travel

Looking back: Monaco

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One of my favorite travel days ever was last spring, when I spent two weeks gallivanting around western Europe. After our time in Switzerland, we moved on to Nice, France, and spent an evening in the tiny nation of Monaco. Monaco happens to have one of the highest GDPs per capita in the world, and so it’s rather wealthy and fancy – a great excuse to get dressed up, have a fancy dinner and gamble (for the gents) or sip cocktails (for the ladies) at the famous Monte Carlo Casino. The experience was so far outside my everyday experience, but at the same time it was so fun to pretend to be sophisticated for an evening.

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Monaco also happens to be gorgeous, located on the French Riviera with cliffs and hills, and overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. We stopped at many points throughout the evening to snap photos from slightly different angles.

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It was also an interesting night because Grand Prix car race was coming up. Parts of the nation were shut off from traffic completely, and it took us an hour longer than planned to get to the restaurant because of the detours (and we had only planned on it taking a half hour or so from the hotel in Nice!) Still, we were perfectly happy to have such a surreal excuse for our tardiness: How many people get to say they drove – and then walked  – the path that the sport’s best drivers race on?

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Monaco is the second-smallest nation in the world – to Vatican City, which I explored in 2010! I’ve since thought about making it my mission to visit all of the smallest nations in order. The next two (Nauru and Tuvalu) are tiny Pacific islands. Yes please!

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Beyond the glitz, Monaco felt like any other European nation I’ve visited so far, albeit slightly fancier. The cobblestone streets, tiny alleyways and vibrant buildings are commonplace for most Europeans, yet I am enthralled by them every time. I do have to say, however, that after paying double what I had been for a cocktail, I was more than ready to head back to France at the end of the night.

Have you ever been to Monaco, or even thought about traveling there?

The children of Swaziland

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Just to get the obvious out of the way: I love kids. No, I don’t want any of my own (I could hear those of you who know me asking that in your heads). But if I could have kids with the guarantee that they would be as joyful, loving, and well-behaved as these babes I met in Swaziland – I might actually consider it. I have never met a group of children (or adults, honestly) so full of the love of Jesus.

Here are some of my favorite portraits (slash selfies), and a handful of tales.

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All the kids were happy to play with whatever was available: Slides, swingsets or even just each other!

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You may remember this guy from a previous post – we were rather attached to each other. Most of the kids get only one meal a day: MannaPack Rice, developed by an organization called Feed My Starving Children – you can see it in his bowl above. It has all of the nutrients a kid needs. We also provided chickens while visiting as a special treat!

As a sidenote, the kids were all SO well-behaved at meal time. They’d line up to wash their hands under a faucet, collect their food from the kitchen, and go off to sit and eat together. When they were done, they’d rinse their bowl in a larger bowl of clean water and deliver it back to the kitchen – even the toddlers knew this routine!

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“Are you sisters?” “NO we’re friends!” – said with the implication that friend is a higher ranking than sister.

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I was seriously impressed with the school-aged children as well. They’d come at meal time carrying younger neighbors and relatives, then wait patiently until all  of the little kids had been fed before jumping in line themselves. And they were so curious about us, asking questions about life in America – but equally eager to answer all of our own questions!

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Everyone just wanted to help out with whatever we were doing, even film production.

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Little faces peeking into the classroom we were painting. When we were done, I was resting on the steps outside the school, and a little girl came over to sit by me. She noticed my hands were caked in dry paint, and started picking it off with her little fingernails! Next thing I knew, a half-dozen little ones were surrounding me, each working on one of my fingers until I was completely paint-free.

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The kids were, of course, obsessed with the selfie feature on our phones. Here you can also see two of the caretakers in the background – these women work so hard and so selflessly every single day!

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One last shot with my sponsor child (in pink) – I swear I have more pictures of her than anyone else I’ve ever met. I just love her SO MUCH!

These kids completely made my trip: They loved me in a way I hadn’t been loved before, they served me like it was second nature, and they’re the reason I just can’t wait to get back to Swaziland.

If you haven’t seen it yet, you can also check out my video of the kids here.

Catching up via Instagram: 11/22/2015

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Over the past few weeks my Instagram has slowly become less of a log of my day-to-day activities and more a mixture of current sights, throwbacks and blog promotion. I may start to reconsider this blog feature and make it more of a regular update rather than a strict Instagram feature, but in the meantime, here are some little glimpses into NYC life lately!

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This one’s poor quality, but important for a number of reasons: Christmas lights! America! And the Empire State Building: Although it was lit for a different cause, orange is the color of CRPS Awareness, and November is its month. I snapped this shot to honor my sister.

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Another morning, another stroll through my favorite park. I know Washington Square pops up in a lot of these posts, but it just goes to show how beautiful and varying it really is.

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On a hard-earned day off last week, I had planned to stay in bed binge-watching Master of None. But the sunlight was streaming in the window and I thought: How much longer will it really be warm enough outside to sit by the waterfront with a good book? The answer, of course, is not long at all. So off I went.

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I realize I haven’t been back from Africa for even a month yet, but I’m already knee-deep in planning my first few trips of 2016: a long weekend in DC, a week in Phoenix and several days in San Francisco with my best friend Jordan! San Fran has long been on my list to visit (and I even almost moved there in 2014 instead of NYC!) and I’m so excited to finally check it off.

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Rounding out this post with a little throwback celebration: Jordan and I are proud 2011 alumni of Arizona State University, and yesterday the football team absolutely crushed the University of Arizona. It’s the oldest, fiercest college rivalry in America and I couldn’t be prouder to be on the winning side. Sun Devils Forever!

You can follow me on Instagram here. And if you’re looking for other accounts to follow, I suggest Travel Mail – they featured some of my work recently!

 

African safari

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I was never really a “zoo kid” growing up. We would go see the animals on occasion, and I took a couple classes there as a kid – that’s how I learned I really like snakes, of all things. In sixth grade I spent a night at the zoo in Colorado Springs with my Sunday school class and it was basically a nightmare – peacocks running around while I sleep? No thank you.

Needless to say, going on a safari wasn’t something I ever gave much thought to. In addition to Africa just seeming so far away, the idea of being out in the wild, with these creatures in their natural habitat, didn’t appeal to me at all. But when I heard we’d be doing two three-hour outings at Kruger National Park before our mission trip to Swaziland, well, I started getting excited. And as soon as we entered the park, you’d think a safari was all I’d ever dreamed of.  This is one so-called once-in-a-lifetime experience I’d do again in a heartbeat.

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That giraffe and this pack of elephants were spotted on the drive to the hotel – still in the van, not even on safari, crawling all over each other to get the picture-perfect shot. (On a related note, a lot of these photos are pretty poor quality, but I was going for subject matter here.)

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This was the moment I realized this would be very different from those zoo trips: Just some monkeys casually eating the leftovers of some guests who’d left the table.

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It would seem lions appreciate a beautiful sunset just as much as humans do.

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If you look closely on the branch to the right of that tree, you’ll spy a cheetah resting after chasing down its breakfast. (I do also have photos of cheetahs eating said breakfast, but I’ll spare you).

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Another cheetah spotting: Can you see it?! Finding these animals was like a giant game of Where’s Waldo, and I’m forever grateful to our experienced guide, Clive, who was ridiculously patient in pointing things out to us.

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It’s called Crocodile River, but it’s full of hippos! It’s also a rather lovely spot to enjoy a morning coffee.

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Warthogs! Or as I like to call them, pumbas. Those suckers are much faster than I ever imagined!

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And finally, not from safari but still a favorite: A peacock at a shopping center in Swaziland. I suppose they’re not all bad – so long as they’re not keeping me up at night!

Which animal would you be itching to spy on a safari? I found myself most excited about the zebras!

Africa in photos

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I’ve been back from Africa for over a week now, and am very much back to the grindstone here in New York City. It’s been a busy week, with not much time leftover for processing all of the things that have happened and the things that have changed in me since leaving for Johannesburg. I’m still struggling to find the words for what I experienced (much to the dismay of my friends here, who are very tired of hearing me describe everything as amazing and incredible). There are other things that I enjoy holding close to my heart and just don’t feel ready to share yet. And that’s OK!

But pictures exist. I may not have words, but I have hundreds of pictures – and indeed, I shared a handful with friends and family while I was on the road. Here’s an overview of my trip, from the perspective of my Instagram feed.

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Our trip started out in the most relaxing and touristy way possible: With back-to-back safaris in Kruger National Park. We spied ALL of the Big Five (lions, elephants, rhinos, buffalo, leopards), which is apparently very rare for spending less than three days – thanks Jesus!

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The next day we drove into Swaziland, which I have to say is one of the most naturally beautiful places I’ve ever seen. I’d heard from others who had been that the landscape was stunning, but you really just have to see it for yourself.

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We visited our first carepoint with Children’s Cup and saw for the first of many times how happy you can make a kid with a lollipop and a selfie.

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The next day, we went into Madonsa – a village of Manzini, the largest city in Swaziland – and my heart burst (with joy!) into a million pieces (most of which are still lying around Swaziland somewhere). This beautiful little girl is Hlob’sile, and I have the great honor of sponsoring her through Children’s Cup. Meeting her in person and seeing her life firsthand was absolutely a dream come true.

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After Madonsa we visited New Village, where our local missionaries spend most of their time. We were able to help prepare and serve the kids’ daily meal (including a live chicken slaughter, which was… interesting). The kids at New Village were so very joyful – and some got very attached!

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On Saturday we were in a rural village to put on a family fun day. I helped lead a group of 6-12 year olds (120 of them!) in games and Bible verses. Oh, and a lot of them didn’t speak English. They were crazy well-behaved, though – as were most of the kids we encountered throughout the week,

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This is Monkey, and she lives at an orphanage called the I Am Not Forgotten Home with six other children and the woman who is raising them. To be honest, I don’t remember what day we visited. It’s all a blur. But I do remember Monkey clear as day: She did not utter a word to me the entire time we were there, but as we were getting ready to leave she ran over, scaled my body to perch near my shoulder, and grinned for the camera. I guess that’s where the name comes from!

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Sunday was a rest day, and it couldn’t have come at a better time, as I was struck down with food poisoning. I still managed to drag myself to church and then out shopping though – this marketplace was right behind our hotel, and can you imagine a more beautiful setting for picking up some souvenirs?!

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Finally, on our last full day, a few of us snuck off to visit Madonsa and our sponsor children one last time. Leaving was not easy.

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I’ll be back with more words as they come, but for now, suffice to say: I love Africa, and I don’t think it will be long before I’m back again.