One of my main goals for this year is to go outside of the country, at least once. I want to be able to expand my knowledge of the world by seeing it up close. I want to experience life in a way that I have not experienced before. Eventually, I would like to make an effort to travel as often as I can.
Growing up outside of the U.S. for most of my childhood, all I ever wanted to do was to be a normal American kid. I didn’t have a lot of motivation to travel because, although I had the desire, it just wasn’t in the forefront of my life. When I was traveling, it was to see friends or family in America.
Even though I was making experiences, I wasn’t inspired in any way.
As I have gotten older, I have had an increased desire, however, I never took the initiative to save up for trips and make a strong plan to carry it through. Now that I am saving up to travel, I realize that I don’t even know where to begin to pick a place to go.
At first, I thought I would just go to a place that I always had in the back of my head. But I am challenging myself to think bigger this year. I want to go somewhere that is not on my radar or a place that I haven’t necessarily heard of. I want to explore. I want to adventure.
So with this blog, I will write a list of places based on the books I have read. From there, this will be my travel bucket list.
Sydney, New South Wales From Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam From The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen.
Egypt From Revolution for Dummies: Laughing through the Arab Spring by Bassam Yousef
Glasgow, Scotland From Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Ghana From Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Borgo Santo Spirito, Rome From The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
Puerto Rico From If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin
Nigeria Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Haiti From Brother, I’m Dying by Edwidge Danticat
Somalia From Call Me American: A Memoir by Abdi Nor Iftin
