We used to live in New York. My dad says that New York is an amazing place when you're single. That's where he met my mom. They moved to California because of me, and that's okay because I love it there. It's where I go to school, have friends, do my activities, and it's really where I started traveling too!

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One day, still in New York, we were all at home, and my mom noticed a look in my dad's eyes. "Playing for Change" was on, and my dad looked inquisitive. She asked him what was on his mind, and he said he missed traveling. We had some travel plans; we would be going to Portugal a few months after that, but none of it was like how my dad loved to travel. He missed the unknown and the long journeys through different countries. Mostly, he missed the people. He always talks about the people and the culture and all he admires wherever he goes. He says the real museums are the people, the food, the habits, the raw culture one randomly comes across when finding themselves lost after roaming aimlessly against the flow.

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You see, you may think this whole trip was my dad's idea - it wasn't. It was my mom's. One day, my mom came across this other family - the Goodwins - who had stopped everything and traveled the world for about 9 months. And they had done this with 2 kids! My dad was ecstatic, and my mom said:

 

-- "We can do that! It'll just take a little bit of planning!"

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And so, the seed had been planted. We were excited about the prospect of doing a world trip. We knew we couldn't spend 9 months on the road, but we were committed to making our own itinerary and working with the timeline that was possible for us. It would take time to plan, and I needed to grow up a little more so I could enjoy it and actually remember the trip as well. We decided to do it in 2023, after I was done with school. My dad says that seeing the world from a kid's perspective is amazing, and that it's the perfect time to challenge some assumptions - like the day always sets, or that the sand is yellow, or that people look and act and speak a certain way.

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In late 2022, that's when my dad started really planning the trip. We bought a globe and a book with pictures from every country in the world and started reading it to find places that were interesting. It was hard - there were so many! How could we choose? And how long would we stay in each place? How to make it so we could take our time and visit many different and exciting places but still not be tiring?

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After some time reading, researching, and planning, we came up with an itinerary!

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We'll start where my mom was born - Mexico City, Mexico! At the end, we'll go to where my dad was born - the Azores, Portugal, and finish our trip in New York, USA - where I was born!

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• Mexico

• Japan

• Thailand

• India

• United Arab Emirates

• Greece

• Italy

• Portugal

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...it will be an adventure!

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And then the school year was over... and we were ready to go!