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How theSkimm + mobile interface + content curation tools (e.g. Flipboard) have made me a more informed and therefore all around better individual

I genuinely feel like since I subscribed to theSkimm, it’s opened up my world and my thirst for knowledge.

That’s dumb, since theSkimm gives you tiny tidbits of information about big news stories...one might say. It’s true, theSkimm has a specific purpose, and that is to give people a daily dose of a skimmed down version of the country and world’s top news stories, but it is insanely powerful.

So how was this the first domino that led to a continued interest in reading tons of articles a day? From someone who was barely in touch with the news at all and who’s only source of reading was Game of Thrones and other fictional novels? There’s a couple factors.

First of all, theSkimm’s guides to specific events, circumstances, and issues such as Greece’s debt crisis or Supreme court decisions this month are everything I’ve ever needed. I want someone to take me for what I WAS, someone who didn’t read any news articles ever, and was basically keeping up with nothing. It’s a sad but true fact that a large amount of people in the US (and I’m sure everywhere, really) are just not taking the time to sit and watch the nightly news for an hour, or go through an entire newspaper, or find relevant articles online. Getting someone to put all the main details of a topic that is complicated and difficult to understand into a couple simple paragraphs for the average reader is huge.

Having a daily reminder every morning that “this is what’s up, you need to care about it, let me give you the main details as efficiently as possible without boring you to tears” is a true gift for those who have in the past not been naturally inclined to care. This makes you care.

Secondly, they provide links within both their guides and their daily skimms to actual fully-detailed articles. So if you choose to learn more, you can. This was a huge part of my transition to the informed life. I found myself clicking on the links, often due to some smart tricks theSkimm uses to get you to do so. In a lot of cases, they won’t even tell you the actual story, they’ll just make some odd but maybe funny comment that you won’t fully understand until you actually click the link and read the article...or at least the title. And yes I’m sure some people just can’t be bothered and won’t click or read past the title, but for those of us who can’t stand being out of the loop of someone’s joke or comment, it’s a sure-fire way to get them to read the article.

Okay...but what does the mobile interface have to do with this? I’m not sure if it’s just me or other people feel this way...but I realized just today that my IPhone 6′s small screen is playing a huge part in all this. I realized it while I was sitting in my favorite coffee shop flipping through Flipboard and I read a long-ass article on the statistical differences between the harms of nuclear power vs. coal for energy. Maybe it’s even specifically Flipboard with it’s interaction design and numbered pages that makes it easier for me, I don’t know. And btw I’m not promoting that article as the definite right opinion or anything, but it definitely got me thinking about something I never had before. But there is no way in hell I would have looked at a big article on that from Business Insider on my desktop, or even iPad really, with all of it’s statistics and charts and actually read it. I’m just being honest. I maybe (definitely) need to work on a better attention span, but so do millions of other people. Especially in the age of instant gratification. I like things in tiny chunks, not a whole big article on a topic that quite honestly, before actually reading the article, I didn’t give a shit about. So even if you exclude Flipboard’s great interaction design, I prefer a long scroll with a few words in front of me than a short one with a lot of words. It just seems like a bigger feat, the bigger the screen. I can see how far the scrolling on mobile goes down and I find myself saying “challenge accepted” and I make it to the bottom. Anybody else feel that way? I think it’s the perfect design for the naturally curious.

So what? All Flipboard is good for is it’s fun flippy animation and page numbers? I actually think I had downloaded Flipboard when it was decently new and if i remember correctly, they gave you a very limited choice to topics to choose from as part of your interests. Because of that, I ended up deleting it pretty quickly. I wasn’t getting articles that were truly curated to me, it was too broad. But recently I decided to give it another try after hearing some good things about it, and they changed the way you choose topics. Theres an almost infinite list of some very specific and some broader topics, and when I first got the app, I decided I would go through and pick as many as I could...I think i picked a little over 200. Once again, I think my determination to keep on scrolling down was related to the mobile interface. And it turns out, when you get that detailed, the curated content you get is damn near close to perfect. I read almost every article they give me, plus I’ve figured out which sites and publications I like best, and I followed them too. I’ve learned so much about the tech world through it, which I’m so happy about. I find myself refreshing the page for more all the time, and it’s a great feeling.

#theskimm #flipboard #mobile #interface #tech #technology #news #top news #apps #startup

#minimal #photography #instagram

7 Things To Check Out By Arenal Lake and Volcano in Costa Rica

So while everyone was off spring breaking in Miami this week, I took a mother-daughter trip to Costa Rica. It was unreal! I had never seen a rainforest before and it was a beyond-my-wildest-dreams-drop-dead-gorgeous place. We started out our trip in Liberia on the west coast of CR on resort in Playa Hermosa. This area was experiencing the worst of the dry season and hadn’t seen a drop a water in months. It was still beautiful:

I don’t have a whole lot to say about Playa Hermosa mostly because me and my mom were both just so happy to be out of New York/New Jersey’s cold weather that we just slept and basked in the sun for most of it. One tip: if you get up at sunrise, you might see Howler Monkeys on the beach!

So after 3 days of relaxation, and 1 day of zip-lining, horsebackriding, hiking, and mudbathing, we set off in our Hyundai rental towards Arenal Lake and Volcano.

1. Cafe y Macadamia The road from Liberia to Arenal is pretty straight forward, there’s maybe one real turn you make that leads you down the most scenic and beautiful road along the edge of the lake. I HIGHLY recommend taking a car there, you won’t regret it. Maybe go with a Jeep Wrangler or something because some the the roads are really rocky, which was fun!

On the way to the other side of the lake where the volcano is, you’ll see a million signs for different restaurants to eat at. Go to Cafe y Macadamia for sure. It’s a little bakery and restaurant about halfway around the lake with views to die for. The food is fresh and delicious, and the chocolate macadamia nut cookie is ridiculous.

2. The Sangredado Dam When you get to the end of the lake, you drive over the most gorgeous dam with a view of the lake on once side and the volcano on the other. You can park on either end of the dam and go kayaking on the lake.

3. Hotel Linda Vista This is a funny story. We had booked a small, cheap hotel in the town of La Fortuna for our 3 nights here. After the first night, my mom woke me up at 5 am and said “Get up, we’re leaving. I can’t stand the smell of bug repellent in here.” I couldn’t really smell it, and the place was nice and quiet though it was a little far from all the action. I tried to convince her to stay, but before I knew it she had canceled our next two nights and booked a place called Hotel Linda Vista.

Hooooly crap. Thank god I hadn’t been able to convince her because this place was paradise. Our room had a large glass window/door that led to the balcony and had an amazing view of the volcano. We were living right in the middle of the rainforest, and even though we drove 8 km through incredibly bumpy roads to get there, it was all worth it. Set on top of a high hill overlooking both the lake and the volcano, I was close to tears when we got there. On our last night, I spent my time between the pool and jacuzzi looking out on the sunset until all the light was gone. It was an unbelievable sight.

4. Baldi Hot Springs Resort Hotel & Spa This is basically the perfect water park for adults. The spa has 25 man-made pools that flow fresh hot water from the base of the volcano. The pools are all different temperatures from 93-152 F. Some of the pools have wet bars with flat screen playing soccer games, while others have waterfalls and saunas. Get a day pass for $26, it’s so relaxing.

5. The Natural Hot Springs of course! While Baldi is an amazing place to experience, nothing beats the real thing. All the locals know that right across the street from the super expensive resort called Tabacón is the perfect natural hot spring experience. It isn’t man-made, and it’s totally free! Bring some beers or even a picnic down to the warm water and enjoy.

6. Sky Trek’s Zip-lining Adventure I had already done zip-lining in Liberia and loved it, so I figured I’d give it another go at a place right next to our new hotel. This time both heights and speeds were higher, and of course the views were breathtaking. There are 8 zip-lines, the highest is 656 ft (200 m) above ground, and the fastest can take you to speeds up to 80 km/hr! And like anywhere in Arenal, you can get lunch there with the spectacular view.

7. La Fortuna Waterfall On our last full day we drove around the volcano to the La Fortuna Waterfall. Pay $11 and go down 500 steps to get to a gorgeous waterfall that you can swim near. Walk around some more and see all the fish under you feet in the clear waters of the river.

One last tip: Costa Rica has a departure tax of $29, they don’t always tell you about it beforehand, but you can pay it when you first arrive. This saves a lot of time and hassle waiting on line when you’re trying to leave.

#cr #costarica #arenal #volcano #lake arenal #volcano arenal #lake #liberia #foodie #travel #travel blog #rainforest #nature #photography

Berlin in depth

So i pretty much spent my first month in Berlin going to yoga classes, my physics classes, and just trying to figure everything out. I had to register my new housing situation with the government which involved multiple fruitless trips to their office due to my inability to understand anything that was happening and the long lines that often led to people being turned away after waiting for hours. Good times. Anyway, pretty much my first week there one of my best friends who was studying in Paris at the time came to visit me with her boyfriend. It was great to have some familiar faces around to do some sight-seeing with :).

We saw the Berlin Wall:

Aren't they cute?

We also saw the Konzerthaus:

It wasn't until the second month that I started German classes that I went to 5 times a week for 3 hours, and became good friends one of my new room mates. We were lucky enough to live in an amazing area of Berlin with tons of great food and bars, every day we discovered new places.

Some great places in our area include:

1) Luzia: I was here close to every day. During the day it was a great place to walk to and do work while drinking coffee, and when the weather was good they would open up their huge windows and you could sit on the cushioned ledge and work or people-watch. At night, it was a really fun bar.

2) Thai Kitchen: Amazing Thai food, really cheap even though it looks super fancy and romantic inside.

3) Maroush: The absolute best schawarma I have ever had in my life, and they're open at 4 am...perfect when you're coming back from a night out because let me tell you...they stay out all night in Berlin. You won't be home until the sun is up. Eventually, I made friends with the guys who worked the 4 am shift :D

4) Green Rice: An awesome Vietnamese place, I went all the time and always got the same thing...it was a rice dish with pineapples, peanuts, chicken, and lots of other good stuff. Great place for lunch.

5) Wonder Waffel: I only went here twice but the only reason was because I was afraid of getting addicted...it's similar to a fro yo place where you can choose from endless toppings, except non of it is healthy and you include a big helping of ice cream on top of a waffle. It's delicious, but dangerous.

That third month though, wow. One of my best friends from home came to live with me, and we had a blast. All of my friends kind of merged together into one big group, and it was the best time of my life.

#friends #europe #eurotrip #berlin #germany #pratergarten #wonderwaffel #maroush #thaikitchen #greenrice #luzia #berlinwall

How to maximize your eurotrip experience

1. Plan in advance. Like, way in advance. We booked flights, hostels, airbnb places, etc. months before leaving. The flights were cheaper than getting eurorail.

2. Take the time to look into festivals and events you would want to see and pick your route based on that. I planned our trip around Pamplona's Running of the Bulls (never again), Provence's Festival d'Aix en Provence (an amazing art festival), Gent's Gentse Feesten (a huge music festival), and Edinburgh's Fringe Festival. Here's where we went:

The only things I would change? More time in San Sebastian, less time in Pamplona and more time in Provence and less time in Nice. Pamplona is something to see for sure but watching a small bull get taunted in an arena was not what I was expecting (dumb on my part, maybe) and that really ruined it. Nice is relaxing but Provence is gorgeous beyond belief.

3. GO WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE. This can be make or break, honestly. The person can be your best friend in the whole world, but if they don't have certain characteristics required for this kind of traveling, it could be a disaster.

Some important characteristics:

- A go with the flow individual. They can't be rigid in what they want to do, they need to be okay with doing anything. Traveling for that long means you can't plan out every little detail, you have to just let it happen to you. Plan out the big picture, not the details.

-Someone good under pressure. Two really shitty things happened on our trip, I left my passport on a bench in Cinque Terre and didn't realize until we were on a train halfway to Bologna. Me and my friend Nikhita went all the way back to get it then made it to Bologna at night. The second shitty thing was that we messed up and thought out flight to Dublin was at 9 PM not AM, so we missed it by 12 hours. We got there the next day, about 300 euros poorer each. If I wasn't with two of the coolest girls on the planet, these things would have been unbearable. You have to be able to look at these shitty situations and be like, "Hey, we've been on the road for over a month and this is the worst that happened? It could be so much worse. Nothing to do about it now but enjoy the fact that we're here." Deal with your problems and don't throw shit fits about it. It doesn't solve anything.

The most perfect traveling companions. Find yourself a pair like this, and you're set.

-Someone who is down to try anything once. This one isn't SUPER important, your friends can always choose to sit something out, and another good characteristic is being okay with that and letting them do what they're comfortable with. But sometimes you get super lucky like me and you're with people who decide that even though it scares the shit out of them, they're not going to let you be the only one to jump off that huge cliff into beautiful Italian water. When you get that lucky, never let them go.

#europe #friends #eurotrip #tips #travel #planning

Berlin

I haven't touched this tumblr in months....but I think i'm going to stop using it as a pseudo-pinterest and start writing about some of the traveling i've done and plans for the future. Biggest most life-changing thing I did in 2014? Live in Berlin for 3 months. I highly recommend it to everyone, especially those who don't know anything about Berlin. I was in that boat, I went to finish my last couple undergrad physics credits there just because I could and well, it was a chance to go to Europe.

I had this whole plan to spend my weekends traveling everywhere....that did NOT happen. I left Berlin twice: once to visit my best friend in Paris, and once to visit my close family friend in Ghent, Belgium. The rest of the time, I was enjoying every second of being there.

It was an interesting situation: My physics professor was just trying to start a new program with a technical school in Berlin and me and one other student were going to be guinea pigs for it. We had to find our own housing, and we knew no one else. I found a place off of airbnb and so did he....but his housing situation didn't exactly work out the first time. I got aa panicked call from him one day (maybe 3 days into getting to Berlin) saying he needed to move out from his place IMMEDIATELY. Turns out...his roommate/ landlord had a 12-person orgy in the living room and the only bathroom in the apartment was in my friend's room so he had naked people walking in at 4 am to snort cocaine off of his toilet seat. I KID YOU NOT, THIS IS A TRUE STORY. I told one of my new room mates, and she started laughing and said, "Welcome to Berlin, I'm not even surprised."

This is a picture of me and that new room mate weeks later at Pratergarten in an area called Prenzlauer Berg....best Beer and Brat combo anywhere. And if you're really hungry, as I usually am, get the pasta with olives and arugula too. It'll be the best meal you've had in a while. Anyway, this roomate, Jamilla, a crazy outgoing girl from England, turned out to be one of my best friends. We ended up meeting two more times during my Eurotrip later that summer- I just couldn't say bye! She's coming to visit me in exactly 1 month :)

I got incredibly lucky with friends in a city where I knew barely anyone. Luckily in the beginning I had one contact- my mom's friend from high school who was an amazing yoga teacher in Kreuzberg, the same area where I lived. I went to her classes as often as possible even though it was all in German and I eventually caught on. She is such a fun, sweet, free-spirited person. She made the transition to a completely new life so much easier. Eventually I started taking German classes daily in another fun area of Berlin, Neukölln. From there I made friends with Italians, Brazilians, Indonesians, Brits, Macedonians, Bulgarians...the list goes on. Taking that class was the best decision I could have made over there.

Along with friends from all over the globe, I got to make friends with a bunch of amazing Germans. Through the school that we studied at, we made friends with one German guy who introduced us to all of his friends. We had countless hilarious times together and now I hear they're all working to open up a bar together in Berlin and I really want in...

Take home message? Get out of your comfort zone and when some ridiculous, random opportunity comes your way...maybe just take it? Even if you have no clue what it is you're getting yourself into...just jump. By the way, the kid on the left was the one caught in the orgy house ;)

#germany #berlin #german #study abroad #friends #orgy #europe #eurotrip