The World Around Us

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Since my blog is about what it is like to travel to a different country I decided to do this blog post on what you can learn from traveling because I couldn’t find anything else that really related to traveling. In the article “20 things I learned from traveling around the world” Clayton B. Cornell talks mainly about the things he learned that are quite interesting. Claytons big message with his article is to prove to people that there is more to life then what is behind the door of your own house.  There is so much to learn from other people and things and we can all benefit from those things. I like the saying ‘you say you don’t like something if you haven’t even tried it or given it a chance.’ In the article they really do go into detail about how its is a good idea to travel, that its more then just traveling it’s a full time job, its doesn’t cost as much as we think and so much more. Knowing that you have to option to travel could be able to change someone’s views on the world. The world is small but in reality it isn’t that small, there is so much out there and we haven’t even seen half of it.

In the article one of the points that Cornell made was that “Most people don’t know  (or care) what America is doing,” Most people even outside of America don’t have a clue as to what it is like here in America. But also “ Americans are not well represented on the travel circuit” meaning that we don’t seem to really care either about what goes on. I think that people get a bad taste in their mouth and immediately think that do something different or go somewhere new is a terrible thing. “Traveling the world can teach more than almost anything else,” learning about yourself and life if really important and it can make you happy as well. Anywhere you go in life will never be the same as ‘home’ it will always be something different.  I think that everyone should broaden their horizons because we really can learn a lot not being trapped in your own little bubble wont get us anywhere In life.  Traveling may not be for everyone but that doesn’t mean you cant just take a 15 minute drive down the road as just get away from everything and just breathe and not have any thing stress you out or bother you, it will still be there so you can deal with it the next day.

Cornell, Clayton. "20 Things I Learned From Traveling Around the World." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/clayton-b-cornell/traveling-around-the-world_b_4065797.html>.

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hotels in Costa Rica and Dubai 

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Work Vs Traveling

I found an article that really caught my eye about a Four Seasons hotel sales manager. The title of the article was “Traveling the World.” This article went in depth about how this one women Jennifer Jones who is a worldwide sales manager for the Four Season Hotel.  Jones has traveled the world trying to convince clients to choose her hotel to host company convections, events and meeting at.  What really caught my eye about the article was that Jones participated in Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU) study abroad course when she was in college and getting to travel really opened her eyes to other parts of the world.  She has now gotten to travel to 50 different Four Seasons around the world for her job. Her job really has given her a new perspective on life for women. She believes that today’s women can have it all, that there is no choosing between having a family or doing what you love.  She proved that you can have a family but also do your job too.

Being able to do something that you love and travel the world is a great opportunity, I hope that I can do something like Jennifer Jones one day after I graduate. This article really gave me hope that I can travel the world and work in the hospitality business.  In the article Jones says that “You being to crave travel after that first experience.”  Traveling the world doesn’t always have to be for pleasure it can be for business too, and In my opinion if I had the opportunity to travel the world by working for a certain hotel or even a company that one should defiantly not pass up that opportunity. You are pretty much being paid to go to new places and it cannot get any better than that.  People should want to see what else is out in the world and having a great career that allows you do that really would give you a better look on the world.  Jones has a saying that she tells the students that graduate from IWU, “The world is your oyster. If you have a dream or an idea, go for it. The world is smaller than you think.”  I think that this is a great saying and that everyone should do what they love no matter what, your dreams are what make you, you. So you should never hold back.

Magazine, IWU (2008) "Traveling the World," Illinois Wesleyan University Magazine: Vol. 16: Iss. 4, Article 7.

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Trauma everywhere

Trauma can happen anywhere at any time of the day and you really never know if you trust some people these days. Did you ever think that you could possibly be poisoned while on vacation in a resort? Well I found an article about a family that was poisoned while on vacation in the Virgin Islands.  A family of four had been exposed to a highly toxic pesticide leaving the two kids unconscious and the father in capable of moving.  The family had been staying in a resort that was 550 to 1200 dollars a night and after 5 days of staying in the hotel the police find four people in their room, 3 suffering from a seizure and the dad unconscious. Today, about over a month later the family is still very critical condition and are unconscious expect the mother who is doing okay. 

Going on a vacation a being poisoned in the last thing I ever thought would happen, but it is very highly possible and you have to take extraordinary measures to make sure that you don’t get sick or contract anything while visiting somewhere. The resort the family was staying in has recently been sprayed with indoor bug chemicals and come to find out they are highly toxic for people to breath in and will really hurt you. The EAP explains that "Because methyl bromide dissipates so rapidly to the atmosphere, it is most dangerous at the actual fumigation site itself.” I feel like most people know that pesticide chemicals are not good to be breathed in and for a resort to spray right under the room where a family was staying was a poor choice of their part. If I was paying that outrageous amount of money to stay in such a luxury resort I would hope and pray that nothing like being poisoned by pesticide would ever happen. This just shows how careful you have to be not with just traveling but with your everyday life.

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Above Clouds

     I do not really read many magazines in my spare time but when I do pick up a magazine it is when I’m in line at the grocery store that I will flip through a People magazine just to see what is the latest gossip about the celebrity world. But my blog is about traveling and I found an article that caught my eye called “JetBlue Mint to Travel to Caribbean in High-Flying Style” JetBlue is a type of airline and they call first class “Mint.” Mint is extremely nice. You have your own personal seat with a blanket and a chair that’s completely reclines so that you can lie down, and the food they serve on the flight is something that you would get in a restaurant. Mint is completely high tech and it’s the next new thing for flying. You can only fly Mint if you are flying from coast to coast, so over a 5-hour plane ride.  The article talks about how they have now expanded to the Caribbean from Kennedy International Airport because of the long trip and they were JetBlue’s costumer’s favorite destinations.  Flying JetBlue is extremely expensive; you do get what you paid for.

     Everyone knows how uncomfortable it is to fly, your usually squished up next to someone you don’t know and you have no personal space and if you are tall like me you have no where to put your feet and your constantly worrying about hitting the chair in front of you and annoying the passenger. But It seems like planes cabin space these days just keep getting smaller and smaller because they are trying to squeeze too many people in a small area.  JetBlue Mint could potentially be something big that expands to other airlines but it’s almost not necessary, unless you are flying for more then 3 hours. Having my own “private suite” would be very luxurious, “JetBlue Mint features a separate cabin for the privileged few, replete with lie-flat seats, dozens of channels, beauty and grooming products and appealing food” but is all the worth the 600-dollar ticket? Traveling is never cheap and most people try not to put a dent in their wallet before they actually get to their destination.  I can see JetBlue Mint going places but I can also see it struggling. I think it would have more use for people on businesses and not pleasure.

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Spring Break

As Spring break approaches for many colleges, students tend to hesitate and begin making last minute plans for a vacation destination. They often look for the cheapest available location, many times near the beach. On average, a college student spends roughly 1,100 dollars a week on spring break, not including the amount spent on gas to travel to their destination and the amount spent on lodging. Most young adults spend that money “just on an open tab at bar or Jet Ski rentals” (Huffingtonpost). “GOBankingRates researched the 12 most popular spring break destinations and the names of travel companies such as Southwest and Travelocity, expressing their expert advice on saving money for vacations” (Huffingtonpost). In the article, they explain 12 options: all, which are the most attractive sites to visit when searching for a spring break destination. With Travelocity being the number 1 site that is most visited, they are giving their travlers discounted rates when traveling on “off-peak days and during mid-to-low season”(Huffingtonpost).

 The article from the Huffington Post explains what the top major travel sites reveal on how to save when searching for top spring break destinations. This article relates to my blog topic of travel because travel sites play are often used today when you are searching for a reasonable place to stay that is comfortable, yet affordable.  Knowing if you can get a better deal on where you go increases the chances for people to come back and visit. Personally, I enjoy revisiting places I have been to before for the simple fact that things change. Whether it is the scenery or new things to see and experience, I often find it better the second time I visit a place. I have been to the Bahamas; however I was only 10 so I could not appreciate it as much I would at an older age. Therefore, going back is defiantly on my list of places to visit.  Spring break is geared towards high school and college students and many people do not plan on spending thousands of dollars. It relates to the students’ vacation week-long getaway from school, where they spend a stress-free week with their friends.

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Demi Lovato's World Tour

Demi Lovato’s career is skyrocketing as she starts her world tour in Manila, Philippines. Demi is coming back for a second time to perform a one-night show at the Mall of Asia Arena. Throughout her career Demi has had many multiplatinum hits, sold out shows and high rating tv shows. She is known to be one of the most successful young female performers of all time. Demi’s career started when she played in “Barney & Friends” as a child and then escalated when she stared in the movie “Camp Rock.” Her career continued when she launched her own television series, “Sonny with a Chance,” where she was the star of the show. It became on of the most popular television series on the Disney Channel. More recently, Lovato joined the show, “X Factor,” along side LA Reid, Simon Cowell, and Britney Spears. Lovato is not only a world-renowned artist, but also has knows how to act, play guitar, play piano, and compose her own music. Today, she is known all around the world and plans to reach out to her fans worldwide by going on her world tour. Besides Manila, Lovato’s world tour will be performed in Sydney, Auckland, and many other cities worldwide.

The article from Inquirier.net explains the recent activity of the world pop star, Demi Lovato and how “Wilbros Live is bringing back 12-time Teen Choice Award winner to Manila to perform a one-night show only on April 30, 8 p.m.” (http://entertainment.inquirer.net/162235/demi-world-tour-is-coming-to-manila). This article relates to my blog topic of travel because Demi Lovato is world famous pop artist that is going on a world tour. She will be traveling to many different countries with Cities that I would like to visit, such as Sydney, Australia and Manila, Philippines. The article explains how she has a very large social media following and her recent announcement of her Manila show “trended on Twitter worldwide for a few minutes after the initial announcement” (www.entertainment.inquirer.net). Many artists travel their country or the world, going on tours and reaching out to their fans. I envy the life of these artists because they travel so often and see so many different places, such as the Mall of Asia Arena where Lovato is performing her one-night show. If finances were not an issue, I would travel to see artists perform in different countries around the world. This would be killing two birds with one stone: being able to see a performance by a great artist and also being able to travel and visit a new place in the world.

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Jamaican me crazy 

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Aruba 

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Bahamas 

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"Kokomo"

In 1988, The Beach Boys released their top hit single “Kokomo.”  It became a number one hit in the United States, Japan, and Australia. It was also nominated for the Grammy Award for best song written for a motion picture but lost. The song was written for the Tom Cruise movie Cocktail, the song is about how Tom Cruise goes from a bartender in New York to Jamaica. Kokomo is a city in the middle on Indiana and is also a resort in the Caribbean. It’s supposed to represent all the tropical places in the world that people think about when wishing to get away for a nice vacation. The song continues to describe a relationship with a significant other that travels with the person mentioned in the song. Different Caribbean islands such as Aruba and Jamaica are mentioned in the song that relate back to the title of the song, Kokomo. The title gives the listener a tropical feel because it sounds similar to the word “coconut” which makes one think of a tropical island filled with palm trees and coconuts. Even though it is not certain that The Beach Boys named the song because of this, I believe it is possible that is one of the reasons they decided on the name of the song to give the listener an idea of a tropical place.

 Ever since I got to visit The Bahamas and the Turks and Cacios, I have always wanted to travel to more places, I know there is so much more out in the world then just the United States, and I want to be able to see it all. I chose the song Kokomo because it names all kinds of different places in the world that would be worth visiting some time. The Beach Boys lyrics, “Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I wanna take you to Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama… I wanna take you down to Kokomo” explains about different tropical islands that are desirable to visit. The song talks about mostly tropical places but those are not the only places in the world that you can visit. Traveling to places other than tropical islands expands one’s view on the world and allows one to see how people interact and live their lives in different cultures. Places that have a hot and humid climate such as the tropical islands mentioned in the The Beach Boys song have a much different culture and living condition than other places I would like to travel to such as Europe, and where the conditions are cooler and the culture is older and completely different from the tropical islands. Visiting South America, more islands, and Australia, are also places of interest.

[kodiday]

Have you have wanted to travel the world as much as i do? Well my blog is about all the different and exciting places you might want to visit.