ktfox

One can be fairly confident that she has chosen an ideal travel destination to escape the stresses of helping open a school when she asks the coffee shop owner for the wifi password and the response is, “happy.” My school runs on unique breaks, so I have been plotting a Southeast Asia adventure in January for some time. As though the break wasn’t enough good fortune, a travel partner appeared in a fellow teacher! We narrowed our sights to Thailand and Vietnam for three weeks and decided to just have a light sketch of a plan to allow for in the moment decisions. After many hours on an airplane, we stepped out into the humidity of Bangkok. This was my second time to the city, so I was ready for the clogged traffic, plentiful street food, ... read more

Nine years ago while paging through my art history textbook, I came across a photo of the interior of the Hagia Sophia. That image and the desire to see that building in person stayed with me and fueled my desire to find the right time to visit Istanbul. At last that time came! As I imagined Istanbul, the vibrancy of Morocco with the call to prayer and bustling markets came to mind. As I buckled down to do some research, that image shifted as I incorporated a more western feel into what I anticipated. As we set off from the hostel our first night to find some dinner, Winnie and I both remarked on how quiet and calm the city felt- no honking horns, loud people, or blaring music.The sense of calm crept into us in ... read more

Costa Rica proved to be yet another fantastic adventure to round out the travels of 2011! We Foxes felt very fortunate as we dragged our feet onto the red-eye flight down to San José. I was ready for another chance to practice my burgeoning Spanish skills, but mostly I was hoping to see some really impressive new ecosystems! On both accounts, I was not disappointed, and we experienced more than I could have dreamed! Our day began early in San José as we made our way on foot from our hotel along the central avenue of Paseo Colon. While we enjoyed watching the city wake up and seeing people enjoying their Sunday morning routines, the city itself did little to capture us. The architecture mainly dates from the mid-twentieth century, and did little to inspire us. ... read more

Back in the saddle again! Arriving in Mexico felt rather second nature in some respects, but then again, the difference from home abound! As we unpacked our suitcases in Cuernavaca, the birds squawked, the geckos.. I do not know what that sound would be called, the neighbor swept, the gas truck went by sounding its siren like an ice cream truck, someone called out what sounded like “mmles,” which turned out to be the tamale man. Then of course the smells coming from the kitchen were different as a spicy roasted chili smell greeted us. It felt great to be back, but where did I leave my Spanish? Travelers from Italy, the United States, Australia, and who knows where else, have been encouraged to not visit Cuernavaca, I can guess due to the drug conflicts, though ... read more

July brought the perfect opportunity to head to Mexico for a five-week adventure!! My mom and I started our time together in Mexico City with a visit to the Templo Mayor to see the ruins of Tenochtitlan, which are kept in fantastic repair and rather well explained. The accompanying museum was also helpful and filled with impressive artifacts that we were all too happy to explore. We also took in the Museum of Anthropology, which is massive and awesome! The museum is divided into various regions of Mexico and has two floors within each section. The lower floor has ancient artifacts- including the Aztec Sun Stone- while the upstairs floor explored more recent history and cultures of the regions- we gravitated to the upper floor. To change our pace we moved from our hotel in the ... read more