My Top 15 Travel Photos

I know I’m a little behind the times, but I recently got my very own Instagram. Yay! Better late than never, right? Well, actually it hasn’t been as quick and seamless of an addition as I thought. Not only am I rapid-fire adding all the people that should have been added steadily over the years, but I also have a very lonely 1 photo posted so far. So in order to beef up my post number (and also because I really like countdowns), I’ve decided to add some of my favorite photos from my Facebook collection to my Instagram. I tried to narrow it down to only 10, but that just wasn’t possible! So instead I’m going with a top 15, which I’ll be posting one at a time, every day or so.

As a bit of a disclaimer, I’m definitely not a photographer. I don’t know much about lighting or composition (I take all my photos on my phone if that tells you anything), but I tried to choose my list based on the picture itself and not the destination. Feel free to let me know (through comments or likes) which ones you think are the best and why! In addition to the photos, I also thought it would be fun to look at where they came from, so once the list is posted in its entirety, I’ll add a map showing the locations. I hope you enjoy perusing my list as much as I am enjoying reminiscing about it!

#15 Crooked Forest, Poland15 (1)

#14 Rua Augusta Arch – Lisbon, Portugal14 (1)

#13 Cliffs of Moher, Ireland13 (1)

#12 BAPS Temple – Atlanta, Georgia (USA)12 (1)

#11 Cesky Raj, Czech Republic11 (1)

#10 Skopje, Macedonia10 (1)

#9 Zhujiajiao, China8 (1)

#8 Crater Lake, Oregon (USA)9 (1)

#7 Brooklyn Bridge, New York City 7 (1)

#6 Bergen, Norway6 (1)

#5 Byodo-In Temple – O’ahu, Hawaii5 (1)

#4 Colosseum – Rome, Italy4 (1)

#3 Black Sand Beaches, Iceland3 (1)

#2 Parliament Building – Budapest, Hungary 2 (1)

#1 Tatra Mountains, Poland1 (1)

Map of Photo Locations:Top 15 Locations

I’m Officially Blogging Now

It seems the time has finally come. For some reason, I had been fighting the inevitability of having an actual blog site, but now I realize this might just be the best (and easiest) way to share my experiences during this next phase abroad. If we have the pleasure of being friends on Facebook, then you’ve probably seen the evolution of my makeshift “blogging”, which came in the form of photo captions, wall posts, and eventually Facebook “Notes”; however, each of those came with a slew of issues, including but not limited to lack of visibility, consistency, and ease. Therefore, here I am with my very own domain name and a place to post all my thoughts, experiences, and reflections.

So that’s the plan! Just like in Poland, I’m hoping to post at least once a month about some aspect of our lives abroad. The topics will vary (mostly according to my whims), but I’m putting this out here from the start: I’d love to get questions and/or suggestions from you! They can really help guide the blog, and I always find them extremely interesting! Also, in an effort to keep everything consistent (and also because I’m a bit OCD and just want all my writings in one place), I’ve already created a post on this site called “My Posts from Poland” where I’ve included links to all ten of my writings from last year (viewable to all via Facebook). Feel free to check them out if you’re interested! And be on the lookout for more posts in the near future!

My Posts from Poland

13690599_10210260223090297_1418854365690200827_n (1)Last year around this time Tucker and I were finishing up our year spent in Łódź, Poland. It was an absolutely amazing experience that I did my best to share with all my friends and family via social media. Perhaps one of the most expressive ways I found to share what we were experiencing was through the “Notes” I wrote each month on Facebook. Unfortunately, due of the nature of Facebook, they weren’t terribly easy to find, especially after some time had passed, so as I prepare for our next adventure abroad (and the sharing that will surely follow), I wanted to make my previous posts more accessible. So here are the links to the ten posts I made last year during our time in Poland. Enjoy!

Post 1: My First Impressions of Poland and its People

Post 2: What Am I Doing Here?

Post 3: Christmastime in Poland

Post 4: Cultures in Comparison

Post 5: My Progress Report

Post 6: Stereotypes – What Do Poles Think About Americans?

Post 7: A Taste of Poland

Post 8: Reminisce With Me

Post 9: Our Travels

Post 10: Missing Polska

*Update: It has now been 7 years since I originally wrote these “Notes” and 5 years since I compiled the links here. As to be expected, things have changed since then, and Facebook might not be the best option for accessibility anymore. Therefore, I have created individual pages for each of these posts, which can be found freely on my site as well as in the original, public FB Notes via the links above.