Country #05 - Chile

 Country #05 - Chile

The reason why I went to Chile was to study abroad. In the Fall semester of 2006, I studied at the Univerdiad Adventista de Chile in Chillán. I met some wonderful people and enjoyed seeing the Andes whenever I walked in and out of the main campus entrance. Even though I am a native Spanish speaker, I had a lot of fun learning Chilean slang and comparing their word choices to Dominican Spanish. Lucky for me, I landed about a week before Chilean independence day, so I witnessed some fun festivities, dances, and traditional attire and food.

Country #04 - Holy See

 Country #4 - Holy See (The Vatican)

No visit to Rome is complete without setting foot in the country within a city: the Vatican. No passports needed! Just walk right in without realizing you left a nation and entered another one.

Country #03 - Italy

Country #3 - Italy

I visited Italy for the first time during a college trip in 2006. I spent a week in Florence and escaped to Rome and the Vatican for a day. Ten years later, I returned to Rome for a week to take an Italian language course. It goes without saying that Italy is simply magical.

Country #02 - United States - Part 3

 Country #2 - The United States, Part 3

After the pandemic hit hard and then began to calm down a bit, I become more interested in travelling further out in the United States and visited Colorado, Wyoming and Idaho in 2021, Washington State in 2022, and Minnesota in 2023. I also visited Waterville Valley in New Hampshire often during this time. The year 2022 was particularly exciting, as I was able to visit six different states besides Massachusetts: South Carolina, Washington, New York, Tennessee, Florida, and New Hampshire.

Country #02 - United States - Part 2

 Country #2 - The United States - Part 2

Between 2018 and 2020, I held my third full time job and become more musically active. I had the opportunity to return to Georgia and from there visit Tennessee to play a recital. During this time, I continued to have some fun adventures in Massachusetts and other states. When the pandemic arrived and international travel stopped being an option, we had more family events in Salem and Lynn. 

Country #02 - United States - Part 1

 Country #2 - The United States, Part 1

In December, 2002, I moved to the United States. My siblings and parents had come before me, so I had anticipated this drastic change for many years. To my surprise, a few months after I arrived to Massachusetts, my brother Carlos, who lived in Arizona, invited me to visit his new home state, as well as Nevada and California. I really always wanted to travel, but I think this trip made it so evident for me that I had to do it as much as I could.

Country #01 - Dominican Republic

 Country #1 - The Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic my country of birth and also where I grew up. I lived in Bonao, my home city, until age 18. Bonao is a city known as "La Villa de las Hortensias" (Hydrangea Village). It is surrounded by hills and it can get quite rainy. The rivers Fula and Masipedro are well visited.