I step outside on 3rd and Pine and before I can even turn the corner, I hear: "Oh, here comes the rain again!" I take one whiff of the air, smell the heavy dampness of the Pacific Northwest and think: Yeah, I'm in Seattle. Of course, while packing for this trip [I'm going to a few concerts in George, Washington, but get to bookend the excursion with a few hours in Seattle], I kept checking the weather. Seattle's reputation for being a rainy city made the idea of bringing my rain boots attractive, but as the chances of rain decreased I [View Full Entry]

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Actually it's not my last day, technically. But it is the last day of fun. Tomorrow is full of taking students to the airport from 5 AM to 6 PM. So... I need to enjoy today! And I did, for the most part. We went up to the Pali lookout, but spent no more than 5 minutes there because it was so windy. Our next stop was at Kailua Beach, which was also shortened because it was so windy which made the air kind of cold. We also went to the Polynesian Culture Center. The PCC was really nice and beautiful, [View Full Entry]

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Today my group took a day-long tour of the west side of the island. Since O'ahu is quite a diverse island, it was a nice break to get outside of Honolulu. While Honolulu and Waikiki are full of attractions and things to do, I felt like I was getting a one-sided view of what O'ahu is really like. Today was my much needed escape. We started out with a hour outside of 'Iolani Palace, which is the only imperial palace on American soil. It was only in use for the last two monarchs of imperial rule of Hawai'i—King Kalakaua and Queen [View Full Entry]

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Hanauma Bay is beautiful. And pristine. And really paradise within a paradise. We got to snorkel in the beautiful nature preserve and work on our suntans. It was really fun. Won't say much more, I think the pictures speak for themselves... [View Full Entry]

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It's been a busy few days in O'ahu. Even though everything in Hawai'i is relaxed (why hurry in the sun?!), I've been keeping things at a high intensity level with work. Luckily, I've still been able to get in a lot of fun time (definitely perk of working in the leisure industry). Past few days' highlights include: catamaran cruise on the Na Hoku II, surf lesson in Waikiki, fish tacos at Duke's Canoe Club, and Pearl Harbor (in the rain). [View Full Entry]

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Aloha from Hawai'i! I'm here on the island of O'ahu, actually on business. I've been here for a few days now, but today is the first time I've been able to actually slow down a bit and take in some of the sights. Since I graduated from the University of Illinois I have been working for a travel agency that specializes in tours for foreign exchange high school students studying in the United States. It's business, but what better place to do business than in Hawai'i... especially if you're from Chicago! I'm having a hard time believing I'm still in America [View Full Entry]

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I am so good at the Boston accent. I can say it all: clam chowdah, Haavid, Bawston. It's a beautiful thing really. Actually, I'm terrible. In fact, I am pretty sure my "Boston accent" sounds more Jamaican than Bostonian. But if I went to Harvard, I think I could perfect it. And let me just say it: I love Harvard. I want to go here for law school. Of all the places I've considered for law, only Stanford holds a place in my heart like Harvard does. It's the Stanford of the East Coast, though I'm sure people here would call [View Full Entry]

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Well, somehow I find myself back in New York. This time, I'm here for some preliminary law school visits—as I head into my final semester of undergraduate education this fall, law school applications are all I'll be thinking about. So I thought I'd take my last spring break and go on a mini tour of the best law schools on the East Coast, starting with New York University and Columbia University. And of course, while I was here, I might as well further my education of New York City. So this is going to be a fairly short entry, but I'm [View Full Entry]

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Well, my trip has taken a strange turn. Without getting too much into the details, which potentially would bore you to tears, I am both relieved and incredibly sad to say that I am on my way back to the States tomorrow. Since the last entry, before the 'turn,' the plan was to go back to Rome for a day before Keith left to go back to Chicago. I would stay in Rome for another day before flying out to Barcelona and spending the next week working my way back to Rome through France. Suffice it to say that many things [View Full Entry]

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Well, I have climbed Mount Vesuvius. And I won't lie, I feel pretty cool saying that. The volcano is the only volcano on mainland Europe to have erupted in the last century, and owes most of its fame for the destruction of the cities Pompeii and Herculaneum back in 79 AD. But don't worry, according to its main website: the Park is closed while Vesuvius is erupting. Like most people I assume, I have never climbed a volcano, have never looked inside a volcano, have never seen a volcano erupt. A met a girl later on who, upon telling her I [View Full Entry]

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