Looking back at Zanzibar

The island of Zanzibar, off the coast of Tanzania, is one of the most beautiful places I've seen. I studied in Tanzania with UGA's African Studies Institute. It was the reason I started my blog! I read through my posts from Zanzibar again this morning and it brought such a smile to my face. Read (1) & (2).

Zanzibar's been having some problems recently. It's an island that heavily depends on tourist revenue, but they've had a hard time getting tourists because of acid attacks. Earlier this year, two British girls had acid thrown on them in the middle of the city. Their bodies are badly, badly scarred. Check out this article to learn more. Luckily, the Zanzibari government has arrested 15 people associated with the attacks. Because I loved Zanzibar so much, this news was deeply troubling but hopefully things will be better with the arrests. 

I never uploaded pictures onto LT&C of Zanzibar, so better late than never. Enjoy...

Exiting the port

Our hotel!

That sunset...

Freddy Mercury was born in Zanzibar! He has/had a restaurant in Stone Town. 

Red Colobus monkey

Miles of Mangroves

Still not sure how this didn't win the UGA Photo Contest. 

My waterproof camera case came in handy while snorkeling.

It's always nice to take a stroll down memory lane. 

Seven Sites 9/18

Last post, I mentioned I spent a lot of time on the internet. It's not the best thing, but I do stumble upon some pretty interesting/shocking/strange/helpful stuff. I'll save you the time of scouring HuffPost and Slate and (insert media site here). You're welcome or I'm sorry, depending on how you feel.

1. My best friend Mallory is in London being awesome (and klutzy) in London. Check out her blog and follow her memorable year from the beginning. It's called "A Patriot Among Loyalists", which is amazing because Mallory is probably the most patriotic 22-year-old I know.

2. Ok. Ew. Every girl is guilty at least sometimes of not washing their makeup off their face before bed, but this video from The Doctors about the premature havoc that makeup can wreck on your sleeping face will change your perspective. Ew. Ew.

3. I love my Birchbox, but I think the beauty sample delivery market can be shared. Enter ipsy. Same price, slightly different area of product focus but the end result looks great. And who doesn't love getting more packages?

4. I found this cookie butter popcorn recipe on Pinterest, and I can't wait to make it. Trader Joe's has the Speculoos Cookie Butter that tastes exactly like a Biscoff cookie. I'm obsessed. I think it could be substituted for peanut butter in almost any recipe. This lady made it a Easter themed recipe, but I think the fall-esque recipe could be better.

5. Have you heard of ScoutMob? Go ahead and download the app to find some of the best deals in Atlanta and a dozen other cities. It's like the cool Groupon. No offense. One of their current "Curated Local Experiences" offers a ride on the new SkyView Ferris Wheel in Centennial Park and a cocktail at the Glenn Hotel for two. Sounded like a great date night to me!

6. I love Whole Foods, so I chuckled through this entire HuffPost post by comedienne Kelly MacLean.

7. Millennials leaving the church?  Where are they going? Guest contributor, Rachel Held Evans, writes for the CNN Belief Blog about the authenticity that my generation longs for in the church. Hint, we want more than a rock band and casual dress code.

I may keep this Seven Sites thing going. Ciao! 

Lucy's a GYPSY... and I think I am, too.

"Write what you know."

That's what anyone will tell you. Unfortunately, I'm feeling like I know nothing at the moment and it's a pretty uncomfortable feeling. My blog previously featured the Harun Yahya quote: “I always wonder why birds choose to stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on the earth, then I ask myself the same question.” Then I took it off. I'm not wandering, so it made me sad. Good thing blog format is easy to change. 

I thought this post-graduate life would be more fun. It's not and I was having a hard time putting it into words on the page. I feel like I should be happy. Great family, friends, boyfriend, stream of income... Then I check facebook, and twitter, then I pin, look at blogs, check twitter again and gasp because I haven't been on instagram in a while. I spend about four hours a day on social media. That's just an estimation. It may be a little high, but not too high. That's embarrassing. What it also does is bring to my attention about 1,000 other people who are choosing to highlight their best moment, photo, thought, or joke for the world. But what I've been finding, is that it's making me feel like crap. Then today in the carpool line while I'm waiting on the Mercedes SUV in front of me with those ridiculous stick figures cutouts of the mom, dad, son daughter and dog to move forward, I find this article about Lucy. Sadly, she reminds me a lot of myself and almost all my peers. That's the point.

why generation y yuppies are unhappy

I usually cringe at the word yuppy, but this article hit so many nails on the head. I can't even hate. The bottom line, the article states, is that GYPSYs (Gen Y Protagonists & Special Yuppies) Are Wildly Ambitious... Delusional... and Taunted. So don't feel sorry for us, but feel sorry for us a little bit. We like compassion. 

Me Encanta Cabo San Lucas

On our trip to Cabo in 2012, (read about it!) my family fell in love with Cabo. So before Natalie went back to school, we decided to go back to Cabo and bring some more people we love. It was the first time Renato and I had gone on a trip together, and we all had an amazing time. After last year, we had a lot of the basics down and knew where to go to eat and shop. We loved Maria Corona and Baja Brewing Company. 

One day, we went to Los Cerritos Beach about forty-five minutes north of Cabo on the Pacific Ocean. It was the perfect day trip with great food and tons of surfers. But we didn't surf. I'm not that cool. 

I'm already looking forward to the next time we make it to the Baja. Third time's a charm!