A Wandering Sole

Dear America, I Miss You

// February 12th, 2013 // 11 Comments » // America, Kenya

Being myself back home… and not getting stared at!

My apartment was broken into last month and I was robbed (that’s after being pick-pocketed), and I have since moved into temporary housing until I move into my new place at the end of the week. I have written about it, but want to wait to post it publicly until things have been finally resolved with my landlord. However, based on my old apartment, I had written a list of things I missed from home. I thought I would share it with you before some of them become no longer relevant in my new place! (more…)

Merry Christmas!

// December 25th, 2012 // 7 Comments » // America, Kenya

Xander’s travel box

Warm, summer breezes and not a decoration in site. It doesn’t feel like Christmas here in Kenya. Not at all, except for the Christmas music I have playing and the small wrapped gifts I have sitting on my table. This is my second Christmas in Kenya, and although we are not partaking in hairy goat meat this year, we are cooking hearty food. We had planned to go on a hike outside the city, but with clouds hanging in the air, we decided to stay home, watch movies, play games, and relax. I’m pretty excited about the decision, as we’ve been running around so much lately that I think this is my first full day I will be spending at home (with the exception of a trip to the grocery story in a little bit).  (more…)

Portland and My Loves

// December 20th, 2012 // 2 Comments » // America, Oregon

On my fifth trip to Portland, my true loves gave to me….

Oh Portland. Aside from rainy and cold days, I do love you so. En route to Kenya (okay so it’s not exactly on the way, but) I took a detour to visit my bestest friends in Portland. The trip started out with an invite-only event for a vineyard tour at Chehalem. Emily and I tasted a few too many samples of wine (okay, I’m lying, I’m not sure there’s such a thing as too much wine tasting), followed by delicious hor d’oeuvres from a local cafe. The wine and food were great. It was a small and intimate event, but we really enjoyed talking to some of the staff at the winery and getting some insider info. After purchasing wine for the holidays, we headed home but not without a stop first at Sonic for drinks and a little snack to absorb some more of the wine!

We also decided to run the Thanksgiving Turkey Trot, a 4 mile race to benefit the Portland Zoo. We waited outside for nearly an hour and it was FREEEZING cold! But I did get to see a beautiful sunrise and feel a little less guilty when stuffing my face with delicious food later in the day. (more…)

A Little Escape to the Outer Banks

// October 4th, 2012 // 2 Comments » // America

Reunited in the Outer Banks

When Megan and Sarah, former colleagues from South Africa, contacted me on Wednesday to take a little vacation starting on Thursday, it all happened so fast. We wanted a fun place to meet between New York City and South Carolina and found ourselves meeting in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. They picked a house in Kill Devil Hills so that we could meet right in the middle of the Outer Banks (OBX). Even though they had a 9-hour drive from NYC and I had a 6-hour drive from SC, we managed to arrive just minutes apart! Our house was a block away from the rental office, so they grabbed our keys and we wasted no time. At the house, we checked out our rooftop deck, changed into our swimsuits, and headed straight to the beach. I couldn’t have fathomed swimming at the end of September as I was certain that it would be way too cold. And it was. But when Megan and Sarah strolled right into the water, I had to suck it up and gasp my way through easing into the water. (more…)

A Last Minute Getaway & Stop at South of the Border

// October 3rd, 2012 // 1 Comment » // America

When I opened my email on Wednesday morning, there was a message from my dear friend Megan who I worked with in South Africa last year. She had taken a last minute flight from Colorado to New York City to visit our other friend Sarah, and they wanted to meet up. I was about to burst with excitement, because even though New York City and South Carolina aren’t exactly next door to each other, if anyone could make a meetup happen, it would be us. I scrambled to get my shifts covered at work for the next two days while Megan and Sarah picked a place (Outer Banks, North Carolina), called the tourism office, and rented a house in Kill Devil Hills. In a matter of an hour we had a plan and my work was taken care of. (more…)

U.S. Road Trip Officially Concludes

// July 24th, 2012 // 4 Comments » // America

So even if the road trip technically ended, oh about eight months ago, my posts on the US Road Trip are finally finished (except for telling you about some of our ‘interesting’ Couchsurfing experiences which I still fully intend to do). I took a break on writing about the road trip when I left for Istanbul and Kenya back in December, but when I picked it back up, I wrote a recap on our trip so far. It covers Kentucky to Colorado, and you can read the summary of the first half of our trip here.

Now, onto the next half! (more…)