Dear friends,
Some days are just so perfect that you have to write about them. I know that I haven’t been doing the best job keeping up on this blog; every time I come home I just get so caught up in life that all of my good intentions to write on here are usually thwarted. But today was such a great day that I felt the urge to write about it. So here I write.
I am currently in New York- I came up here for a few days with my parents. My Dad had business meetings and invited me to come, and I jumped at the opportunity to relive the life here a little bit and see a lot of friends. Being back in New York has been amazing. And today is just a small snippet of what I’ve done, but I decided to share just today.
I slept soundly for the first time in a few weeks (it takes awhile to REALLY get over the jet lag) and woke up feeling generally refreshed at about 10 AM. I ate a huge brunch in the hotel we’re staying at, and then jumped into a cab to go visit Acumen Fund, one of my most favorite organizations in the world. Having worked there for a few months, I was really excited to catch up with some of the employees and hear how they’re doing, and it was really fantastic to see everyone again. Once you’re part of the community, being at Acumen Fund is a little bit like being with family, and it was truly wonderful to head back into their office like the good old days. I’m really hoping that in the long future, I get an MBA at NYU, and I’m not going to say that Acumen Fund being in the general vicinity doesn’t influence this desire just a little bit.
After leaving Acumen Fund with five gifts of “The Blue Sweater” books under my arm (speaking of which, any of you world changers hankering to learn more about Acumen Fund? “The Blue Sweater” is the reason why I fell in love with the organization in the first place!), I headed across the street and walked through the Chelsea Market, one of my favorite places in the city, and then went to B&H Photography, the best multimedia store in the universe. I needed to get my UV filter replaced on my camera, and it was more than a little intoxicating walking through the store and eyeing all of the lenses and SLRs on display. A sweet Jewish SLR expert gave me a new UV filter and suggested a photography repair shop across the street to repair my new one. When I arrived at the repair shop, a warm and friendly woman in a Christmas sweater repaired my camera for free, while telling me about how life is about being nice to strangers.
On an elated high, I then made my way to the Rubin Museum, my favorite museum in New York that features Tibetan paintings and sculptures. After a plate of Tibetan momos, sweet chai, and a perusal through the New York Times, I wandered into the gift shop for a few select Christmas presents, where I struck up a conversation with a Tibetan lady (yes, in Tibetan). She was extremely pleased I had spent so much time in Dharamsala, and gave me a beautiful Tibetan mug.
Back at the hotel, I met up with my parents for tea, and then took off to the Lower East side for a drink with a friend and fellow Acumen Fund lover, Adam. I regaled him with my stories as a Kiva fellow, and he told me about his amazing venture Tagai, a mentorship program for recently immigrated high school students. Afterwards, I walked over to the Catchafire office to meet two of my good friends Emily and Sam. I knew Sam when I was in Thailand from the CRC program, and to be able to see him in New York and hang out with his awesome girlfriend Emily was really significant for me, since I barely get to see my friends I’ve met abroad. We went out to a Peruvian restaurant and chilled over a pitcher of Sangria and a long feast of chicken and seafood.
Finally, I ended the night in Brooklyn, celebrating Sarah’s 22nd birthday, my friend who lived in the same dorm as me when I was in New York. Being back there and on such a momentous occasion was really the icing on the cake to such a wonderful day. I took a cab back to Manhattan and ended up chatting with the cab driver the entire way back, who’s Ghanaian. I sang him a few Ghanaian songs I knew, and he told me all about how he came to the US.
You may think that this post doesn’t have a lot of rhyme or reason being on a website about my travels, but it really does. I am shaped by what I have seen and experienced, and it follows me wherever I go; whether by seeing great friends I’ve met while traveling, by being able to break cultural barriers with lovely strangers, and by the way I see myself react and respond to people today. One thing I’ve really learned through traveling is that if you put your love and happiness out there in the universe, happiness and love will come back to you in droves.
Everything about this day was incredibly lovely and lucky, and it also makes me feel happy because this exact day last year I found out some really devastating news that made this last year hard for me in a lot of ways. I feel that this beautiful day was healing in a way, and a premonition for the next year to come: full of love, friendship, and more travels and adventures.
I love my life, my friends, my family, my travels. I am the luckiest person in the world.
Much love,
Brittany
Filed under: Plain Mary Jane
Welcome Katie’s Class! My sister Kate told me that you were visiting my website, so I thought I would say hello!
Special welcomes to Mrs. Tabor’s class!
Harrison Berger
Katie Boroian
Dominic Carrera
Austin Dear
Spencer Gieserman
Hayden Gibson
Philip Ignatoff
Luke Kessinger
Natalie Klar
John Mirsky
Athena Myers
Clara Ngyen
Derek Pheffer
Alec Pichinich
Camila Piza
Sofia Restrepo
Rosie Rotheschild
Ava Shumeli
Alexa Silfen
Alessia Spelman
Max Tabin
Lily Volper
Haley Mordis
Katie is my little sister, and she’s the coolest. We have a lot of fun together. I’m jealous that you all get to see her every day at school, while I’m traveling all over the world. I wish she could come with me!
Katie and I in 2009
I’ve been able to travel to lots of great places all over the world. If you want to see all of the places I’ve traveled to, you can click on THIS MAP!
If you want to look at pictures of every country I’ve traveled to, you can also go to PICTURES.
If you’re wondering how I was able to travel to go to so many places, you can go to the page WHY I TRAVEL SO MUCH.
I hope that you enjoy looking through my website, and that you all have the chance to travel like I do! The world is a huge and amazing place, and there is so much to see and do. I am one of the happiest people in the world because I get to travel and see so many wonderful things. But mostly, I am one of the happiest people in the world because Katie is my little sister!
Enjoy and Welcome!
Brittany
Filed under: Plain Mary Jane
Hi friends and readers,
I just wanted to announce that my blog just hit 10,000 hits since its inception in April 2009! Thanks so much for your support and interest in my travels and life goals. I’m really happy that my site has been such a great resource for many people.
Here’s to another 10,000!
Much love,
Brittany
Filed under: Plain Mary Jane
Dear friends,
So bear with me here because blog posts are (hopefully) going to start getting a lot more frequent than the last six months- mostly out of pure joy, because I find myself traveling again, rather than posting out of necessity (which I’ve had to do a lot during my tenure in New York…). ANYWAY, I am currently in transit at London Heathrow, meandering through the airport at 7 AM (London time, 2 AM New York time), and I found myself stumbling upon the same old patterns that I often experience while traveling alone- patterns that I had completely forgotten about. A sort of feeling of independence- a feeling that I am completely in charge of where I’m going and what I’m doing. A feeling of calm contentedness, like my bags are a part of my own body, traipsing up and down the different terminals and making headway to Egypt Air like it’s my job. Meeting an old couple from North Carolina who were on their way to Ireland- ‘Egypt? You’re going to Egypt ALONE?’ Yes, I am crazy. I’m a crazy 22 year old American female who’s traveling alone to Africa..
To be truthful, I’ve felt a bit more uncomfortable going back into the unknown world of traveling- more uncomfortable than I’ve ever felt before. When traveling to Asia, Europe, South America- I was all for it. But while planning this crazy itinerary to Africa, a small nagging doubt surfaced at the back of my mind, which I’ve tried hard to ignore- questions such as, ‘Will I REALLY enjoy traveling again? I haven’t done it in so long. Am I ready to go back to living in hostels with bed bugs, wearing the same clothes for weeks on end, and living my life out of a bag?’ And it hasn’t helped that the past week, I’ve been pretty much living in the lap of luxury- staying at my beautiful Aunt and Uncle’s house in San Francisco for Kiva training, hanging out at a nice hotel in New York that my Dad set up for me because he’s a member- even going to London BUSINESS class!! Because as already stated, my Dad is absolutely amazing and knows how to pull strings on American Airlines like a pro (thanks Dad). So a small, negligent part of me, frets over what it’s going to be like going from the most deluxe experiences such as these, to sharing a $6 a night dorm room with six people in Cairo and ultimately living on a shoestring budget again (Now don’t get me wrong here: I’ve done a lot worse, and there’s nothing quite as fun as hanging out with the backpacking crowd while traveling. My only fear was that the adjustment would be harder than usual because I’ve recently had this extravagance).
But here I am traveling again, and while I was waiting in London to check my bags through, a huge smile stole over my face at the sheer joy of me versus the world, yet again. I’ve talked about in previous posts that ‘part’ of myself that only pops out when I’m traveling independently, venturing forth into the unknown- and quite suddenly, it is here again. And I couldn’t be happier to be back in this place in my life. I’m ready for it all, Africa. Bring it on.
Flight’s starting to board. Gotta go!
More soon,
Brittany
Filed under: Plain Mary Jane
Dear friends,
I arrived in San Francisco yesterday (a little side note- in conjunction to the previous post, I chose the suitcase). I am here to begin training for the Kiva Fellows program. In a week I will begin my next traveling adventures (which includes Egypt and Jordan for 10 days, Kenya for three months working with a micro-finance institution called Faulu Kenya, and then a month of traveling through Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, and maybe even Ethiopia), and I wanted to take the time to reflect a bit on starting a new chapter. In many ways, it doesn’t seem to me like I am starting a completely new phase in my life. I’ve traveled before- I’ve worked with micro-finance institutions before, I’ve lived out of a backpack (or in this case, suitcase) for months on end, and I’ve had a plethora of different experiences. And the thing is, it all sounds very similar- what I’ve done in the past, and what I’m doing now. But it FEELS very different than before. I feel that starting this fellowship with Kiva is an introduction to a whole new chapter in my life. I’ve graduated college, and now launching a career in this field feels very real, and very different.
And so because of that, I’ve been feeling a bit melancholy, as if I’m saying goodbye to all of the old things and experiences I had. My amazing travels with the Carpe Diem, the CRC program, my independent study semester in South America, New York– my dreadlocks, my shaved head, my lip piercing, all of the people I met along the way on my incredible college journey- homestay families and my Tibetan family, dear friends, expats, locals, professors and mentors- it’s as if that chapter in my life suddenly closed without my knowledge, and I am just realizing it. Now all I see in front of me is a blank slate, with tentative dates and plans that have not yet fallen into place.
But while a part of me feels that small lump in my throat when I think back to so many amazing experiences and journeys that have come to an end, I also look forward to the future with my head held high. I have plans, dreams, and goals. I am going to be a Kiva fellow in Kenya. I am going to join the Peace Corps. I am going to go to graduate school and get an MBA. And I am going to continue to travel and experience all of the wonderful, sweet, and dizzying things this world has to offer, good and bad. While the door on my undergraduate education has closed, an entire ocean-view window- complete with over-looking balcony of the golden gate bridge- has opened. And I’m ready.
Here we go, Kiva.
Much love friends and supporters,
Brittany
Filed under: Plain Mary Jane
Don’t settle for anything less than what you believe your greatest self can be.
Filed under: Plain Mary Jane
“War, want and concentration camps, exile from home and homeland, these have made me hate strife among men, but they have not made me lose faith in the future of mankind. Personal experience, including my own unsteady progress through life, has taught me to beware of man’s capacity for plain stupid, irrational, as well as consciously evil, behavior, but it has also taught me that man has an even greater capacity for recovery from lapses. In a short thrust of planned, wisely guided activity, he is able to climb to higher levels of material and intellectual achievement than he ever reached before. In short, I remain a rationalist and an optimist at a time when the prophets of doom have the floor. My query is: if man has been able to create the arts, the sciences, and the material civilization we know in America, why should he be judged powerless to create justice, fraternity and peace?”
via Nicholas Kristoff’s blog, quoted from his father.
Filed under: Plain Mary Jane
Dear friends,
Before I created this blog, I originally had two different facebook groups, which my friends were a part of. I sent them all updates every week or so about my adventures abroad, until it got to the point where I decided that I should create a public forum for not just friends and family, but for many others to have the opportunity to view as well.
However, this means that I have a lot of posts from India, Taiwan, Thailand, and Turkey that are similar in format and structure to some of the posts on here– but have actually never made it to this blog, because it didn’t exist yet! And so I decided this week that I would remedy that situation. After hours of careful editing and putting in pictures AND video, I am really happy to announce that I have added LOTS of old posts from Taiwan, Thailand, India, Turkey, and even Costa Rica– all for your reading pleasure. I also felt that a lot of response papers I wrote for Global College throughout these countries adequately addressed many of the cultural nuances and experiences I was going through at the time, and so I have added some more educational and informational posts for all of you to check out.
So how do you find these?
For Taiwan, Click on the newly created Taiwan link, and scroll all the way down to begin reading.
For Thailand, Click on the newly created Thailand link, and scroll all the way down to begin reading.
For India, there are QUITE a lot of posts, that stems from my FIRST day traveling! Click here and scroll all the way down to begin reading about my journeys in India, and then when you’re finished, go to page 2, and then after that, page 1, to be fully caught up to speed.
For Turkey there is only one new post, which you can click here to go to, and then scroll all the way down to access.
Finally, the two Costa Rica papers are accessible here, and here.
I really hope that you enjoy all of them. Happy reading!
Much love,
Brittany
Filed under: Plain Mary Jane
Dear friends,
One of the great things that I’ve been proud to be a part of these past few months (leading up to the launch date, which was last week!) is iShop4Microfinance.
iShop4Microfinance is an online platform for socially conscious shoppers to raise money for micro-finance- at no cost to them! And since I know that many of you readers ARE socially conscious, all you need to do is your normal online shopping (Amazon, iTunes, the Gap, Walmart, etc.) by clicking through iShop4Microfinance, and then whatever you buy, 4% of your total spending is donated to Acumen Fund, Grameen Foundation, and Kiva.
This is EXTRA amazing and special to me because I have worked with Acumen Fund, Kiva, AND Grameen Bank (Grameen Foundation is a sister company). So I urge all of you to bookmark this site and remember to click through it for whenever you do your normal online shopping!
I think it’s so awesome that this website and concept exists, and more importantly, that we can all be a part of it, without even needing to do anything.
Stay tuned for more updates (I found out where I’ll be going for my Kiva fellowship!)
Much love,
Brittany
