Passport Use

I started collecting sand from around the world when I was 18 and went away with my boyfriend's family for the first time. I brought back a sample from the Jersey Shore as a keepsake. Little did I know that this incident would start a hobbie and later dub me as an arenophile - a sand collector.

Every where I went for the next decade I brought back sand. 30 states, eight countries and then I started working too much. So I asked my friends going to exotic places through whom I was living vicariously. Never did one person forget. When digital cameras were still in their infancy and film containers were common, they were the perfect container to bring back a sample. When I'd forget to explain how I wanted the samples, I got everything from a full Orangeina bottle from a beach in Europe to a plastic ziplock bag from Germany that I can't believe wasn't confiscated at US customs by mistake.

My hobby turned passionate when I decided to design a piece of art to display the samples. I met two Hungarian twins in Denver. We brainstormed a functional piece of art somewhat like a Shoji screen that held the 40+ glass lenses that contained each sample. I wasn't sure how to identify each sand then, but knew I wanted to interchange them on future occassions.

I finished the design and had a wood working plant in China design the prototype screen that I now have the life size piece in a bedroom. An artist's rendering was also made to show my idea of using this art as a way to bridge disparate cultures and yet to have them all peacefully coexist in one piece of art, unlike the real cultures that are so fragmented in our world today.

I intend for some incredible chain of resorts to want to use this design idea to show their portfolio properties around the world by way of the sand that represents each incredible location. Strangely enough, I have sand from Fenway home plate, Central Park and even a sample from the moon. If I share that one with you, I'll have to kill you.

I laughed when I saw Michael Moore's documentary Sicko where he profiles a mid-to-upper-class couple living in Paris. While touring their home, the wife pointed out the sand collection they started years ago in small containers.

While this seemed like a strange hobby years ago. Now I run into others who appreciate the beauty of sand collection for reasons of geology, travel, art, culture and simple memories. I've called my growing sand collection The Passport Collection (www.passportcollection.com). My real passport has now become two and grows considerably in my quest to see the world.

I'll post a photo of the Collection soon.

My Trip Advisor - Where I've been...

http://www.tripadvisor.com/MemberProfile?uid=A5A5460AA80B4A3660BB8A60F6092E43&c=pt

This is a great tool for tracking the places you've been and the places you'll go.

In 20 years, I've been to 30 states, three Canadian provinces, three Caribbean spots, three Central American locations, three Latin American countries and eight European countries.

This year, I will venture to Asia for the first time, and if lucky, I'll celebrate my birthday with friends in February in Africa, adding two more continents to my travels.

Mission of YGG

Here's a guide to help put your "You Go Girl" ideas into something more tangible.

Mission
To demonstrate how travel shapes (and reshapes) our lives, and because of this realization, how it continues to inspire us to inspire others to be open to different worldviews.

Purpose
To share collective stories by women on global exploration and life empowerment. These stories will illustrate how we philosophically change when we open our minds to adventure in the quest to evolve our life perspectives.

Objectives:
-Highlight views of self and the world through the travel experiences of a diverse group of women
-Show how travel shapes who we are
-Share how travel empowers those of us who embrace it
-Set good examples for those who want to live vicariously through those who travel
-Illustrate ways one can easily (or not so easily) assimilate into other cultures
-Educate by sharing lessons and realizations of cultures not known to you before travel

Tone:
The tone is a philosophical one with themes of inspiration, inclusion, ideation, empowerment and levity.

Methodology:
Your experiences will be highlighted by your motivations as: philanthropists, entrepreneurs, ex-patriots, explorers, and connectors, and also for reasons of education and family.

The beginning of a book

I've asked 30 women who I respect a great deal to give me a 3-4 page description of who they really are and to make it fun. All of these women are well traveled and accomplished in their own right. As I begin a book that I've wanted to write for awhile, I asked them a series of questions that will shape the anthology of "You Go Girl." The book will not be about trip details but rather the philosophies of me and these women and of why travel is such an important part of our lives. Why can some people move or travel at the drop of a hat and others never leave their home town? Is it nature or nurture? Is this quest in our DNA?

-Where have you traveled in your lifetime? Have you reached all seven continents? If this is a goal, why?
-Why did you travel or relocate? (eg life transition, personal interest, family, job, college, engagement, personal goals, life curiosity, medical care, taking care of a parent)
-What revelation about yourself did you experience in your travels?
-What lesson(s) did you take away?
-How easily did you adjust/assimilate/fit in? Did you set out with the intention to do so?
-How did you include the local people/culture into her travels?
-What are 1-3 funny experiences that you had in your travels?
-What one realization did you have about a culture that you visited?
-What one thing did you change in yourself as a result of the travel experience(s)?
-How did major life events or world history (9/11) shape or reshape your perspective of travel and of life in general?

I'll answer these questions personally in another post.