I made a friend.

When I first moved to North Carolina, I was appalled at how Southerners view the world, "The North", and pretty much everything else. I was constantly ridiculed for my accent and thought of as rude because when I spoke my tone sounded rather brash. I got over it. But recently, I was getting a massage, and the messuese asked me half-way where I was from...I told her Rockville Centre, NY, and turned out, she was from Port Washington, a mere 20 minutes from my house. All of a sudden we were best friends, ranting about the frustrations of having heavy accents and being from "The North" in general. I have realized recently that I am no longer frustrated with myself fitting in here in NC, but rather, people here having a broader view of the world as a whole.

I have traveled a good deal, and feel like I am well rounded in terms of my tastes in food, fashion and la mode in general. But more importantly, I feel emotionally more mature having met, worked with and studied with people of such varying cultures. I know more about myself because of my interactions and experiences that took place in cities in the US and abroad. I know who I am and what I want out of life because I have seen such varied life-styles. Now, I don't understand myself solely because I have traveled and had a very well-rounded upbringing of course, but it's definitely helped.

When I started thinking about my transition to NC, I pondered about some of the places I want to visit or live. I have lived in New York, Chicago, Chapel Hill/Carrboro and Rome. I have visited Florence, Naples, Capri, Pompeii, Cinqueterra, and Venice. I have played soccer and toured Wales and London, and various places in Denmark and Holland. I have been to many other various U.S. cities and Canada but here are some other adventures I would like to embark on in no particular order...

U.S.
San Diego, CA (...again)
Palo Alto, CA
San Francisco, CA
Portland, OR
Jackson Hole, WY
Salt Lake City, UT
Seattle, WA
Las Vegas, NV

Abroad
Greece (Athens, Mykonos, Chios)
Egypt (Cairo. Luxor, Sinai)
Israel (Jerusalem)
Czech Republic (Prague)
South Africa (cultural tour of cities and AIDS orphanages)
Argentina (Buenos Aires, Mar del Plata)
Belize (Turneffe Atoll)
Australia (Sydney, Tasmania, Victoria)
Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, Mt. Fuji)
Germany (Hamburg, Cologne)
Switzerland

Ok...maybe someday...