Lego games on the PSP with Sergey
6. falling right out of my seat after the bus went over a bump
7. my first moments of walking into Red Square at night
8. Listening to the song "tenderness" being sung by a man in St. Petersburg
9. Playing cards with the men staying in the same Hostel as us in Estonia
10. just watching the lights of Moscow on the wet streets during our long road home. All the while listening to Josh Grobans Chistmas Cd.

there is something about being abroad that makes life completely yours. You are whoever you want to be, and you don't have to report back or pretend. It's almost magical.

I hope i get the opportunity to be a Head Teacher in China. I think the opportunity to work so closely with many kids my age, will do a great deal of good for me. I also am really looking forward to the opportunity of looooong service hours i will be able to put in. I miss serving, and helping the people around me. Being a Head Teacher is all about that. {Areil was an awesome example of that.} :) The whole thing, the timing, the place, the position, it will all work magically. I can't wait. :)

reinstatement of : thankful thursdays. & a Russian memoir

gladly. :)

1. I am thankful that i was able to get a car. Even though its broken down on me every day since purchase..when it does run well, it will be a stress relief.

2. I am thankful for friends who care. {this one is coming because of you Katrina. :) }

3. I am thankful for this hat I am wearing today. Courts got it for me in London, and i look fancy! ;)

4. I am thankful for my roommate Jennie, and her bf Elmer. They are so great!

5. I am thankful that my land lord is lenient with me, because dixieonecards are the devil.

6. I am thankful for my giant comfy bed, and its beckoning welcoming.

7. I am thankful that my mom stock piled my pantry with goodies to eat. { mostly healthy too!}

8. I am thankful for my skull candy headphones. bomb.com, i'm telling you.

9. I am thankful for the DSC computer lab, it totally help with finishing my assignments. {which yes, i am actually doing.}

10. and since it was a year ago today that i stepped foot onto the Russian soil, I want to tell you all, again, how much i love and miss and am grateful for that whole experience. Not a day goes by where I don't think about the people I met, the places I went, and the way I grew. I loooooooooved my experience SO much. And I can't tell you how much I miss it. Especially Sergey.

and now for a walk down memory lane, the good:

  St. Basils

 Cathedral of Christ

 Fydor: our Lord Farquade look alike.

 the lights outside of Cathedral of Christ

 Myil and his daily activity.

 Nikita and his hairless head.

 the place we flew to Moscow in, and the welcoming weather ;)

 My birthday princess cider! One of the most re memorable days of my life.

 St Basils with snnoooooow.

 my awesome, wonderful, life changing, beautiful roommates. and our tickets to see the Russian Ballet

 My best friend, Sergey

and the..not so good:

aaand the not so good..

I can't say I miss the school food. ;)












sigh.. such good times. :)

Arkansas, a little rock

After getting lost for just a bit, we made it to our destination in little rock Arkansas. And I have already totally enjoyed my expeirnence. As Amy figured out car stuff I went in to check us in. Talking to the nice girl, probably about twenty.. Helped me remember why I love traveling. I love those brief encounters with total strangers that remind me there is a whole world out there filled with people with their own entire existence.

I have a friend who loves to live in small towns because he likes to know everyone he is around. And he isn't particular to being in a big town with many faces he will never meet. I think I am the opposite. Each nameless face I see reminds me how small and insignificant I am.. And in some odd weird way, that's comforting to me. I like not knowing anyone... But still feeling like we are all on this crazy ride together. It makes life intriguing for me. It makes total strangers, not strangers at all.


I'm hopefully going to see my first firefly tonight ( people here call them lightening bugs.) the front counter girl said she catches them, squeezes their butt and attaches it to her ears. "it's what the country girls do." (said in a southern accent) I really Like her. I keep thinking about the princess and the frog movie... The biyou, the lightening bugs, because of the movie I feel already so familiar to this strange place ;)

We drove through Texas and Oklahoma today. The first part of the drive was very dull. Nothing but flat ground for as far as you can see. I kinda liked it though. I wig could go so far I see nothing but wheat all around me. I think that would be cool.

If anyone asks you if there is one place you never want to go.. Tell them oklahoma city. Trust me on this one...

After the city though, it really wasn't half bad. It got really green and slightly hilly. But nothing like Arkansas. The minute we drove through the border we were greeted by green walls of trees on both sides of the highway. It was a welcomed beautiful change. :)

we met joy today. at a tiny gas station in Oklahoma. After a guy asked her to smile she told him to get out. (hehe)


If it were up to me, I'd be getting myself lost in the city. But it looks like dinner and then hot tubing with the fire flies are on the agenda.

No arguing there. :)

{this is an update AFTER dinner.}

we went to Cactus Jacks. SODANGGOOD! best food we have had thus far. Josh peck was our hispanic waiter, and I got a chicken burrito. It took amy and me about thirty minutes to find the place, after going the wrong way on the freeway, but ironically it literally took three seconds to get back home. Quite nice, since a strom blazed up out of nowhere! Our lights have already flickered off four times!! We're enjoying it though!

the only down fall is i wasn't able to see my first fire fly. apparently they don't dig the rain.

Now for The Princess and the frog. :)

tootaloo!

Amarilo, Texas

Here I am. Under the Amarillo skies of Texas.
Today was a great drive! We cought up with the rain, bought matching route 66 trucker tanks, enjoyed some free chilis, and read the book the hunger games literally the entire way!
Such such such a good book! I can't believe it took me this long to pick it up. (seriously, if you havent taken the time to read this series, reconsider. It's brilliant!)

I also realized that I have the joints of a sixty year old women. I have a feeling pregnancy is going to be B. (sorry future husband..)

You learn new things every day, right?

Oh, before I go read the next book let me tell you how into this book we are. As were driving on our one way freeway trip to Amarillo we were supposed to drive through albequerqi (?) and when we reached our final destination before this, we were a bit confused.. Turns out we drove right through the capitol city of New Mexico without even realizing it.

...I'm telling you, these books are good!

Gallop, New Mexico.

When I was in the pool just barely there was this little indian boy there. He was unaccompanied, looked like a shiny rolo, and when his goggles were on, his eyes appeared to be the size of a pea.  As I watched him jump into the pool relentlessly for the past thirty minutes, I found myself thinking of Sergey.. When he plopped himself right in front of me in the hot tub, i instantly knew why. 

His eyes. He has the same searching eyes that sergey had. I looked at him, and all i wanted to do was love him. I wanted to listen to his stories, and make cannon balls, and tell him he could do anything. 

Like Sergey, he had the look of wanted love. His small brown eyes were full of wonderment, but a kind you could get lost in. 

that boy made me want to teach again. 

**Gallop, New Mexico smells like cracked black pepper. {its super odd.} 

**There is a train track right near our hotel. Im contemplating putting a quarter on the tracks.

**My poor skin fought a world war today with the chlorine. It was a battle totally not worth going into. BUT the water aerobics was real nice. :) 

**I'm hoping it will rain all day tomorrow. It will make for a beautiful scene... unlike the one we saw today. {no offense Arizona.} Really though, who could live there? Nothing but grey desert. 

**man, i haven't had a descent nights sleep in a good while. Last night, instead of preparing for a three day road trip, I found myself driving to Cedar City, and Beaver and back in one night. It was worth it, I had good company, and it was for good deeds.. but i'm definitely feeling the after math. {i shouldn't complain though, the boss of my midnight excursion has been working all day and he wasn't lucky enough to catch a slip of the eye on the road.. He's real tough.} 

well, here are a few pictures from amys camera. Enjoy the tids!

"Hi! My names Chicken Fajita, nice to meet you!"

touch the sky.

At least I know where I will end up. 

A couple days ago i updated my facebook status to "UVU, USU, SUU, or Dixie?" and within twenty minutes had over sixty comments. Each school has its ups. and each has its downs. But oddly, thats not what really matters. It almost doesn't even matter what I want to go into... its more about what feels right. And, I really believe that if you listen, you will find an answer. 

things will work, or the won't. Things will jump off the page, our out of mouths, and you'll know BINGO! thats it. 

ooor, sometimes nothing will come. and you'll just be sitting on your bed wondering "what now?" 

BUT. no matter whats going on up there, on in there, or over there... what matters most is that you KNOW. 

KNOW who you are, and where you CAN go. 

and we? We can go anywhere my friends. :) 

and I? I am going to touch the sky. 

Really, I'm truly lost as to what to do. (even though I've posted numerous times that I've discovered my "one true calling.") Right now i'm leaning towards teacher, but anything is possible. and everything can change. right on. 

I'm still gonna touch the sky. 

I didn't get a full pale grant either.. which puts a bummer in my college career. But, at least I got a little something something. ..sorta. Grant or no grant though..

I'm still gonna touch the sky. 

no matter what comes my way...

they SKY is the limit. 

MY limit. 

HUZZAH!! 

Peru!

Mexico next summer to head teach with ILP. 

and then...

a trip to the spiritual sacred valley of Peru!

highlighted by a visit to the impressive Inca ruins of Machu Picchu, one of the world’s most extraordinary archaeological wonders. I'll Explore the sites and the vibrant Quechua markets and learn about a fascinating ancient culture. Open your mind, body and spirit through daily yoga sessions and connect to the powerful healing energy of Mother Nature at an idyllic retreat center surrounded by the awe-inspiring Andes mountains.

AND

I will get to volunteer in an orphanage!

Its too perfect. :)

I must travel the whole world!

leave and explore.

i need to.

Seven wonders of the world.

or should I say fifty? Gees, its dang hard to find the REAL seven wonders of the world. 

but I just gotta if i want to fulfill my life's bucket list! :) 

About.com says the seven {original} wonders are: 

The colossus of Rhodes

The Great Pyramid of Giza

The hanging Gardens of Babylon

the Lighthouse of Alexandria

The mausoleum at Halicarnassus 

The statue of Zues at Olympia 

and, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

However, none of these sound very, ringabellish. 

So, now I'm not sure what "Seven Wonders" I really wanna see.

 The Natural, original, modern, or "new". 

Of course, I could just take my book of 507 MUST see locations, as my travel bible and let loose of this whole Seven Wonders idea all the way. 

Heck, with 507 locations I'm bound to cover ALL of the lists of Seven wonders. :)

oooor, I could follow these Seven wonders of the world. 

1.Seeing

2. Hearing

3. Tasting. 

4. Touching

5. Running

6. Laughing

7. Loving. 

:) 

WONDERlust is gettin to me!

;)

A little Sweden for the soul.