Oh, right, I went to Nicaragua.

Everything is so bright.

Everyone keeps asking me...

"How was Nicaragua?"
"Oh my gosh! You're back! How was it?"

And, really, all I remember is doing a lot of walking and trying to figure out what I'm going to write about. Because, by the time I left the US, I had two weeks, maybe three max, to start up a new story and make a new, different set of contacts in Nicaragua. It was like the entire first quarter of the year had disappeared and I was starting fresh.

I actually have detailed logs of the trip, because we needed to send them to our professors to send to the school to show that we actually spent the money we said we did, and the professors didn't just use the money to buy things unrelated to the trip.

My logs are great, and became a little sassy by the end of the trip.

• Thursday: Took an airplane to Managua then a bus to Granada, and then used our feet to go to dinner, exchange money and purchase a cell phone.
• Sunday: Woke up, ate breakfast at the hotel, walked to Pan de Vida and spent ~1.5 hours photographing and talking to Andrea, a 39 year old Canadian expat. Walked to hotel. Walked back to Granada cathedral square. Ate lunch. Walked back to hotel. Watched Lightroom tutorial videos. Organized photos in Lightroom. Contacted Nica gov't (again). Found address for office of immigration in Managua (planning on stopping by on Tuesday and requesting to speak to someone. Preparing to be turned down.) Attended group meeting. Assisted organizing after group meeting. Walked to grocery store and pizza place. Walked back. Ate food. Read a book. Now going to bed.
• Friday: We flew back.

Film photo after our group dinner on the last night.

I didn't get to complete an interview for my story until Tuesday, which was really late considering we arrived in Nicaragua on the previous Thursday. But! I still learned a lot!

I learned a lot about photojournalism, mostly in light of the fact that it's really hard to do photojournalism and written journalism at the same time. I was able to identify that writing comes naturally to me, while taking photos is a skill I definitely need to work on. It is also incredibly difficult to focus on photographing, improving my photography, and writing at the same time because the story I'm working on is incredibly nascent and needs a lot of attention.

So, while my camera is still my baby, I didn't take a lot of photos I can show people. I got to photograph a Canadian expat who owns a bakery with her husband, and I got to take some photos at a wind farm, but I also was very, very preoccupied by the issue at hand--I had no clue what I was going to do with my immigration story, and trying to figure that out took precedence over driving hours to the border just to take a few photos (because I really actually wanted to drive to the Costa Rica border and photograph it, but that didn't happen.)

Film photo of Andrea Pellegrino, co-owner of Pan de Vida bakery. Their cinnamon buns are amazing.

Ultimately, I think I'm also in a little bit of shock from the trip. It was crazy. Being thrown in to another country, hanging out with people for 24/7 for a little more than a week, trying to figure out what I'm going to write about and who I'm going to talk to....yeah. It was crazy.

In the end, I made some really great contacts that are yielding fruitful interviews and I will be able to pull off a story on south to south immigration, from Nicaragua to Costa Rica.

As I type that "I will be able to..." I just kinda can't believe that it's going to happen. I have so much work to do. SO MUCH WORK. Even as I type this, I'm listening to an hour long interview I completed in Spanish with the assistance of my friend Molly. The homework never ends, and I really don't want to think or talk about this trip until, like, EVER, because it's so deeply associated with how much work I have to do for this class. It's like a stress trigger.

So is the word "canal." OMG plz don't mention that around me.

We named her Rosie. She had street smarts and followed us around for a few days.

Ok. Deep breaths. Look at the picture of the puppy. In light of the stressed homework-y tone of this post, I did have some very good times. There were plenty of chances to bond with my classmates, and learn who likes who, who is scared of who, who is the craziest egg in the basket...the normal stuff.

I sat on the roof of our hotel many nights discussing life and religion over Toña and Victoria, two of the local beers in Nicaragua. I also got to eat a lot of really good food, namely gallo pinto, tostones y queso, and guyaba jam on toast. But mostly, gallo pinto. I also had my first macuá and got to use a burner phone for a week. I felt like such a secret agent; it was great.

What I got most out of this trip was 1) the ability to speak Spanish in stressful situations, 2) the understanding that I shouldn't compare myself to others too much when it comes to progress, 3) the general acclamation that comes with going to a foreign country for a few weeks. days. whatever.

It felt like weeks.

By the time we flew home, I was ready to be in Arizona. If I go to Nica again, it will be as a tourist--and I will surf.

Nicaragua

✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️

Here we go! 

I'm writing about immigration from Nicaragua to Costa Rica, and have interviews set up. I have two bags (a massive backpack that weighs 24 pounds and a checked suitcase that probably also weighs 24 pounds) and am so ready for this.

I'm also incredibly nervous. This is my first major journalism adventure out of the country. I'm still working on what I'm focused on, and will probably be refocusing as the trip goes on.

But it's also a learning experience, so that's okay.

I went to Welcome Chicken and Donuts this afternoon and told Michael (the owner) about my trip, and he said he's proud of all us journalism students; that we're hard working and willing to get dirty while reporting. He called us the kitchen workers of the journalism world. We make great product in a stressful, intense environment.

And that is some encouragement I needed to hear.

Preparation: Nicaragua

I leave for Nicaragua in two weeks, and I am quickly realizing just how short a span of time that is.

I have so much to do in preparation, mostly including outlining the story I'm writing, receiving my extra camera battery and LED camera-top light in the mail, and packing 3/4 of my things in my carry on. Mostly because I'm bringing a lot of equipment, but also because I need to bring underwear and toiletries in case they lose my suitcase.

But, on the bright side, I get to flex my journalist muscles and enjoy one of the most beautiful an (someone told me) one of the oldest countries in the western hemisphere.

I need to fact check that before I write it somewhere.

2015 Plans

2015.
The year is here.
I am graduating, which means I need to find a job and start saving for things like an apartment and cell phone bill and food.

That doesn't mean I'm not traveling, though.

I'm hoping to head out to a few different places this year, including

Nicaragua
I think I've already mentioned this, but I'm going to Nicaragua to get journalism stuff done.
And a grant is paying for it.

HALLELUJAH AMEN

Canada..fo real this time.
Remember last summer when I said I'd be road tripping to Portland/Seattle/Canada with my friend Natalie? Well, that's actually happening this summer. Me + Natalie + Adam (my boyfriend) and a few of his friends.

We'll take his 1991 Izusu Trooper and a bunch of camera equipment, and film a documentary. Which I should start working on now.

Sacramento? Los Angeles? Prescott?
I applied for an internship in Sacramento/LA, and a job in Prescott. I could end up working for the Associated Press this summer, or with UCYC--a summer camp for church kiddos.

Denver!

Dear me, oh my!

I haven't mentioned that I went to Denver for Thanksgiving!

I blame it on the crazy amount of final projects I had.

Sawyer + Sarah

So, yes. My final trip of 2014 was to Denver, Colorado. It was a short trip--I left Phoenix Wednesday night at 10:40 pm, and arrived back in Phoenix Saturday morning at 9 am. However, the brevity of the trip did not detract from the adventure.

This was my third (fourth?) and final year spending Thanksgiving in a different state than my parents. I initially was going to go to Tucson with them (to stay at the Hotel Congress and watch the ASU vs U of A game) but they stalled in making hotel reservations.

I found out in September that two of my friends, Sarah and Sawyer, would be unable to return to Phoenix for neither Thanksgiving nor Christmas, so I booked a plane ticket to Denver.

Life lesson: Consider checking your savings account before you book a plane ticket on a whim when you're in college. It may take months to recover. Not to say that happened to me.

As the weeks passed and as Thanskgiving drew nearer, I became increasingly excited to leave my homework behind for a while and head out to a new territory.

I've visited Denver once before, but this was my first time flying into Denver and spending time in the southern side, and my first time going in the winter.

It was basically freezing when I arrived. I'm so glad I bought a coat for this trip. When my flight landed, I took a moment to enjoy the art in the Denver airport (there are a lot of conspiracy theories about it) before getting in Sarah and Sawyer's car and going home and to bed.

I slept soundly on the most. comfortable.  air mattress ever. created. As soon as I awoke, we began drinking coffee and cooking food. I made my favorite dish, green bean casserole with fresh green beans. It was heavenly.

We ate Thanksgiving dinner picnic-style and discussed what we are most thankful for this year.

My list included my parents' house, Sarah + Sawyer, my boyfriend Adam, the ability to travel, and my education.

Because we ate so early, we had a full afternoon of time to kill. We sat around. We watched tv. We ate pie. We drank wine. We went shopping at 6 pm on Thanksgiving day.

Yeah, I just said that.

It was my first Black Friday experience, and it wasn't even on Black Friday. It was also incredibly tame--the line to enter Target had dismantled by the time we got there, and there were still piles of large televisions for people to purchase.

I bought two pairs of gloves and that was it.

We went to World of Beer afterwards and enjoyed the potluck there (our second Thanksgiving dinner) and local pumpkin ale. It was a very peaceful, low-key holiday, and I loved it.

Friday was spent crafting and watching the ASU vs U of A game on the air mattress.

Sarah has picked up watercolors as a hobby, and she's really good at it. Like, Etsy-good.

I, on the other hand, created glamorous stockings for Adam and I. They are argyle and metallic and shiny and spectacular.

Unfortunately, I awoke incredibly early Saturday morning to head home to Phoenix. It was a rough early morning, but the sunrise was beautiful from the Southwest gate and the view of snowcapped mountains under my airplane's wing really made for a gorgeous end to my trip.

I arrived back in Phoenix well rested and ready to finish the semester off.

Adventures: Past and Future

I've done a lot of learning as I've traveled in 2014.

My trip to Austin in February taught me to be spontaneous, which is really the biggest lesson I've learned. That, and to always remove my laptop from my luggage before going through TSA.

In March, I learned that I am just as badass as one of the boys when it comes to backpacking, camping, hiking, etc. That was the trip where we drove to the Superstitions, arrived late, hiked in and set up camp in the pitch black night, were rained on, and nearly rained into the canyon. This is also when I had a bee fly into my backpack (while I was wearing it) and woke up to a beetle in my sleeping bag. And I didn't freak out either time.

May is when I committed to my trip to Oakland and Portland, spending more money on transportation than I ever have.

When that trip came around in June, I had learned a lot about being flexible. My plans never really materialized until a week before I left, and I didn't have my travel date for moving from OAK to PDX set until I had already arrived in Oakland.

I spent a lot of time by myself (especially in Oakland/San Francisco) and that was a beautiful thing. There's an art to getting lost--lost in a city, lost in thought. I mastered that art and made some wonderful life revelations in my time spent alone with a cup of coffee, camera and notebook.

Portland brought its own joys, one of which being Rhea, my mentor. Seeing her may have been one of the single best events of this year, partially because I realized what I want to report on, as a journalist.

Which brings me to where I am today.

I've got a lot of adventures under my belt for 2014, but I have an even bigger adventure ahead.

For one, I'm graduating from Arizona State in May (gasp, how did that happen), so I'm going to have to find a job, and it will hopefully look like an immigration reporting/photojournalism job and not a coffee job (although I'd really love to do that for a while.)

For twosies, I got into a fairly competitive border reporting class and will be traveling to Nicaragua in March 2015 to report on immigration between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The two countries have a similar immigration disposition to Mexico and the United States.

I first learned about this class nearly two years ago (and even blogged about it) as a means for Cronkite students to get experience reporting about border-related issues in other countries, and I nearly can't believe I'm getting to join it this year.

Huzzah!

Fall Break in Portland

That title is misleading. It was mostly Fall Break in the car, and a day and a half in Oregon.

It's been hard to write about this. I did, after all, move my best friend to a city that is roughly 1,300 miles away. Round trip, this adventure was 2651.1 miles of driving.

brother sister

I went up to Portland with three of my best friends and returned with two. Nobody died, it was just a moving trip. We took two cars and a bike and a lot of stuff and drove up in two days, stayed in Portland for a day and a half, and then took a day and a half to drive back with infinitely less stuff, and one less car and one less person.


The drive itself was far more enjoyable than I would have imagined. We were impatient to get to Portland, but we were able to stay with my friend Shane (who I met at Eva's wedding in August) in Redding, and meet his sister and friends. It was awesome because I don't really know him all that well, but he and his friends got along really well with me and my friends. We drank beer and talked about backpacking and got coffee and oatmeal for breakfast the next morning.

The short time I spent in Portland was categorized by coffee (duh) beer (also duh) and old, lovely friends. It felt like a giant reunion. It was the first stretch of time I had spent with Ben and Raquel and Brenna together, plus Liz and Cassie and Sydney who all moved to Portland earlier this year.

We just spent life together, and it was so so sweet to see everyone like the good ol' days.

family dinner

Then we just left Brenna there (she's doing well--we talk frequently) and headed back to Phoenix. The route we took was very desolate--through the top corner of California and south through Nevada. The sound of my car's tires on the barren road was the perfect soundtrack for our somber drive back.

And I also got to witness a bear run across the road in front of me.

And Ben got a speeding ticket.

And we explored some beautiful, lonely places like Bordertown, CA and Lunning, NV.