Due to ski racing, I have been lucky enough to travel all over the globe and I'm only 18. I have been to Chile 3 times, always flying in to Santiago and then making the 1 and a 1/2 hour trek up a turny, dirt road to a trifecta of ski areas, La Parva, El Colorado, and Valle Nevada.

I have always been based at El Colorado in one of the several hotel there, but have skied all three. Valle Nevada (located on the far right when looking at the mountains) is the "Aspen, CO" of the three ski areas and therefore is the most expensive to stay at, but the mountain is beautiful and boasted the longest T-bar in the world when I was there 2 years ago.

El Colorado is the center mountain and is less expensive than Valle Nevada. You can, however, find nice housing with kitchens. You will want to cook when you go. You will also want to do a Costco-style shopping trip at the Jumbo, Chilean Costco, before heading up the mountain because there is a serious lack of groceries at the top.

My friend and I had been hoping to backpack through South East Asia but when riots and a travel advisory against Thailand appeared, we began to second guess our destination. In the end, we decided to postpone our South East Asia adventure, and go somewhere else. But here was the problem: where was somewhere else? For a brief moment we felt as though we had the world at our fingertips!! So why Costa Rica? We wanted to travel somewhere beautiful, painfully hot, adventurous and, above all, different. (We have both traveled the Middle East and Europe several times.) Fortunately for us, Costa Rica fulfilled all our cravings: activities ranging from zip lining in a cloud forest, whitewater rafting on one of the best rivers in the world, coffee tours, and even sipping coconuts while tanning on beautiful beaches.

Upon our excited arrival in San Jose, we were greeted by a friend that would become familiar to us for our entire trip: rain. Costa Rica's weather is pretty much the same all year round; with only more rain to distinguish its two seasons: dry season and rainy season.

Well, my first time to Austria was also my first time to Europe. I headed to Soelden, Austria where the Alpine Ski Racing World Cup Opener is every year. My team and I went with my Austrian coach to do some pre-season training for the month of October.

Soelden is a small ski town with everything from 5 star hotels to hostels. When I was there, only the top most glacier was open for skiing, however in the winter, visitors don't even use cars. The gondola comes to the center of town so the entire town is ski-in and ski-out. :-D It's pretty awesome. You can walk to the end of town and back in a half-hour and there are places to hike all around. You are completely surrounded by the Alps in this town and while actually getting to Italy is a trip the border is not far.

Like I said, I was there training for the upcoming season so my main focus was skiing, but I can tell you no place could be more charming and stereotypically Austrian. There are discos and beer pubs and restaurants with weiner schnitzel.

Several months back, my husband and I had decided to include a month trekking in Nepal on our around-the-world trip. We made this decision going on nothing more than a glowing description of the Annapurna Circuit trek from my Dad's ex-colleague, whom we had never met. Never mind that neither of us had ever done anything more strenuous than a day hike before. Never mind that my personal idea of hell has never involved dancing flames and eternally-burning fires but rather copious amounts of snow and bare hands and feet. Never mind any of that, because we were going to trek the Annapurna Circuit, and we were going to love every minute of it!

But now that we were ten days into our trek and plodding through over a foot of snow, I was hating every minute of it. I miserably wondered how I had gotten myself into this situation.

We trudged slowly through the snow towards the Thorong La Pass which, at 17,769 feet, would be the highest point our trek - assuming, of course, we ever made it to the top.

If you're like me, Morocco and Egypt usually come to mind when thinking of exploring Northern Africa. But if you look just in-between Libya and Algeria you'll find another little gem worth discovering- Tunisia.

Known to most Europeans as a holiday beach destination, Tunisia has much more to offer than white sand beaches and deep blue Mediterranean waters.

Looking back on the past 8 weeks that I have lived here I am left thinking of just how many wonderful surprises it has offered up. Archeological sites from the Berbers, the Phoenicians as well as the Romans can all be explored. The Roman city of Dougga were some of the most impressive I've seen (above photo), the mosaics found in both Bulla Regia and Sousse are incredibly preserved and the coliseum in El Jem is not only fascinating, but also one of the last major sites built by the Romans.

Need a break from ruins? Head south to visit oasis towns, salt lakes, ride camels, visit movie sets and sleep under the stars amidst the otherworldly beauty of the Sahara.

The man in the well-cut black suit stood watching me as I struggled to carry my overweight duffel bag across the cobbles of the narrow shopping street. "Must be another carpet seller" I sighed to myself; no way around him without reversing course. After three weeks of solo travel enjoying Western Turkey - that day a hot 3-hour bus ride from Pamukkale to the small Aegean town of Selcuk - I was tired and talked out. A single foreign female of any age will invite attention from men, women and children. Depending on where I was, this attention was mostly benign, but exhausting. The Turkish people I'd met plus those I'd worked with on several previous business trips were genuinely hospitable, but too curious for my big-city American sensibilities. I just wanted to see the sites anonymously then move on. But in Turkey, there is no such thing as being unobserved.

When Turks meet each other, the first question asked is "Where is your hometown?" This bit of knowledge imparts valuable social information, much like in the US, when we ask, "What do you do for a living?" Though Turks haven't been nomads for centuries, it's common to have lived in several parts of the country.

I've heard many times, even from the most seasoned women travelers, that they have hesitations about traveling to Egypt. Worries about sanitation, the differences of how women are viewed and the most common concern, "what should I wear!"

I had the same apprehensions before my two week trip down the Nile, but I was not going to let it keep me from experiencing the historically and culturally enriching experience that traveling to Egypt is.

My expedition took me to popular tourist destinations, such as Cairo and Luxor, then unconventional places such as Al-Fayoum and Minya (known in ancient days as Amarna). This region was where Pharaoh Akhenaten set up his new empire and (arguably) pioneered the idea of monotheistic religion in the 14th century BC. Although the Pyramids and tombs were predictably highlights of my trip, I was most excited about visiting the Cairo Museum (because that's my thang).

During all my waypoints I took notice on how women were traveling and what local women wore.

Here I am with my sister in front of the Rijkmuseum, an art museum in Amsterdam.

Initially, we decided to visit Amsterdam because my friend found cheap tickets and not because of the whole drug scene. But every time I told someone about the trip they gave me that look, like I know exactly why you're going there. While in Amsterdam, I got the feeling that the locals really don't engage in that scene and the tourists are the ones who give the city that reputation.

We went to tons of museums in Amsterdam, including the Anne Frank Museum which seemed touristy except for a few parts that kind of got to me - like the narrow staircases. Also, I loved the waffle and pancake restaurant right next door, where you can mix in all sorts of things in the batter and end up with something like bacon pancakes.

I also recommend the Van Gogh museum over the Rijkmuseum, which has more Rembrandts. But this may be a personal choice. Interestingly, Rembrandt's art is darker than Van Gogh's even though Van Gogh's life was pretty tragic.

While working as an au pair in Turkey, my host-mom always sent the driver with me when I went into Istanbul - making me feel very over-protected. But on my last day in the country, I went there without the driver and finally understood that she'd wanted to protect me from male harassment. While the majority of Turkish men I met were kind and courteous, the unsavory ones often find tourists. Luckily they can be deterred by common sense. Anyone interested in women foreigner's experiences in Turkey should definitely read "Tales from the Expat Harem: Foreign Women in Modern Turkey."

Onward and Downwards

On my last day in Turkey, I started my trip to the city by taking the funicular and the "historic tram" to the Egyptian Spice Market.
I have to say, I impressed myself. Even if I got completely walked over by the bargaining system, with some cordiality (I was invited to share tea) and perhaps some flirting (!?!) and a little lie about my finances, I think I may have wrangled a deal.

In this picture, I am overlooking Esslingen, a town in Southern Germany, where I am studying for half a year as an exchange student from Finland.
Before traveling to Germany it would be good to learn some German. German people do speak good English but it's always polite to know basic expressions you need in everyday life in German. In restaurants they usually have the menus both in German and in English so eating out is not a problem.

German people are punctual, quite straightforward and effective when it comes to business or schoolwork. I find it comfortable because as a Finn I have gotten used to starting the meetings when planned and getting errands done at once and not having to wait for half an hour or so. It's always easier to blend in when people think in the same way. In Germany people are really friendly and they want to help you if you are lost. Once a bus driver interrupted a conversation between my friend and me to tell us the right way to go.

Only one thing, or actually a habit, has shocked me in Germany.