Feeding My Passion

International travel has been on my mind a lot as of late. It all started when Tommy and I mapped out our dream 6-month round-the world adventure travel itinerary a few weeks ago. Then Amanda, Syd, and Anni invited me to join them this September for 12 days in Peru. I've never been to South America and I can't wait to experience this new corner of the globe.

I had dinner with my boss last week in Princeton. During the course of conversation, I shared with him some of my travel adventures and dream destinations. As the conversation concluded, he told me he observed a marked difference in my entire persona while I was talking about travel; my eyes lit up, my speech became more animated, and my body language came alive. He correctly derived that international travel is a passion for me.

Then last night I had dinner with Amanda, Syd, Mark and Lindsay at Cedars of Lebanon. Mark and Lindsay are a darling young couple Amanda met in Barnes and Noble several months ago while buying a travel book for our trip to Thailand. They had recently been to Thailand, started chatting, and ended up providing us with a wealth of Thai travel tips. We've since met for dinner every few months to share travel tips, stories, and adventures. We bring trip photos, talk about where we've been most recently, and where we'd like to go next. In addition to Peru, Amanda is on her way to China in a few weeks and Mark and Lindsay just returned from a 3-week trip to Turkey, Syria, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Spain.

Our 3-hour dinner flew by. I was alive, animated and excited while talking about places we've been and where we want to go next. There is no better way I'd choose to spend my time, energy, and money than on international travel. The greatest learning experiences of my life have occurred on these types of trips. I love to gain an appreciation of new and different places, people, cultures, languages, and experiences. I'm also amazed at how much I learn about myself.

Mark and Lindsay are such a great couple. I am so glad we've forged a friendship based on our shared love of travel. Last night was a great reminder of why international travel is so important to me. Nothing makes me happier. And I can't wait for Peru.