far away from here.....

I was listening to that Kindred song in my car this morning and that's where I want to be. Far away from here.

This is all my parents fault you know. When I was 13 I was well what you'd call a tad geeky. A teacher I had from way back recommended me for this program called People to People Student Ambassadors. Basically the program had students travel overseas in the summer to represent their communities and schools and learn about other cultures through homestays, learning their political process, key elements of their society,the arts, etc. So I heard about it and was all on it. Didn't even know where the delegation was going I just knew I had to be there. So my parents researched and started saving and going to meetings and the next thing you know I got accepted in program and was on my way to England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales for a month. Mind you I am the youngest/quasi-only child (huge age gap with me and my siblings) and I had only gone away without my parents for maybe two three weeks top to North Carolina and that was to see family and summer camp at church. But I went away from my parents with 40 other kids (going through puberty lol) and 4 chaperones for a month and had a blast. I learned a lot and grew so much as a person in that month that after I returned I knew that I had to travel.

So growing up throughout high school and into college I started a travel fund. Where I would put a portion of the money I earned into an account so I could go on a vacation somewhere. Usually my parents would foot the bill and what I saved would be my spending money. Those experiences afforded me the opportunity to learn so much about so many places not just in the US but other countries. So after reading two of my friends blogs it made me realize how I haven't traveled in a minute. This whole trying to get educated at an expensive school thing sucked my pockets dry. I know getting a masters was great and the experience wonderful and I got to meet cool people (such as Chevonne) but I wanna go somewhere and I wanna go now *pouting* (can you tell I'm the youngest).

I haven't had a chance to seriously leave the country in close to two years. I've taken trips to Canada, since we were under 2 hours away from it at Syracuse and I've gone to the Caribbean in the past year but that's not a real excursion (at least to me). Then to make it worst people all around me are traveling. A friend from grad school did an internship at the Cannes Film Festival in France earlier this year another did a Paris Noir Tour with the African American Studies Dept. My mentee is going to Rome, Ascea, Pompeii, Naples, Velia, Paestum and Florence for a month and half in December (I am sooo jealous) and my aunt just came back from a 14 day cruise that went to London, Amsterdam, Paris & Monte Carlo France, Barcelona & La Corua Spain, Oporto & Lisbon Portugal and Rome & Messina Italy (I really want to do this one with some friends).

I know I want to do one of Kat's Black Paris Tours, A trip to Capri and a European Cruise Tour. So I think it's time for me to start my serious traveling again... but we'll take baby steps though since I'm about to start paying loans for 10 years and am getting too old to beg mommy lol... like I told my friend my passport is ready just waiting for somewhere to go........