I remember tripping over myself in my dash through the automatic doors that separated Narita airport and the outside world for that first breath of Japanese air – of the late spring/early summer cool that I had romanticized for the last 6 years. Strangely, it was the first time that, when landing in a foreign country, I didn’t feel like I was out of place, but rather, surreal – like an explorer who finally steps off the shaking waves onto the home he had been dreaming of.

This summer my family and I went to Ecuador for a month. It was so much fun being able to run around free at the beach or in town on the gringo cycle with my brothers. We met many new friends, including Maria Del Carmin and Rudolfio -  they were very nice and we had most of our meals at their house. We had a great time with them!

I learned many things while I was there, like: Surfing, Spanish, the culture, and how to ride a three wheeled bike. After a while we started to get homesick but I'm happy I went to Ecuador...it was an experience of a lifetime!

Taos Pueblo, Mabel Dodge, and Carrie Nation – History Lessons for Modern Times

As the global economy struggles, and health care is unavailable for so many, medical tourism is becoming an affordable option for many people.

Home. A word with seventeen different meanings. The most often used of which is, ‘Residence: The place where a person, family, or household lives.’