Want to live in another country?

I have just stumbled upon this website called "If It Were My Home" where it gives you a comparison of the United States VS Other Countries. They give you comparisons on oil consumption, employment, electricity consumption, health care, class divide, how much/less money you would make, how many years longer you would live, etc. If you are planning to live or even just visit, it may be a good idea to look at this website even if its just for giggles. Here are some screen shots of a comparison between the United States and Switzerland with a map comparing size to Texas where I currently reside.

TRAVEL SKILLS!!!

Traveling can be a life enriching experience, if you do it right. I haven't traveled abroad yet, though I plan to, but until that time comes I have been studying about places to go and the skills to do so. After perusing Hulu for a TV show to watch, I came upon Rick Steves' Europe. Rick Steves is your tour guide through several different countries showing you the tourist spots as well as the off beaten path places that are overlooked. He gives great strategies for people on a budget (I'm one of those) yet shows many options from hotels versus bed and breakfasts or cafes versus restaurants. There are six seasons plus special episodes to watch, but the ones I highly recommend is the three episode Travel Skills series from the first season...which I embedded below just for you.

Travel safe and be knowledgeable. One other piece of advice, be spontaneous and go with the flow because you may discover something that is not on a map.

Travel Skills: Part One


Travel Skills: Part Two


Travel Skills: Part Three

Where to go next...

I've come to a realization that one of my biggest dreams in life is to travel, preferably to Europe. I really love to go places, even just road trips. It fascinates me to go to new places and see new things. Meet new people or not. One thing I've wanted to do since I started college was go on a study abroad trip but I've had some difficulties picking a major. Even though I'm currently studying Art, I'm still confused on if that's what I really want but maybe I'll go deeper into that in another post. So this is my plan, even though I'm a poor college student living on my own...

1. Make a second trip to New York, maybe for a longer stay than a weekend. Depending on some factors, I might be able to make this happen before years end or beginning of next year.

2. I found a study abroad trip I'm really interested in but...I'm supposedly graduating soon. So I need to meet with some people before I get my hopes up. But I really, really, really want to do this for myself before I get out of college. Plus, while still in college I can get scholarships and financial aid to help the costs which I wouldn't be able to do once I graduate. Now to find the money for it...@.@

My Travels...Part Three: Brooklyn, New York

Okay, so we are now in 2011. First trip I planned on my own was to Brooklyn, New York to meet a very special person who happened to be an amazing tour guide and made my trip that much more exciting.

I stayed in Brooklyn at a Days Inn not too far from the subway. I went from February 24-27, which was definitely way too short! The hotel was kind of hidden and we almost lost it but it was found. The first day I was just absolutely exhausted going on one hour of sleep. I left from my apartment at 4:15 A.M. to catch a 6:00 flight to Dallas, than from there straight to New York. I used Travelocity for the best deal, even though Hotwire seemed to be the best until the last minute. My tickets were for American Airlines, which in my opinion were really good. I had no problems checking in and getting on and off the plane. The people were as friendly as could be expected and I got window seats, woohoo! Once I got there we took a bus from the airport to somewhere where we got on the subway for the rest of the way. The subway was fast compared to the bus transit system here, don't get me started on that.



Thursday, February 24:
The hotel room was very small but just enough to sleep and use the bathroom amenities. I took it easy and rested at the hotel for a bit and than we went to find some food. Around the corner there was an Italian restaurant called Gina's Famous Pizza & Deli. The food was very tasty, I had some Chicken Alfredo and Adam had a calzone, but my brain is a little fuzzy from that first day. Had to bring back left overs, thank goodness for Days Inn and the mini fridge in the room.

Friday, February 25:
I insisted that we have pancakes and so Adam decided to take me to Tom's Restaurant in Brooklyn. I got pancakes with some type of cinnamon and something else but they were so fluffy that I could only eat one of three (more leftovers). They were served with 4 or 5 different butters and I was recommended to have a chocolate egg cream, which is milk, seltzer, and chocolate syrup. I found it refreshing and quite tasty. After leaving, we walked over to Pratt Institute where I got a tour of the campus which was very neat. My favorite part was the library and a sculpture that had a rat with big...ummm...huevos? It was just odd to see. I also got to see the really big engine room they have, which was quite fascinating. This day we also saw a lady with a stroller with twins in the subway trying to get up the stairs, so we stopped and helped her up three or four flights of stairs. Adam and I took turns since it was quite heavy and the stairs were a tad slippery. It made me very happy to help her and she seemed shocked but quite relieved at the top of the stairs. I believe this was the day when we also strolled down to the Forbidden Planet Comic Shop and stopped by Max Brenner for some amazing hot chocolate though the place was extremely crowded and hard to hear myself talk.   Than we went for some food. Adam wanted to try this place called Dogmatic which served sausage dogs. They were really tasty and gourmet-ish, and they were covered with a dough of sorts so its a non-messy hot dog where you can request even lamb or asparagus for the filling. They also had baked fries which were yummy. But I didn't feel too well (not from the food) so we went back to the hotel and just relaxed.

Saturday, February 26:
This was a very big day. We were going to the American Museum of Natural History! It was so fascinating to see the dinosaur skeletons, the marine life which included a life size Blue Whale, great animal exhibits, gemstones, Lucy, and I believe some shrunken heads among other things. The best part was I got to touch an actual space rock, @.@. I was taking too long to get ready so we had only an hour and a half to peruse but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Than after that we walked for a bit and went to Bryant Park and Times Square. We went to the BIG Toys R Us which was packed of course and looked around which was still quite entertaining. We walked around and I got to see the pretty lights of Times Square and walked into a tourist shop to get a co-worker a shot glass. I also went to a Radio Shack to buy a battery for a camera I didn't even use. We got some more hot chocolate (coffee for me this time) at this place called Lily O' Briens Chocolate Cafe in Bryant Park because it was quite cold out. We investigated this big tent thing in the middle of the park which we believe was a restaurant but there was a long line so we just kept walking. We went to a Japanese bookstore called Kinokuniya, it was fun looking at all the little thingwhats in the store. After this long day we were hungry and it was my last night, so I thought we would grab some pizza and bagels (which were things I had to try while in New York) and take it back to the hotel to have a large feast of leftovers and movies...which we did. We stopped by Luigi's Pizzeria and got some cheese pizza and stopped by Bergen Bagels since it was insisted upon. We had a grand feast and it was nice to relax and watch movies after walking all day. The pizza was cold by the time we got back but the best pizza I've ever had. The bagels were saved till the next day where I ended up bringing them home with me. The bagels were still tasty Monday evening, even after being in the fridge they were still nice and soft in the middle and they were humongous!

Sunday, February 27:
The last day of my journey and probably the most hectic. Got up around 10:00 and had to be out of the room by 12:00 and catch my flight by 3:00. It went well until the train was delayed a tad and the bus was very late, plus side I got more time with Adam but bad side I still had a flight to catch. La Guardia airport is confusing so we ended up being dropped off on the opposite end of where the American Airlines terminals were at and it was already after 2:00 P.M. We rushed outside and a man in a shuttle caught us and asked if we needed a ride, we definitely needed that ride. So we hopped on and he took us close enough to the terminal and than we sped off. Unfortunately we made it after 2:30 so the kiosk said we had to go to the line to get the boarding pass which had a long line. But luckily there was a lady I talked to who helped me get in front of the line to get a boarding pass. It was going to be the last terminal at the end from the security so I sadly had a very short and abrupt goodbye which i regret and than went through the security just as the bagel bag decided to tear and fall on the floor (bagels were wrapped). After going through security I just grabbed all my things without putting them back on and ran shoeless across the terminals to the last one at the end, almost slipping here and there. I wonder what I looked like running shoeless and holding bagels down with my chin? I made it just on time and was able to fix myself up and get on the plane to Chicago and than home. It was a sad plane ride back because I felt it was cut too short and I actually was starting to enjoy New York. The company I had, made it even harder to say goodbye. I got home just in time to get ready for work and school the next day.

I will definitely be making a trip back if I can gather the money I need, but its quite expensive as most of you should know. This trip is one I'll probably remember the most.

One regret, I wish I took more pictures but I was having way too much fun to think about taking pictures anyways. I'll be back with vengeance and a camera...maybe just a camera.

My Travels...Part Two: Boston, Massachusetts

Now lets go to my travels in College, which I'm still currently in. The next trip that I had the opportunity to take was to Boston, Massachusetts in 2008. Interesting story really, my first two years of college I went to every Study Abroad thing and gathered as much information as I could because that has always been a dream of mine. So I walk up to this table which has no one but some booklets, so I took one. It was for this place called EF College Break, kind of like a travel agent for college students since you do not get credit. I looked through the catalog and found out how to be a campus recruiter, and one of the perks was when you sold 8 trips, you would get one for free. My eyes sparkled like a kid on Christmas, so I called and after a phone interview I was hired. I impressed my regional supervisor with my enthusiasm of traveling. Shortly after that I was told that I had won a raffle to go to the main office, in Boston, for a weekend of training. I was so stoked so I went, buying a huge winter coat because it was January. I was hoping to see snow, but sadly it was raining and wasn't that cold. The training...well it kinda stunk. Most of the students there were loud, obnoxious, had already been on a trip, and didn't really give a crap when someone else had an idea. The trip, I saw more of the hotel and their office but a trip is a trip...and it was free. Well I quit not too long after because selling 8 trips that cost $5000+ with no credit towards classes, wasn't selling very well to the students at my school. But good experience nonetheless and it got my feet wet to start traveling on my own.

My Travels...Part One: Houston, Orlando, Atlanta

Well, I figured one way to use this blog is to talk about my travels and adventures I've had. Of course this post is a recap of those from past years.

In high school (2003-2007), I traveled with my robotics group for regional competitions. That was probably the first time I've been out of the state since I was born. We traveled to Houston, Texas, Orlando, Florida, and Atlanta, Georgia on a charter bus. That was...interesting to say the least. In Florida we stopped at Universal Studios and I found the only coaster I could handle, The Mummy one. The Spiderman one was also amazing. We also looked at Disney's Boardwalk and got to see Lego sculptures. It truly was a great experience and added to my thirst to travel.

I've been to several cities in Texas, but that's not very interesting.

This was awhile back so I don't want to put too much info about it because I don't remember too many things.