Big City, Small Island

The city of Kingston is one of the most densely populated areas of Jamaica.

If you thought south Florida driving was insane,

a few minutes in Kingston should give some perspective.

Regardless of how the traffic is, people drive at unreasonable speeds.

(Not pictured but certainly experienced with much fear)

And many citizens brave the streets in attempt to make a living.

One of the hundreds of salesmen around town
-traffic mode: lunchtime rush hour-

There are also hundreds of pedestrians,
all of which believe they own the road
and will cross anywhere and at any time that it suits them.

Dealing with the users of the road is one thing

but dealing with the limestone roads is another challenge.

Potholes in Jamaica bare few comparisons elsewhere.

If there were levels beyond "extremely difficult"

in driving games, those levels would be called "Jamaican countryside"

bonus level: dodge the animals (not pictured: goats)

My Jamaica

In my youth, I would often visit Jamaica and even lived there for a few years.

 Many of the sights there were taken for granted,

but now that I am older, I can appreciate everything much more.

Before I arrived here, I thought that

I'd be writing tourism board-approved "Come to the beautiful island!" sort of posts,

but once here, I realized that would not suffice.

I'm down in Kingston right now, Jamaica's capitol. 
So much is going on all the time. It's beyond exciting to be here.

This vibrant place deserves more than superficial notes about beaches.
I feel that Jamaica is stereotyped too often as
somewhere where everyone looks like Bob Marley
and everyone runs track.
But the island has depth and I want to try to show that.

This summer I want to write something compelling.

I have a multitude of things to say about this country,

so this is just an introductory post.

I hope that through all my posts, I can show you my Jamaica:

a place full of character and heart,

somewhere that's not just about the beach.

Hawai'i, the local way

Each day of my stay in Hawai’i, I found myself saying, “what more do I need from life than this?” With every new day, I did things I had never done before, and witnessed unparalleled beauty.

I experienced the Big Island with two amazing friends I met on a youth trip in Ireland last summer. Because my friend has lived in Kona for as long as she can remember, we took trips, “missions,” to beaches, valleys, and sushi restaurants locals love, steering clear of tourist spots. Blasting “The Green” and B.o.B in the truck, we adjusted to the laid-back lifestyle, in our bikinis virtually 24-7.

Although Florida has a reputation for its beaches and natural sights, the clear water and vibrant reefs we enjoyed far surpassed the likes of Beach Place. Unlike many coastal destinations on “the mainland,” as Hawaiians call the continental US, the beaches of Hawai’i often require a long walk across lava fields or the strength of a 4-wheel-drive to reach. We were rewarded, however, with black sand, unbelievable green valleys and a plethora of fish.

Our friend took us to work once on her kayak tour, where we snorkeled and even jumped off a cliff! I was “stoked.”

As we drove around the island, we made the rugged hike through Waipio Valley to the foot of a thundering waterfall, climbing over mossy rocks, navigating through bamboo forests and wading through rocky rivers on the way, visited Volcano Village, went tubing from a jet ski, and so many more adventures.

Equal to my appreciation of the natural world was my happiness from living with such close friends, always having a blast even just driving in the car, or hanging out at home. Visiting friends, especially such an adventurous guide, made my vacation unlike any other.

Back home, I plan on discovering the best our state has to offer, and hopefully showing my friends the Everglades, South Beach, Key West, and our local spots soon. 

Paradise

This month I am staying in Marsh Harbour, Abaco in the Bahamas. This place is too beautiful to put into words, so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

The view from our front deck.

Waiting for the sunset I spotted a sailboat

My brother and I playing frisbee on the beach

The view from the back of the house

The only thing better than waking up to the smell of bacon: This view! :-)







How to: Hollywood Style Roadtrip

     Road trips have always been made to seem so alluring in movies; convertible top down, wind blowing, great music, arms in the air screaming "yeaaaah!" and somehow no matter how far the car gets from the camera, you can still hear them talking.

      What hollywood doesn't show: hours on end of tedious driving, overplayed music, and merging sights. 

     There are 5 essential components of a Hollywood style road trip, 5 totally revamped ideas to make 500 miles seem like 50.

Hollywood Style:
 1) STOP- Every highway is loaded with billboards advertising everything from theme parks to antique malls, why not take an hour to see what the roadside has to offer? It'll give you a chance to stretch your legs, take in some new sights and sounds, and make the trip seem shorter and more worthwhile.




2) Snacks- Grab a few of your favorite munchies. If you're health conscious (or trying to be) try some low- maintenance fruits such as: apples, oranges, and bananas. Also, many gas stations and 7/11s offer veggie/dip or fruit/cheese snack trays.



3) Aroma Therapy- a study by Woolfson and Hewitt proved that smells affect you're mood. Before heading out, stop by a car wash, gas station, or store and choose a scent that's right for you. Quick tip: match the theme of the scent to the trip ex: beach trip- Hawaiin or Beach Breeze



4) Soundtrack- its easy to create a playlist of your favorite songs, but even that gets boring. Instead, find the soundtrack of a classic road trip movie. Ex: The soundtracks of Crossroads

5)  Document- grab a camera or cell phone and take a many pictures as possible! Whether it's of inside the car, outside the car, and selfies! When you get back, make a collage, scrapbook, or slideshow to relive all the great moments.



                                                                  And Voila!

Millionaires in Training

Tomorrow I depart on my journey to the land of millionaires in training, yep, you guessed it!...MIT. I love Boston! Though I've never actually visited the city, everyone tells me that I will love Boston and that everyone else loves Boston. So Boston, you have a high reputation to live up to. I cannot wait to spend four weeks of my summer in the famous college town. 

This summer's going to be different from my last summer escapades in Peru, the Amazon Jungle, and Argentina. I doubt there will be giant tarantulas or delicious empanadas at MIT, but I know there'll be students from all over the country, insanely smart professors, and a ton of knowledge to be discovered and learned. Who am I kidding, that's just another way of saying I'm going to be surrounded by international geniuses, researchers who speak in perplexing terms that I cannot hope to understand, and I'm going to have to work my butt off to attempt to keep up with my classmates and the coursework. 

Let's just say, I'm a bit nervous.

But I cannot wait! Hopefully when I come back, I'll have joined the group of geniuses (though I doubt it), and I'll have a myriad of knowledge to share with the world... like the cure for cancer or the next big thing in engineering (since my program is for engineering). I am leaving the beautiful sunny morning on the beach and rainy afternoons locked up at home, for four weeks of beautiful physics and calculus classes in the morning and lots of group studying in the afternoons! YAY! Though it seems like a drag, my nervousness is a sign of my excitement. I know that this program in mechanical engineering, though it sounds cheesy, will be a life changer!

Bye bye SOFLO! Hopefully my head will be the same size when I come back!

There's a place for everyone: Steamboat Springs, CO

                       Everyone has a certain place that they will go to one day where everything will be absolutely perfect. Most people haven't ventured out of the state enough to find that place but by a stroke of luck, I happened to find my place early, that place being Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

             Steamboat Springs, Colorado, located in northern Colorado, is just a four-hour drive north - west of the capital, Denver. Steamboat Springs is a small ski town and cowboy town. In the winter, it is a great ski village. In the condominium my family owns, I would wake up every morning to the most amazing view of the mountain. Getting to the Gondola Square is easy from any hotel since it is a relatively small town. The transport is great during the winter and summer with frequent bus loops stopping at all the main tourist spots. On the mountain, there are many ski-in restaurants. Also during the winter, there are fun activities like taking a dip in the hot springs and going snowshoeing to look at the scenic views on the mountain, Howelsen Hill. 

             The summers in Steamboat are just as amazing as the winters. My personal favorite thing about the summer is very easily summed up in two words: Perry Mansfield. Perry Mansfield is a summer musical theater camp where I spent two consecutive summers and, most importantly, it is where I met my best friends. 

             The first days at camp were intense with various auditions and placement into what classes best suit the talent of my peers and me. And I remember the days we were on bear watch when, being a Florida native, I thought it was absolutely insane that there were actual bears that had crossed paths with a camper. Even some of the teachers I encountered at Perry Mansfield made a huge impact on my life for different reasons. A part from the wonderful fine arts camp, there are many other summer activities including visiting the rodeo and tubing down the river. While tubing down the river, there are various stops you can make to eat, my favorite being Sunpies. 

            Note-worthy places to visit in Steamboat include the Bud Werner Memorial Library, Winnonas, All That Jazz, 8th Street Steakhouse, Downtown Hot Springs, and of course Perry Mansfield. Steamboat Springs holds some of the best memories of my life and is the one place I feel most comfortable being myself. 

            My parents sold the condominium and we no longer visit as much as before but Steamboat Spring, Colorado still fills me with every possible emotion and no matter where I reside at any given moment, I refer to the wonderful town in northern Colorado as my only true home.