300,000+ miles, 28 countries, and a lifetime of people, places, and stories etched in distant and near memory: the last three years have been quite a trip.

admittedly, my wanderlusting ways came into fruition ten years ago, when i embarked on my first study abroad experience, igniting travels throughout europe and giving me a taste of expatriate life, one that even Hemingway would have envied.

but the frequent, somewhat excessive, and often calculated jetsetting emerged in october 2008. it started with a last-minute jaunt to madrid over columbus day weekend. still heartbroken over my recent breakup with axel (an older german businessman who i had been seeing for most of ’08 until i ended things after he moved to münchen), i resolved to celebrate columbus day by paying homage to his homeland. warmly welcomed to the capital by my catalán friends eliane y roger, i soaked up all that spain had on tap: tapas, wino tinto, paseo del prado, bailando.

nearly three years later, as i return from another solo trip abroad, face still freshly kissed by the mazatlán sun and hair gently touseled from pacific waves and wind, my thoughts wander to that last day, surrounded by sequential beach breaks, sunshine, and high tide slowly creeping up on us as we surf and ride the big blue ocean.