KELLY'S GONE AGAIN
…AND HERE'S WHERE I'M AT.#60. Corsica: L’Ile de Beaute
I decided over two years ago to stop blogging about travel. And then I changed my mind.
Here’s how you know you’re on vacation:
1) you completely, totally forget what day it is;
2) you eat two desserts a day, plus gelato (which obviously doesn’t count); and
3) when you wake up, your backyard looks like this: 
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#59. St. Barthelemy: Heaven and Hell
There are some places where, as soon as you arrive, you might as well have walked straight through the pearly white gates. There are others where, even if only instinctively, you feel fire. St. Barth is both.
#58. Big Sur: Going Back to Cali
One of the [few] things I love about moving is the discovery process (or, for my Type A’ers, re-discovery). Restoring memories from old photos, reliving favorite stories from old books, playing CDs burned years before but never titled. While unearthing some mystery music, one song in particular called out, “wouldn’t it be good if we could hop a flight to anywhere??” And I thought, “why yes, it would.”
The next day, I woke up in California.
#57. Washington, D.C.: The Fear Factor
So, I’ve been spending a lot of time outside lately. November has gifted Washington with some unusually mild-weathered days, which make the outdoors — complete with gold and auburn autumn leaves that [g]litter sidewalks — the perfect visual to calm me. And I do need calming. In the last 4 weeks, I’ve moved my old life to a new town, taken a 180-degree career turn, and launched a health and wellness business. Even for a fairly free-spirited girl like me who moved through more than 60 foreign cities this year, that’s a lot of change.
Many of you have asked how I’m not scared. Well, here’s my secret:
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#56. New York-Washington, D.C.: En Route Ramblings
Well, things on the “home front” (I know, sorry) have continued to rock gently back and forth. I’ve delayed my annual ordering of permanent address labels, opting instead for splitting time between Washington and New York until I make a commitment. I carry my life in a shoulder bag, friends; a one-woman, moving, modern nomadic force.
Today I’m heading south again, watching the City’s skyscrapers fade in the rear view. Every time I’m here, I feel I belong. Every time I go, I feel a little like I’m leaving the nest. It’s gray and muted – a slowly spinning scene around your own stillness – like saying goodbye to anything that’s a part of you.
Here’s the cool part, though…
#55. Washington, D.C.: Trading Peru for Temporary Permanence
We need to talk. I think I owe you an explanation. If you’ve been reading lately, you know I’m still considering where to live next. You know that I’ve returned from the Best Year Ever, and you’ve probably figured out that the title “Kelly’s Gone Again” doesn’t seem as zingy when I’m, well, here.
You may also know that I was seriously considering keeping it up and, for example, making a little life in Lima. What better way to spend the rest of 2009 than setting up shop in Peru and joining a maternity clinic I’d found to expand my interests in all things baby-related, right? Well…
Sidebar: International Volunteering: 5 Ways to Find a Fit
In lieu of writing an original post (I am workin’ on it), this sidebar highlights another post I wrote for The Lost Girls as a guest blogger. The title of the post is “International Volunteering: 5 Ways to Find a Fit,” and is essentially a summary of selected bits from Issue 2 of The Nonprofit Notes, “Giving Back While You’re Gone” (full version in the next column over).
I hope it helps you or someone you know find their perfect path to international service!
http://lostgirlsworld.blogspot.com/2009_09_01_archive.html (posted September 30, 2009)
Update (posted October 20, 2009): While we’re on the topic, also check out VolunTourism, a new addition to my nonprofit website blogroll. I recently spoke on a webcast with them, and have found the site to be a great resource for travel-related volunteer ideas.
#54. New York City: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful
I write listening to the soundtrack of a very talented street musician playing his guitar as I look at the silver skyline of my favorite city. Oh, New York, I do love you.
#53. Washington, D.C.: There’s No Place Like Home
So, now that I’m firmly back on American soil, I’ve been spending a lot of time with my family and pets (check out Harley Maximilian, pictured here, after one of our bonding+jogging sessions). In addition to reconnecting with others, I’ve also been reconnecting with my environment, thinking a lot about where I’m going next… and I don’t mean trips. Deciding on new short-term destinations is easy (Oslo? Lima? Kigali? Okinawa?), but choosing a city that will be my next home?
Not so much.
#52. Edinburgh: A Few Days During Festival
Here’s the short answer: Edinburgh was awesome. Quick and cool. Fun and fascinating. A perfect getaway.
Well, okay, the getaway part doesn’t really apply to me – seeing as how I’ve “gotten away” on a regular basis for the better part of this year – but the plan was that I’d make the trip with one of my best friends, Hannah, a new mum of a beautiful baby boy. At the end of the day, though, there were too many challenges, and I found myself in that familiar role on the road solo.
But I mean, really…there are worse things in life.
#51. Paris: My To-Do, -See, -Eat, -Buy List
Well, I’ve finally said goodbye to Paris and, oui, I do miss it a little. I’ll relive it here by sharing some memories with you in the form of a list, 20-deep of random things to do, see, taste, hear and buy, should you find yourself in the vicinity. For one reason or another, they helped make my summer pretty splendid. Take from it what you like and, of course, bon voyage!
#50. Brussels, Bruges & Ghent: 2000 Bottles of Beer on the Wall
Ooh, was I sleeping on Belgium. Brussels was my first trip in Europe as a kid (from my then-new home in Germany), and though I have fond memories, I really didn’t crave a return. I did, however, crave those waffles – the one thing that stood out after all those years. So after discovering that the train ride from Paris takes under 2 hours, I bought a ticket and was on my way.
