I had an INTERESTING CONVERSATION with a colleague a few weeks ago on our respective travel opportunities and how such opportunities aided in the LIFE DIRECTIONS we're currently living. First off, my DECISION TO TRAVEL TO ALL SEVEN OF THE WORLD's CONTINENTS probably occurred AFTER MY FOREIGN EXCHANGE program back in College over 24 years ago.
There was SOMETHING THAT CAME ALIVE WITHIN ME when I first traveled over seas. Yeah, I say "over seas" as I had traveled a few times from the USA to Canada, but it never REALLY FELT as if I had traveled to a different country~Silly, I know, but there it is! In any case, I flew off to the UK to do an Exchange Program through my College and I'm SO GLAD I DID...So glad my Father found the spare "ducats"...So glad my Mother did not put her foot down....Just completely happy that ALL THINGS FELL INTO PLACE for this journey to happen. Within days of being in England, I realized that TRAVEL AND TRAVELING just had to be a part of my life some how...Like the oxygen we breathe, I KNEW TRAVEL WOULD BE MY SOUL'S SOLACE. So, what was it exactly, you ask, that was so LIFE CHANGING? The people, the foods, the way they lived, the activities they typically participated in, the morning routines and their evening routines, their versions of WHAT WAS FUNNY and their perceptions of me as an American~I found IT ALL FASCINATING!
So, shortly after that experience, I CHALKED OUT SOME ROUGH GOALS for myself~I wanted to visit all Seven of the World's Continents AND, as an American, I wanted to visit All 50 States by Age 50. Yup, I put a TIMEFRAME on myself. This kept me moving forward and delving into States I would most likely not have opportunities to visit. So, just from this VERY BRIEF INTERACTION WITH A COLLEAGUE, and while I'm NO LONGER a Passport Stamp Collector, I was quite interested in gathering my thoughts of the ACTUAL COUNTRIES I've had the pleasure of either visiting, working with and/or living in as an Expat:
AFRICA
Lesotho
South Africa
ANTARCTICA
ASIA
- Afghanistan
- China
- Hong Kong
- Israel
- Macau
- Singapore
- South Korea
- The Philippines
AUSTRALIA
EUROPE
- Amsterdam
- Austria
- Brussels
- Croatia
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Holland
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Liechtenstein
- Norway
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- United Kingdom
- Vatican City
- Yemen
- Yugoslavia
NORTH and CENTRAL AMERICA
- Bahamas
- Canada
- Jamaica
- Mexico
- Puerto Rico
- United States of America
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California (Lived and Worked for 6-Years)
- Colorado
- Connecticut (Lived and Worked for 15-Years)
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania (Born, Raised, and Lived)
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
SOUTH AMERICA
- Argentina