Just a short walk from our hotel in Fortaleza, the bright lights of the cities skyline bounce brightly off the cool, black water of the Atlantic Ocean.  The colorful creatures of Fortaleza’s nightlife gather along the boardwalk and entertain passersby with warped sexiness and magic tricks. 

 

Tonight we walk in their midst searching for trilling night of fun in honor of fellow cast mate, Diego’s birthday.  We’re hit with the strange paradox of watching yellow and orange bands of li...

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In the early hours of morning before the sun peaks out from the horizon, the aroma of fresh bread baking wafts up to the third floor and into my room at the Palace Hotel in Senigallia, Italy.  I check my watch, and discover it’s nearly three hours before the alarm will begin its incessant chirping.  

I layer myself up in running paraphernalia and tiptoe out of the small room, trying my best to not wake my roommate.  As I creep down the carpet-lined stairs, avoiding the small, shaky eleva...

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On our way home from work, our bus trudges over the snow covered bridge across the Neva River, St. Petersburg’s main waterway.  Looking quite different from the swiftly rushing river it was just days ago, the water is now at a complete standstill, jutting up in frozen ridges across the bumpy surface.  

A member of our security team told me the other day that we are lucky we’re visiting during the off season because when the river is thawed, the bridges are only kept down for a certain ...

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Last night our local host, Vivi, surprised us with an impromptu field trip to the Confucius Temple.  I was expecting a quiet, historical area for contemplation, and boy, was I surprised when our taxi dropped us in an area that looked more like a Chinese Los Vegas.  Every building was light up with a neon sign, and people swarmed the streets weaving in between the men with rickshaws begging tourists to take a ride and vendors selling exotic meats shish-kabob style.  

   

All of the light...
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Hooray I've found delicious food in China!  For dinner last night, a group of us ventured to a shopping and dining area a few blocks away, and decided on a place called Hot Pot.  At this restaurant, your waiter or waitress brings you a bowl of steaming broth, with floating spices, dates, and yumminess which is placed in the center of the table where there is a stove top service that heats the bowl's contents to a rolling boil.  Then your party orders plates of fresh vegetables, meats and ...
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After a long day of work, we were released from quarantine to eat at the restaurants a few blocks from our hotel and to explore the several levels of Carrefour, the local supermarket. Once the wall of humidity hit us as the sliding doors to our hotel opened, we were like kids in a candy store.  It's amazing what a few hours held up in a hotel can do to the spirit of a bunch of twenty-somethings.  We took photos, danced, even cried a little.  Ok, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but ...
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Yesterday I had the pleasure of experiencing my first authentic Chinese meal.  When I was younger, ev...

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