Savoring the World: Hit and Misadventures

Description

Not your typical travelogue. Instead, this book is organized by the nature of the experience the author had while traveling.

I am an avid world traveler. I have lived in a variety of international locations, and I have both studied abroad and taught abroad. I have backpacked, camped out, stayed at youth hostels, and now, in my senior years, I have stayed in topnotch hotels and resorts. I have flown standby, and I have flown first class. I have hitchhiked, and I have taken public transportation, slow trains, fast trains, boats, and ships. I cherish my memories. They are solid, like granite, and they remind me of what I have been through and of how they have made me into a better person. World travel has taken me out of my comfort zone, has freed me from ever living a cocoon-like life, has taught me to reach for the stars, and has provided me with an education that far surpasses any level that I could have achieved in any other way.

“Thank you, world!” I can shout from the greatest heights and from the lowest depths, from Germany’s Zugspitze to California’s Death Valley. I’ve been in the burning sands of Saudi Arabia, and I have been in the Arctic freeze of Lapland in Finland. I’ve been there and I am a better person for it.

Everything and everybody in this book is factual. All details are true to life. This is exactly how it all happened. It is as if yesterday is today, and, in a way, that’s the way it really is. These glimpses of my world journeys are poignant, funny, comical, inspiring, and sometimes frightening, but one thing is for certain: every word details precisely and truthfully how it all happened.