| Time for an update as I download episodes of Lost and Prison Break. 
I was thinking about all the trends and things I've taken a vested interest in through the years - ballet, swimming, figure skating, karate, music, singing, movies, tv, theater, drawing, writing - and I realized that the only one I'm certain to have maintained with as much intensity as probably the day I was born is traveling. If I ever had a passion, that's it.
I was fortunate to have gotten to do my fair share fo traveling when I was younger. Lately though, I think I've just had alot of committments to attend to that've kept me here. I guess I'm gonna stick it out in school for the next few years, maybe sneak in a trip or two in between, but definitely after I graduate I'll be off on a jetplane to anywhere (beginning with the list of places I've compiled which I think I find myself most wanting to go)...
The combination of my curiosity, love of culture and history as well as what seems to be a perpetual restlessness must be what fuels my love of discovering new places.
(this could get long...)
I got to travel alot as a kid as a result of my dad's many business trips that we got to tag along for. When I was 7 or 8, his work led us to the sunny Dominican Republic. There are so many places I haven't been to yet, but I know that no matter where I get to go, Sto. Domingo will remain my favorite location in the world.
Nothing spectacular happened there, actually. In fact, I spent the first day or so of that vacation in the bathroom throwing up. I even remember eating fried eggs day, after day after day the entire 2 weeks we were there. I don't think I so much as looked at an egg for about half a year after that. Hahaha. (My dad tells me now that there were in fact other breakfast choices and that I probably just didn't notice them. Wow. I suppose he thinks it's better late than never to know that.) Anyway, food aside, everything about the place was perfect.
 
Since I was there over a decade ago, the only thing I was interested in at that age was the beach and seeing new things. I wasn't tasked with planning the trip so I can't really give you an intelligent evaluation of the place. But I can tell you how I felt. Have you ever been to a place and the minute you arrive just feel right? I'd like to say that that's the feeling I get everytime I hit up my hometown, but this was just different. All the details of the place are still pretty fresh in my memory. The first thing I noticed upon stepping out of the airport was the weather. It was impossible to ignore the sun bearing down on the city. It was the hottest weather I'd ever experienced. We stayed at a place called The Renaissance Capella. Again, as a kid with parents to take care of everything, I wasn't to be bothered with any of the technicalities. I was just there to enjoy. I remember coming out of the shower the first evening and walking into the airconditioned room, excited for the night ahead. We went out and walked toward the large dining area of the hotel. It was a nice balmy evening. I'm a sucker for great lighting, which it had. It just made the setting warm and magical. There were peacocks all around too, which I found cool. Come dinner time, and later into the evening, dining area was always full and loud - but not noisy. (If you think about it, there's a real difference between the two, isn't there?) There was live music playing of course. It's like you couldn't go anywhere in that city without hearing live music played, whether it was at the bistros or the beach at night or along the streetsides during the day. I adored that.
We'd either spend the day wandering around the city or hanging out on the beach. I still remember the ladies walking along the shore with their baskets in hand, braiding and beading people's hair. I wanted to get mine braided, but I think they were charging an arm and a leg for it at the time. Haha. We visited this museum-ish aquarium thing which I liked too. Santo Domingo was also the first place I'd been to with street vendors. I remember they had alot of beautiful amber jewelry there. I bet mom still has the necklaces and stuff we got ourselves. And I know I have the set of maraccas around here somewhere. Mom and Dad bought me a T-shirt at the gift shop. A nice purple shirt with a picture of the beach on it. The print has almost completely peeled off, as it should, after a decade of washing, but I refuse to throw it out. It still fits, if you can believe that.
Maybe it's weird to be such a huge fan of a place, especially after at least a decade of not re visiting. But I find myself still in love with it. Sometimes if I focus hard enough, I think I can even remember the way the place smelled. Like it had a different kind of fresh air. It was the kind of place with its own soul, you know?
A website gave it this description:
A great place to begin your explorations is the nation's capital, Santo Domingo, an enchanting city uniting modern sophistication, old world charm, and Latin charisma. This throbbing metropolis seduces you with superb dining, vibrant night life, and fashionable shopping. It is the first European city in the Western Hemisphere, and a large part of its rich colonial heritage is preserved in a unique enclave beside the Ozama River called the "Colonial City."
It's an extraordinary city-scape of sixteenth century dwellings, imposing late medieval palaces and fortresses, set amidst a refreshingly non-geometric street-grid. Santo Domingo can boast the
Western Hemisphere's first cathedral, its first monastery, its first hospital, its first university, and its first court of law. Recognizing Santo Domingo as the cradle of European civilization in the New World, UNESCO has declared the Colonial City a world heritage site.The cobblestone streets and centuries-old façades of the Colonial City house scores of picturesque cafés and bars, small hotels and well established restaurants. In the expansive plaza framed by the Palace of Columbus, the Casas Reales Museum and the quaint 17th century sundial, the sidewalk cafés come alive after dusk as an intimate, informal rendezvous for locals and visitors alike. (santo-domingo.net)
If I were a city, I think this is the one I'd be. I wouldn't see myself as an entirely modern metropolis like Tokyo, or as relaxed as an American suburb. Yeah, I'd be more like this one - dynamic, curious and open to new things, yet incredibly rooted and traditional.
Just a thought.
It's really something to find the place that gives you that feeling. The place. So whether you like traveling, or would rather keep your feet firmly planted in home soil, I hope you find that place for you.
i tag anyone who already has their place to write or tell me about it. 
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Pretty often I think about what life might have been like to have grown up and gone through our teen years together. I suppose it would've been great to have that extra support system in them. But I'm not complaining. Family will always be family, so it's better late than never. 