stamp collection

I noticed on Facebook that my brother and his family are in Hawaii for vacation. It reminded me of one of my earlier memories of my sister-in-law over 10 years ago. As they were planning on their honeymoon, in Hawaii, of all places, she asked me whether she would need to get a passport to go there.

A few years ago, I read that a majority of Americans do not have passports. Of all the developed countries in the world, the United States has the highest percentage of individuals who do not travel abroad. My first trip overseas was to Italy - freshman year in college. Although it was an organized class trip, only the plane ticket and hotel stay was covered as part of the scholarship. While some had their parents' credit cards and travelers' checks, there was a small group of us who traveled on a budget of less than USD 20 a day. This entailed taking advantage of the hotel breakfast, packing lunch from the various breakfast meats, and stretching as much as we could. One of the items on my bucket list is to go back to Italy with no budget.

I haven't quite made it yet as I have found that my priority is to go to places I haven't been yet. For me, it's not checking off the list of museums and all the tourists' attractions. I actually enjoy the experience - the people, the culture, the smells, the food and more importantly, simply expanding my horizons. These experiences have shaped me and my open views in life. The saying about walking in someone else's shoes takes on a whole deeper meaning when you understand the 'whys'. 

While some enjoy vacation that are familiar territories where they either feel safe or have creature comforts of home, I gravitate towards the unknown and thank my lucky stars that I am fortunate enough to be able to collect the stamps on my third passport since my first plane ride to NYC!