South Africa
In March of 2020 for spring break, I traveled to Cape Town, South Africa. I decided to do an 'alternative spring break', where I would volunteer with a local organization through IVHQ. The organization I volunteered with was SAVE South Africa. I chose to do the surf, swim and skate program, where I ran after school programs as an incentive to help keep kids in school. In addition to the after school programs, we volunteered in elemetry and preschools in a nearby township. The township that we volunteered in was Du'noon township. Du'noon is one of the poorer townships in the area, and being there was a very shocking experience. The way that some of these people lived was something that I had only ever read about in books. Outside of volunteering with SAVE, I was able to do some touristy things during my time in South Africa. I went on a safari tour, visited Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens and I even got to ride horseback through a winery in Stellenbosch. My trip to Cape town may have been very different than my other trips, but it is something that I am glad I was able to experience.
Italy
Italy is one of the few places that I have been lucky enough to visit more than once. In the summer of 2017, my family and I visited Venice, Florence, Rome, Pompeii and Capri. In spring of 2019, I studied aborad in Verona, Italy through the GLOBIS spring semester program here at UGA. While abroad, I was able to travel to Spain, France, Germany, Monaco, Austria and Switzerland. In addition to the places my family visited in Italy, many of which I was able to revisit on study abroad, I was able to travel to Ravenna, Milan, Bologona, and Ravenna. Italy will always hold a special place in my heart, as it is the where I truly got to experience what its like to be an American living in Europe.
The Island of Hawai'i
As a little kid, my parents always told my brother and I how we visited the Hawai'ian islands as children. However, neither of us had any memory of that trip. In the summer of 2019, my parents decided to bring us back to Hawai'i, so that we could experience the islands as adults. We were able to visit the Island of Hawai'i and Maui. Both islands that we visited were so fun, but also so different at the same time. The Island of Hawai'i was much more rocky as it is home to Kilauea and Mauna Loa. Due to these volcanoes, there are also a ton of black sand beaches! During our trip to Hawai'i, we visited Volcanoes National Park, the black sand beaches, and we went snorkleing in Kailua-Kona. Overall, our time on the Island of Hawai'i was much more adventurous than our time in Maui.
Maui
If someone was to tell you they were going on a Hawai'ian vacation, you would imagine the beachs of Maui. Maui was a much more beachy and laid back island. The topography of the island is also completely different than the island of Hawai'i, as it is much flatter. In Maui, we were able to really relax and enjoy ourselves. We went on a catamaran tour, snorkled some more and soaked up the sun on Kā'anapali beach. Like all of these places, I would love to go back to the Islands of Hawai'i and one day be able to visit Oahu and Kaua'i.