Destination: Puerto Rico

When I was living in England last year, a professor told me something that kind of stuck in my mind. She something to the effect of, "If you want to spend your life traveling, you will."

I had always thought of traveling as somewhat of a luxury (and I suppose it still is). My family used to save up for a few years, and then go on a trip somewhere -- usually a national park, or an interesting city in the US. Although I still consider it a privilege, something I have to work towards, travel is becoming an important and regular part of my life.

After saving up for the last 10 months or so since I got back from Europe, I am about to embark on my next trip "abroad."

I'm heading to Puerto Rico for spring break in just over a month. It's a service trip, meaning I will spend the majority of the time volunteering. However, we will be working at a private ecological preserve, supposedly doing a lot of "physical" and "outdoor" maintenance work, which should be a good challenge.

Obviously, I can't wait to see all the new birds and wildlife. There are apparently almost 350 species of birds on the island, most of which will be lifers for me. It will be my first trip to the tropics (or anywhere south of Florida for that matter), and my first time in a Spanish-speaking country (better start brushing up on my skills!).

All this is to say I am extremely excited for this trip, and can't believe it's coming up so soon. If my professor was right (and I believe she was), this is only the beginning of many more adventures abroad.