Oh, the places you will go...
Dr. Seuss really knows how to set a mood.
My travels during my collegiate years have been somewhat limited, but they are worth mentioning, nonetheless. I'll start with the glitz and end with the heart.
Berlin
During summer 2007, I studied abroad in Berlin, Germany through the UF Photojournalism in Berlin program. For two weeks, 14 students and I learned the basics of photography while walking the streets of East Berlin.
Pictured is a remaining piece of the Berlin wall. In the distance is the iconic Fersehturm, known more commonly as the TV Tower.
We got to practice our skills in the great outdoors in spots such as Treptower Park and along the Spree River and in museums such as the Helmut Newton.
But it wasn't all about the seeing the sights. We also got to learn a lot as journalists. During the first few days, we met with American Free Press photographer John MacDougall, who had been living in Berlin for a while and was able to give us some insight into the culture of the city. Later in our trip, we met with TIME magazine's Berlin correspondent, Andrew Purvis, who also was able to give us insight into Berlin and being a foreign correspondent for a major publication.
While in Berlin, each student had to find a story to tell through pictures and audio.
I did my project on a massive-scale protest organized by Falun Gong practitioners. The practitioners wanted to inform the attendees of the G-8 summit in Germany of the human rights violations they said were being committed in China.
My final project, completed using soundslides and audacity, can be viewed here.
New Jersey
Every year, my immediate family and I trek back to the homeland: New Jersey.
Pictured here is the Barnegat Lighthouse on the northern tip of Long Beach Island. The lighthouse can be seen across the bay from my grandmother's house.
I lived in New Jersey from age 1 to 10, and I still claim I'm a "Jersey girl." I don't go to the beach; I go down the shore. I know a jughandle isn't something you hold, and a WaWa isn't an infant's attempt at saying "water."
For all you out-of-staters, "going down the shore" is Jersey vernacular, a jughandle is the Garden State's alternative to a left turn lane, and a WaWa is our version of 7-Eleven.
My grandmother, three of my mother's four siblings and all of their spouses and children still call New Jersey home, so that's usually where we spend the holidays and summers.
When we visit, we stay with my grandmother in Waretown. She owns a house on Barnegat Bay, so we spend our time boating, fishing, crabbing and clamming. Basically, if it lives in the Bay, we catch it and eat it.
We also go to Long Beach Island, which divides the Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. On the island, you can sit on the beach, take a dip in the ocean (but be careful of the undertoe!), go for a spin on some of the carnival rides, or climb up the 217 steps of the Barnegat Lighthouse.
And if New Jersey and the family start getting a little dull, New York City is just a short drive away.