My brother, Mike, and I took to the Phoenix streets last night. Not for anything shady... unless you ask the evangelists preaching about hell fires from their portable loud speakers. We were there for the First Friday Art Walk. We had been there before, but made the mistake of going early (around 5pm) when it was still very, very hot. Still, there were tents up all around the downtown Phoenix area, and we were pleasantly surprised at all the refurbished historical buildings to walk among. It was such an interesting mix of people, too! 

When a friend and I decided that we needed to experience a few European Christmas markets, we asked around about which ones are the best. Everyone had different opinions, and for a wide variety of reasons; we eventually narrowed it down to Prague because we were drawn to the descriptions of the markets being charming, laid back, and in a classic European market style (and, TBH, because I really wanted to visit the Mucha Museum- see below). When we went in December 2014, we did in fact love the markets, as well as the city in the midst of winter. And one day, I want to return in the summer to the city from a different perspective!

I lived and worked in southern China for a little less than a year. During the 2003-2004 school year, I wrote a lengthy blog post nearly every day. Posts were about funny incidents with staff or students, delicious or exotic foods I’d tried, new discoveries of self, encountering the otherness of a foreign culture, etc, etc. It was incredibly cathartic to write, but also a great way to stay connected with friends and family back home.

Fast forward twelve years, when I decided to start a new blog to chronicle my experiences in a new culture: Doha, Qatar. And yet, after three months, I was struggling to describe my every day life here. ​

My big news is that I am moving to India! I have accepted a school counseling job at an international school in New Delhi. I will be working with Pre-kindergarten to Grade 2 students. It will be quite a change from my last position at a school in Doha, Qatar! 

While I was living in Qatar, I had many opportunities to travel, but I never blogged about my experiences. I'd like to take a look back at some of the super cool places I've visited, as well as continuing to chronicle my traveling adventures going forward. Here's a list of places I have been since August of 2014:

• Paris, France
• Prague, Czech Republic
• Cape Town, South Africa
• Scotland (10 day road trip)
• Cape Cod, Providence & Boston, MA, USA
• Barcelona, Madrid & Seville, Spain
• Austin, TX, USA
• Istanbul, Turkey
• Lisbon, Portugal
• London, UK
• Arusha & Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
• Muscat, Oman
• San Francisco, CA, USA

So I thought I'd try a new format. I'm going to use the acronym ADVENTURES to shape my thoughts:
Art: beauty, in all its forms, found at that site
Description of the location in three words
Views and sites to see
Entertainment unique to the location
Noshing: all the best food & drink
Transportation & Tours
Ultimate: site, art, restaurant, etc- my absolute favorite person/ place/ thing
Real world details: anything you might need to know to make life easier as a visitor
Experts: books, websites, and other information to check out
Shopping: Items to look for as souvenirs or gifts

I look forward to looking back at some of the cities I've visited in the past two years. And you are welcome to join in!