twood1's VirtualTourist Home Page

When I was growing up my dad's job moved us every few years. I was born in Caracas, moved to New Jersey, then to Sao Paulo, and we only really came to settle down when we returned to Jersey when I was 12. I guess growing up in 3 different countries taught me to always have my eye on other places. Not that I think the grass is always greener -- home is a place I will always come back to -- but rather that I want to see everything out there. It makes me appreciate other people more.

Moving to different countries wasn't the only way that I learned how to love other places. I remember great family trips to the Basque country in Spain, the mountains of Merida and the beaches of Florida. Traveling was something that I grew up with.

I haven't taken a family trip in a long time, but I'm still moving around. Before I started my semester abroad, I spent a few weeks taking in the sights of Paris, Firenze, Cinque Terre, Parma, and Nice with my boyfriend. We tried not to be overzealous, and tried to spend at least 4 days in each place we went -- something that not enough people do when they do the Europe thing. We were never in a hurry, always looking to sit back at a cafe to just people watch.

Grenoble, France was what came next, but there I was in good hands. My French host family greeted me with open arms and tempting pots. They overfed me and introdued me to their culture, which was the best thing I could have hoped for to tidy up my French accent.
On weekends I took trips to southern France and northern Spain. I really ended up spending more weekends in Spain than anywhere in France -- there are few places that I want to return to more.

Brasil has been my home away from home for all my life. I still have family there and go back there as often as I can... which hasn't been so much lately. In October, though, I'll be getting much closer to Brasil. Although I won't be there, I will be in Uruguay, which will make visiting my grandmother much cheaper and much easier.

Punta del Este will be my biggest adventure to date. I've lived away from home before, but I've never been away for an indefinite period of time. I get more excited every day, but that excitement comes with lots of butterflies in my stomach. I'm nervous about leaving my parents, starting a new life in a place that is gorgeous but at times lonely. Maybe it won't be as quiet as some people have said it will be. Hopefully it won't be a far cry from my quiet life in the suburb. All I want right now is to be there, so that I can stop anxiously expecting and imagining what is to come. Just one month to go...