Blogs from Westchester, New York, United States, North America

Hey all! Another rainy day in Fiji…so another update for you! This time it’s all about my visit to the lovely Kristen Ragazzo! I met Kristen in Thailand and did a trip through Laos to Vietnam with her, we clicked instantly and became ‘best friends forever’ (that is official, we made a contract!) I went over to Ireland in February whilst Kristen was there with her family (it’s a shame I didn’t get to see her parents Janice and Tony…Uncle Felix I’ll get to you one day!) and as I was in the area I just had to pop out of the city to see her! Kristen is perhaps best known for her ‘Seeing the World - One Dance at a Time’ video (if you haven’t seen it you should check it out. It’s BRILLIANT courtesy ... read more

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the countdown for Fiji/New Zealand comes to a close with three days left, I have been asked by a few people to keep in touch with them over the next few months. When I say a few peopel, I mean one worried and excited mother, five siblings, one bother-in-law, one brand new baby niece, one fiance, eight aunts and uncles, thrirteen cousins, one grandfather, one dashing navy man, and some friends. While I would love to write every one a personal email and/or letter I think I would be spending most of my time writing then I would be exploring. Also as my mom knows way too well, after having to edit my essays for the last seventeen years of my life, when I become bored with writing I just stop making sense. So ... read more

Its official, we are going to Peru, just five days ago after speaking to our trusted master shaman and friend, we are now making packing lists and preparing for a six week journey through Peru. just three weeks ago i said enough to the bullshit and backstabbing within my team on wall street... yes we can all work hard and be ambitious, but theres no need to be backstabbing and malicious, so upon returning from our last trip as i was being bombarded by negative texts and i just said enough and i walked away... to instead focus on our non for profit efforts and later return to the market...we dont have to surround ourselves w negative people... bad people.. (although most werent bad) just one big rotten apple that i rather be as far away ... read more

4th of July in Irvington, NY... read more

With the information and research I've gathered during my experience in Ghana, I've decided to finally begin the NPO I've been dreaming of and talking about for so long. The name of the organization is Elisa Lanera Foundation (ELF), and our slogan is, "Proving that little can go a long way!" We are a community development organization focusing on education and HIV/AIDS awareness in the poor areas around Capetown and Johannesburg. We are based out of New York and planning to establish ourselves in South Africa in roughly 2 years. Right now we're still working on really getting things going. So far we've: --Submitted our Certificate of Incorporation with the state of New York and waiting for 1 to 2 weeks to be officially declared as a business! And working on the other requirements and paperwork ... read more

These photos were taken all over the Hudson River areas of Westchester County. They are from Croton-on-Hudson to Irvington-on-Hudson. ... read more

Today I'm just getting the last of my things together for Japan. One of them is this blog. Not too much going on with this post, just getting something down so the blog activates. I do want to thank everyone for their best wishes. I'm going to miss everyone back at home and I hope this blog makes communication a little easier.... read more

So I am counting down the days until my departure and getting ready for my second great trip in the past year and a half. Given my candidacy for a “legitimate job,” I should probably say this is my last great trip for a while. But with a bad economy, good health, and an amazing summer job, why not continue to leverage my two greatest assets: disposable income and time. My buddy Lee and I have tried to design a trip with a very loose itinerary, not necessarily planning any stops, simply check points. We know we are flying into Cancun, Mexico on September 22nd, and need to make it to Panama City, Panama by October 2nd for a flight into Lima, Peru. In Central America we want to see a few Mayan Ruins, and also ... read more

Dear All, Lessons Learned: GPS systems are not always accurate. Traffic in big cities may delay estimated time between schools. Plan on visiting no more than two schools in one day. Having said this, I did make it to all three schools today, but it was an adventure! Haverford was not a part of my satellite mapping system. My notes for University of Pennsylvania, Swarthmore and Haverford follow in short form. UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA www.upenn.edu Information Session This urban campus located in the heart of Philadelphia is a safe and BEAUTIFUL campus. The campus is walker-friendly. You can walk from one end of the campus to the farthest end in 15 minutes. There are four schools within the university (Nursing, Engineering, Business and Arts and Sciences) Penn is known as a “social Ivy” because students are ... read more