A Lifetime Odysessy

The average human being never leaves the continent they were born on. In fact, most never travel beyond their own country. My aunt has been to eight countries on four continents. She's crossed above the English Channel and below the Berlin Wall, tasted a glacier in Antarctica and toasted Bastille Day in Paris. And yet, she doesn't consider herself an adventurous person, asserting that she dislikes the “process of traveling”. Adventurous or not, Bethany has already experienced more of the world than many ever will.

She began her journeys in the summer of 1988, taking a trip to Europe with several other students after her high school graduation. At the time, Bethany had never traveled outside of the country, nor had she ever flown without an older relative present. She recalls the experience as “quite daunting” at the time. Aside from issues of safety and security, Bethany has often struggled with motion sickness, which has been a consistent obstacle to her travels. Luckily, she was able to make the excursion despite these issues. She first traveled to East Germany, living with a German family there for several days after passing through the infamous Checkpoint Charlie.

Despite being thousands of miles from home, Bethany was surprised at how familiar her surroundings felt. American cultural landmarks such as McDonalds and Coca-Cola were abundant everywhere she went in Europe, and it wasn't unusual to hear American music playing in shops and pubs. She was also fascinated by how easily she was able to make herself understood despite not sharing a language with many of the people she met. In fact, she believes that the language barrier enhanced her European experience. “It's amazing what you notice in your surroundings when you can...

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...not quite ready to give up her frequent flyer miles. In fact, she believes her current travels to have only been “the beginning of a lifetime odyssey”. She has visited four out of the seven continents, and now dreams of rounding out her collection by visiting the remaining three. In particular, she lists Egypt in Africa, Japan in Asia, and the Australian outback as future destinations, as well as returns to Europe to visit Italy, Spain and Russia. She also wishes to explore the American northeast, the Grand Canyon, and numerous other US National Parks. I have no doubt that she will visit many of these places. For as long as I've known her, my Aunt Bethany has been passionate about history, world travel and experiencing different cultures. I can think of no person better suited to exploring these exotic locales, and look forward to hearing tales of her future voyages.