Catching Up

In Iceland. June 2015.


When I started SwissMissD as a way to keep in contact with my former students, band parents, and friends and family in the USA, I thought that maintaining a steady flow of posts would be no problem. As someone who is often celebrated as highly "self-disciplined", I am disappointed in myself that I haven't found a way to keep it going with the same wit and consistency as I did at the beginning. So now, it's time to catch up a little.

This weekend is my first one at home with time to myself in nearly 7 weeks and it's given me an opportunity to reflect on the last 5-6 months of travel and life overseas. 

Travel

Since my last post (a very late and very short description of a February visit to Amsterdam), I've spent a few weeks in Portugal, a weekend in Milan, a weekend in the UK, a week in Croatia/Montenegro, and an entire summer of travel with a 60 litre pack (Countries visited: France, Iceland, N. Ireland, Ireland, England, France again, Spain, Turkey, Serbia), followed by fall visits to Amsterdam, a week in Basel, 4 days in Paris, a weekend in Leukerbad, CH, and most recently, a weekend in Marrakech, Morocco. 

It's a lot.  I know. And it's way more than I can post about here. I could fill an entire book just with stories from my spring break spent in Portugal. And even in this moment I can't pin down specific amazing moments from the last 6 or so months to share. There are simply too many. 

In fact, all of this travel and exploration has become quite "normal" to me, which is precisely why I haven't been writing about it. Things have lost their novelty and I've now become one of those serial travellers who talk about traveling like it's 'no big deal'. I used to hate those types of people. I'm one of them now. I'm sorry. 

But don't think that deep down I have forgotten how truly magical it all is. Just to keep myself aware of the craziness - I've been keeping a map of my travel trajectories since I departed Fort Walton Beach. 
Travels: June 2013 - today.

Additionally, EasyJet (a short distance budget airline that I use frequently for cheap flights in Europe) recently sent me a summary of my travels with them. In only two years with this airline, I've visited 12 countries on 17 trips spanning nearly 30,000 miles. And then, there's my booking.com portfolio. 40 past bookings. CRAZY.


So, what's next?  Honestly, I'm incredibly excited to return to the USA for holiday break. I'm feeling more enthusiastic this year because I'm travelling for a big chunk of it and seeing old friends in several states. I'll be travelling to Chicago to attend a conference and spend some quality time with my friend Dan and many, many former colleagues and professors, and then I'm off to PA for family time. This year I'll spend nearly 10 days at home - the most I've been there for the holiday break in 8 or 9 years. After that I'll fly to Orlando to spend the New Year with several good friends, and if all turns out ok, we'll hit up Harry Potter World while I'm in town. Lastly, I'm off to Salt Lake City to visit two close friends and their beautiful baby boy. I'll fly back to Geneva through NYC, where I'll get a one night layover and hopefully a chance to see a little of the city before coming back to work.


New Experiences


Anyone who knows me is aware that I love learning new skills and trying new things. Along with learning downhill skiing, French, and the ins and outs of travel, in the past few months I have: 

Run a Half Marathon 
Finishers with medals at the Midnight Sun Half in Iceland. 























Indoor Skydived 
Indoor skydiving in Sion, CH.
Sang in French while Accompanying Myself

Practicing for my performance of "La Vie en Rose" at the CREA Langues French Institute in Provence.

















Launched a Brand
Mountain-inspired vector designs are now available at Society6.














So, what's next? 
I'll be spending the next 6 months preparing for a life long dream - a full marathon.
In order to stay motivated, I've decided to raise money for blood cancer research. 
You can access my fundraising page here: Team in Training

Additionally, I'm looking forward to improving in downhill skiing, creating more work for my Society6 page, and taking the DELF French exams in the spring. I've also picked up the guitar a bit, and continue to enjoy cooking and baking at home.

That's all for now. Hopefully the next update will not be 6 months down the road.


Want to see photos from the last 6 months of travel? Access my photo albums.


A la prochaine!

SwissMissD

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