These are the countries I've visited.
Soon, I hope to have little paragraphs with a short, fun story from each of the places I've been on this page.
Check back for updates!
ARGENTINA:
While in Argentina I got to experience a lot of really incredible things, but my favorite experience was when I found myself wandering the vendors of the San Telmo open-air market. I had been to open-air markets before in Tanzania, Honduras and even back in the United States, but never had I been to an open-air market as extensive, crowded and breathtakingly beautiful as the one in San Telmo.
There is a lot that I could say about how the market affected me and how fondly I still remember it, however I specifically took note of the talent that the many vendors possessed, not only in creating and making their wares, but also in their creativity of selling them to passers by. “Ven y recibe los calcetines!” one man called out as people walked past him. He stood off to the side without an actual stand, leaning up against a wall. What was he selling? Socks—plain white socks. He called out again and again, not simply yelling, but singing “Come and get your socks!” in Spanish. I watched him as we passed by, and smiled to myself. Here was a man doing his best to sell socks, and he came up with a creative way to do so—by singing. He caught my glance, smiled back, lifted up the socks in my direction, and sang out again. “Ven y recibe los calcetines!” I shook my head no, but laughed a little, to which he smiled at me again, and repeated his song.
Argentina left me with many memories, but this one in particular struck me as not only funny, but endearing, and it speaks to the character with which people live their lives.
Canada:
When I was ended my sophomore year of high school, my mom, sister, aunt, uncle and cousin all traveled to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in Canada. It was my first time out of the United States, and even though it was "only Canada," I was excited. I'd never really traveled anywhere except for Disney World before Canada, so it was a big step in my life. While it's not as exotic as some of the other places I've been to, it set my passion for travel aflame.
I'll never forget spending time in Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia. Everything from the lobster traps piles alongside of docks to the boats sitting in front of houses along the bay--the town was incredible, and the overcast day that greeted us somehow fit the scenery.
Probably the best memory of the whole day was watching my mom enjoy herself. She just seemed incredibly happy, and it really made the entire day one to remember despite the drizzling rain and gusty winds. We stood together--me, my mom and my sister--as the three strong women that we are in front of the Peggy's Cove lighthouse. We laughed and took pictures. We remarked on the quaint beauty of the town. But the best part was seeing my mom sit down on a blue painted bench in front of a store with a giant Great Blue Heron statue behind it. She thought it was such a funny statue and insisted on getting a picture with it. Even as an angsty-I'm-too-cool-for-this teenager, I took joy in seeing my mom laugh to herself about a huge statue of a Great Blue Heron.
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