If lost, please contact:

           HELP- I need some feedback.  I don’t know where I’m from and I need to figure it out before I go any further!  I spent 14 years growing up just outside Boston, 3 adolescent years in Exeter, NH, 4 college years in Chestnut Hill, and 6 very impressionable young adult years in NYC.  I mean, home is where your heart is but I’ve left mine in a few places over the years.  Should I say Boston since it represents my roots?  It may be my home when I return from my trip but that doesn’t mean I love that dirty water now.   Of course it DOES have those sports teams (that will be the bane of my existence) that make for good talking points.  Some people speak so fondly of the homogenous city ‘where everybody knows your name’ mostly because there’s a good chance it’s Murphy or O’Malley.

           

          And then there’s NYC.  The greatest city in the world.  Everyone knows NYC so I would never have to repeat myself. After 6 years, I know the lay of the land much more thoroughly in NYC than Boston.  I know the smell of the garbage juices around port authority at midnight, I’ve seen the sun set directly in the middle of 42^nd street on the summer solstice, I’ve heard the ostentatious bums ask for money when I’ve already offered them food.  The life I’ve made for myself was in NYC, my friends are all in NYC, and, for god’s sake, my mattress is still in NYC.  Is it really an evil empire that will cause people to assume the worst in me?  Or will they wish they knew the pride and privilege that runs through a New Yorker standing in the middle of 3^rd Avenue looking up and down the island when “Empire State of Mind” comes on the ipod?

So, what should my luggage tag say? 

If lost, please contact:

Kerri Sanders

Boston, MA or New York, NY?

Hello Aruba, hello skin cancer

               

                 There’s a reason why Ireland is located at a latitude of 53, 20N' and a longitude of 6, 15W'.  It’s not that us Irish don’t like the sun.  It’s that the sun doesn’t like us.  When my plane touched down in Oranjestad, Aruba, I should have had visions of carefree sun-frolicking dancing in my head like every other person on the plane.  Instead, I had flashbacks to a trip to Hawaii where I fainted five times from sun poisoning and each finger and toe resembled the kind of red only found on burn victims. Carribbean vacations for an Irish/Lithuanian girl should be taken with caution…and a sunblock holster that complements the bikini of choice. 

                After one week, I am happy to say that I am responsibly tan.  My lips got the worst of it this trip and are currently covered with a couple sun blisters.  Sexy, right?  It’s about as sexy as my dad lathering my back with sunscreen each day.  A small con for a single girl.  The light aqua water surrounding Aruba’s shores were so inviting that I drank quite a bit of it while learning how to kitesurf on days 4 and 6.  The wind was extremely powerful and the sport itself was very humbling.  Here are some other highlights:

1)      Snorkeling on Arashi Reef- We got up close and person with hundreds of colorful fish who seemed to like Ritz crackers.  I have no idea what those preservatives will do to a fish’s metabolism.  Mind the sodium.

2)      Volleyball at the Rui- The 10 year old inside me went up to strangers asking if I could join their game.  They asked if I was good and I said yes so they would let me play. It was my first lie of the trip- I was scrappy at best.

3)      Crashed a Canadian corporate party at the Hyatt-  Quickly got kicked out but was asked back in by the only single guy at the resort.  Jonathan Champagne (no I didn’t change his name to protect his identity) and his Canadian coworkers surprisingly loved to boogie! 

4)      Becoming a local tourist- I scored some free boat rides with some locals that took tourists tubing and snorkeling.  I learned about their lives on the island while diving for starfish and disobeying every boating law that exists in the States.  One was confident enough to let me drive the boat after I asked if the trim was up enough- a little knowledge goes a long way.  They called me ‘Snow White’ on day 1, ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ on day 3, and ‘Local Tourist’ on day 7.

 Lowlights:

1)      Being outlasted at the bar- My parents and their 6 friends (mean age of 61) drank, ate, drank, ate, drank and drank some more.  My teeth felt like they would fall out from those sugary drinks yet the threat of diabetes stopped none of them.

2)      Telling people I was on vacation with my parents- I’m a little old to be on vaca alone with my parents.  It gave me a newfound appreciate for all of my siblings.  The role of the only child is tough!!

3)      Seeing the preliminary stages of skin cancer- Light people want to be darker.  Dark people want to be lighter.  We’re all unsatisfied.  I saw some people that took it to a whole other level and there’s probably some skin cancer in their future.  Oucha.

4)      Saying goodbye to my parents- No surprise here.  It was a tearful goodbye at the airport as it would be the last time I would see them before I leave for NZ and OZ.

Who do you think you are starting a blog?

    I'll admit it.  Overall I find blogs to be very narcissistic...so I'll do my best to keep up with everyone else.  Friends have insisted I start this thing so they can follow me on my walk about the world.  They probably won't even read it though.  It was just an alternative to 'we'll keep in touch on facebook' or 'probably won't ever see you again but it's rude to say that'.  Regardless, starting a blog was entirely too easy.  They should have more of a screening process because there aren't that many interesting people out there and one shouldn't be allowed to waste people's time so easily.  But I'm efficient.  So let me get to the point where I waste your time. 


Here's a breakdown of important upcoming dates for me:
March 25th- move my stuff from NYC back from to Saugus, MA
March 27th- Leave for Aruba with 8 wonderful people over the age of 60
April 3rd- Return to NYC to wash clothes and repack
April 4th- Leave for Queenstown, New Zealand
April 23rd- Leave for Sydney, Australia
June 10th- Leave for Boston, MA
June 18th- My brother gets married in Lake Placid, NY (my only commitment for 2011)
July to December- backpack through Europe


If posting a comment, feel free to personalize any of the following:
If i were going on this trip, I would...
New Zealand may not let Kerri in the country because...
Kerri will get sunburned on the __ day.
The Aussie and Kiwi men should be warned that...
NYC won't be the same without Kerri because...
On this trip, Kerri is most likely to
a) lose her passport
b) break her leg
c) become a professional windsurfer
d) shave her head
There is a __% chance that Kerri will fit in her bridesmaid dress in June
True or False: I will get a collect call from Kerri looking for $$


These were all posed to my friends on Friday night at my going away party. A minimum of 3 cosmos is necessary before answering them.