NYC- first big city I had ever been to when I was 19

San Jose, Costa Rica- first foreign country visited and lived in

Krakow, Poland - Peace Corps experience, history, family genealogy from there

Rome, Italy- first city I navigated on my own during my first solo adventure, hello history and culture!

San Francisco-first big city I lived in, in the U.S.

Posted Mar 13, 2011

Cape Town & Johannesburg South Africa. Experience Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned & visiting Soweto township outside Jo-burg to meet the people & go the Hector Pietersin museum to learn about the struggle of the apartheid.

Posted Mar 14, 2011

NYC As A native I can attest to the transformation  it can have on people so much so that it constantly changes itself. People can be who they are and find others like them. In this city you can be alone but not lonely or lonely but not alone. It is the playground of the fearless!

Posted Mar 16, 2011

Delhi, India-I had never seen such poverty...until I arrived in Kathmandu several years later.

Amsterdam-First foreign city I visited by myself and I managed to become so familiar and comfortable I was guiding friends and family around it after one visit. And, after several visits the locals were believing I was Dutch!

Tokyo-First Asian city I visited. I realized it's impossible for as a 6'2" blond to blend into my surroundings in Asia; I also realized if you make attempts to learn some of the language, the locals will be friendlier and ultimately people want you to feel at home in their country and will usually try to help you.

Bangkok-I have dreams about the food in Thailand! I have always been an adventurous eater, but the Thais look at food as an art form. I have taken several cooking classes (and none in other countries) here and everything about it inspires me.

Posted Mar 19, 2011

Berlin-it has done so much in transition

Posted Mar 20, 2011

Port au Prince Haiti- city of contradictions and how you live in these contradictions. 

Milot, Haiti -walking up to the Citadel makes you (and almost forces you to see the genius, in the design and military genius of Henri Christophe!

Joberg, South Africa. So many people forget that 10 years ago is was a totally different place. 

Posted Mar 21, 2011

In my own life, here are a few of the places that have influenced my worldview the most:

Akureyri, Iceland - where I spent a year as an exchange student and learned what it meant to live in the world

Berlin - For the sense of history as living memory

Washington, D.C. - For access to the national and international political scene, and the rich culture that comes with it.

Hong Kong - The combination of cultures, and the rich mixture that will spread as other cities develop.

Dhahran, Saudi Arabia - My only real exposure to the Arab world, and a small taste of what it means to be in a war.

Posted Mar 21, 2011

Nairobi - At fifteen years old, the city's people and desperation had a huge impact on my worldview which continued to effect me exponentially as the years wore on.

Amsterdam - Also at the age of fifteen, my first visit to amsterdam had just as important of an impact on my worldview. The first window into a western culture other than the suffocating US culture.

Helsinki -  The discovery of a western city not being choked by american cultural imperialism. Shhhh..... Don't tell anyone.

Mexico City - A view into the possible and probable direction of the US. An ocean of poverty with an upper class of wealthy that is less than 1% of the population. 

Berlin - ART! MUSIC! FOOD!

Posted Mar 22, 2011

New York City, for the energy, the ambitious, the grit and the fact that the only constant is change.

Ho Chi Minh City -- the mix of vibrant unapologetic capitalist spirit in a communist country, the history, energy, where poverty and wealth are laid so bare.

Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina -- for the history, the mix of races and the violence that can result from it

Posted Apr 06, 2011

New York City, my dad moved to soho when I was 5, and this has shaped who I am in every way.

Paris, nowhere is like it. 

London, the first european city I went to 

Sidney, the trip of a lifetime 

Buenos Aires, this amazing city breathed life into me and provided me a year with an endless summer in 2004. 

Posted Apr 21, 2011

1. Jakarta - where I lost my innocence

2. Ottawa - the first place I ever loved

3. London - the place that will excite me forever and I will always be in love with (even though we break up from time to time)

4. Marmaris, Turkey - the most romantic 10 days of my life

5. Harbin, China - where I started to come full cirle

Posted May 01, 2011

Valencia, Spain - Where I first lived abroad and the first time I left the US. Where I learned Spanish, which is my life's work.

Puebla. Mexico - where I worked with doctors as a translator/volunteer. Met people who walked two days with a broken bone to see the only doctor they would ever see. 10 doctors, 15 nurses, two surgeons, 1 pharmacist, 2 rad techs and 20+ translators. Everyone called me Dr. Sarah, it was powerful and humbling.

Urumqi, Xinjiang, China - I lived here for a few months working at one of the teacher colleges. What an amazing cross of cultures and breaker of stereotypes that was! I learned a lot about religion and faith in Urumqi.

Stockholm, Sweden - family roots. Highlight of the trip was to Birka. And it was cool to meet people who looked like me. EVERYONE thought I was local. For once!!!

Anchorage, AK, USA - where I live now. Never boring, always beautiful and surprising , the most diverse place I have ever lived. When we moved here I felt like I knew nothing, I felt like a child. Alaska is that amazing and wild.

Posted May 12, 2011

Point-au-Baril, Ontario, Canada-  It will always be my second home.  I have been going there since I was 6 months old and went there every summer up until I finished college.  It is so different from my hometown outside of Philadelphia because of it's peacefulness and tranquilitiy.  

Singapore-My first really big trip outside of the US and Canada and the first time I moved overseas.  I was 10 and really got to see the world from a whole new light.  The city of Singapore is definitley different from my hometown in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania.  I will never forget my time there.  

Havana, Cuba-  I went with a student group in 2003, at that time it was allowed for educational purposes.  I went to study Spanish and found the culture and people in Havana very humbling.  They were so nice and welcoming to us.  I would definitely go back if I got the chance!

Copan, Honduras-  My first trip completely on my own.  I went for my senior project in high school to do volunteer work and study Spanish.  Definitely an eye-opening experience in this tiny town next to the Guatemala border.  Copan is one of the most touristy areas in Honduras but it is also one of the poorest.  The town is not given any of the proceeds that go towards the big tourist attraction in their area: the Mayan ruins.  

Buenos Aires, Argentina- Where I live now.  I came as a volunteer in 2008, right after I finished college, to teach English to students with physical and mental disabilities as well as deaf students.  I didn't know any sign language when I started, but I jumped at the opportunity to learn Argentine Sign Language (LSA) and I'll get my fluency certificate in July. Being accepted into the deaf community in Argentina as a hearing American is something I will always treasure and never forget.    

Posted Jun 08, 2011