Reuniting with a London sister yet again!

Over the weekend I went to Philadelphia for my friend’s wedding. My friend, whom I hadn’t seen in seven years and only met once…..in London.

In 2005, I was selected as one of 28 young girls to travel to London as part of the Teen Ink London Summer Writing Program. The annual program (which now takes place in New York) brought girls together from all over the world together for the sole purpose of honing our writing skills.

L to R: Me, Christine, Tiffany, Christina and Jess in 2005 in front of
St. Paul's Cathedral in London

The group, with ages ranging from 14 to 18, got along pretty well…well as well as hormonal girls can. There were different groups within the 28 girls simply because you hang out with who you feel you can connect to.

We all kept in touch mainly through letters or emails and complained about how much we missed London. Soon Myspace and Facebook popped on the scene and we were all able to see how each other’s lives were going through pictures, statuses and videos.

Fast forward five years after the trip to when I reconnected with one of my friends on the trip, Tiffany. She lived only an hour and a half away and we were able to meet up twice to hang out with one another. It was lovely. We picked up right where we left off.

Tiffany and I in 2010

Now fast forward to the year 2012 where Christine gets married! I remember our phone conversations after we came back from London when she’d tell me about working at a restaurant and dating him. Now I finally got to meet him and see her again.

The beautiful bride and I!

Was it worth a weekend trip to Philadelphia just to go to a wedding that I wasn’t even a part of? Yes! We’re London sisters. We experienced the London bombings together and for many of us it was our trip outside of the country. We have this unique bond that is unbreakable even if we go months without talking. Congratulations to Christine and Rafael!

Go Hard, Excellence, No Excuses and Travel Challenge: Day 14--What Did You Learn from Traveling Abroad?

I'm home from Philadelphia and I am pooped!

My apologies for not updating at all this week! We had eight hour + days on deadline, then no WIFI in the hotel room ($10 per day) and even though I could go to the lobby to use the internet, it was FREEZING down there! I suffered through it once and that was enough for me.


The NABJ Student Project was amazing though. I'm incredibly grateful to them for showcasing my reporting abilities and helping me network.

I'll admit that it was extremely stressful and draining at times, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.

The city of Philadelphia in itself was wonderful. My experience was the typical "star-struck small town girl sees a big city" reaction. It's funny because I've traveled to big cities across the pond, but had yet to go to a big city in my home country! Maybe that's why I had stars in my eyes.

Anyway, here are a few pictures of my time in Philly! Also, make sure to read the articles I wrote for NABJ!

Philadelphia!

Arch St

The view from my hotel

Jade, Ariele, Ashley and I on our last day with NABJ

Ashley, Jade and I at the Student Choice Awards

My roommate Ariele and I

The mentors and mentees! (L to R Demorris, me, Michael, Ashley, Jade, Michael and Delano)

The students! Jade, myself, Michael and Ashley. Great times!

Our motto for the 2011 convention: GO HARD, EXCELLENCE, NO EXCUSES!

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Now onto day 14 of the travel challenge! What have I learned from traveling abroad?

Keep an open mind to everything.

Could I have done this close-minded? No!

When I travel, I am a blank book waiting to be filled with new words, different languages and beautiful pictures. I want to take in as much as I can when I travel and the only way to do that is to keep an open mind to EVERYTHING. Whether it's religion, politics or something that I don't necessarily agree with, I keep an open mind to everything when I travel because it ultimately makes me a better person.

Travel Challenge: Day 13--Favorite Travel Quote AND I'm In the City of Brotherly Love!

Before we get to where I am or why I'm here, I have to share with you my ULTIMATE favorite travel quote. Well, it's not really a quote but more of an excerpt from the fabulous book I'm reading (there will be a review of it soon!) A Year in the World by Frances Mayes.


"When travelling you have the delectable possibility of not understanding a word of what is said to you. Language becomes simply a musical background for watching bicycles zoom along a canal calling for nothing from you. Even better if you speak the language you catch nuances and make more contact with people. Travel releases spontaneity. You become a godlike creature full of choice free to visit the stately pleasure domes make love in the morning sketch a bell tower read a history of Byzantium stare for one hour at the face of Leonardo da Vinci’s Madonna dei fusi. You open as in childhood and – for a time – receive this world. There’s the visceral aspect too – the huntress who is free. Free to go Free to return home bringing memories to lay on the hearth." 


Beautiful.
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In other news, I'm in Philadelphia! I've liked what I've seen so far too. I'm here for a journalism convention with the National Association of Black Journalists Student Multimedia Project (what a mouthful!) and while they are keeping me busy, I'm loving every minute of it.