Favorites

Allie’s merciless teasing on a certain issue over the past three and a half months has helped me learn something about myself—I’m really, really bad at picking favorites.

I like to think it’s really just an appreciation for specificity.

Regardless, I can’t very well give you my favorite color until we clarify whether I’m painting my toe nails or my bedroom walls, am I picking a color for my next sweater purchase or my next car?

Don’t even get me started on my favorite restaurant because that all depends on what meal of the day we’re eating and how long we have to eat it.

All this is to say…there’s a question I know is coming my way very soon, and I’m already in dread of it—what was my favorite port?

In light of this dreaded and quickly approaching question, I thought it might be helpful for me break things down a bit…by category…just to get the basics out there. (Am I sounding type-A right now? Because I’m really not, I promise.)

Here we go…

Most Adventurous Port: It’s is a tight race…but I’m going to go with China on this one…something to do with climbing the Great Wall and eating duck brains.

Most Relaxing Port: Mauritius (by far). But that’s what remote, little islands are for, right?

Most Educational Port: Ghana—this country is so full of life—it can instruct the deepest parts of you.

Most Challenging Port: South Africa—the legacy of apartheid that is still so evident today was just too much to swallow.

Best Cuisine: Vietnam—I don’t pretend to have experienced the full extent of the cuisine in the short time I was there, but I didn’t have a meal that wasn’t absolutely scrumptious in Vietnam (India was a close second though).

Best Weather: Honolulu, Hawaii—perfectly delightful seventy-degree beach weather.

Best Sights to See: India—quite possibly the most visually stunning country in the entire world.

Best Shopping: I didn’t know it at the time, but probably Morocco. I guess it depends on what you’re looking for…if you want cultural goods, go to the Moroccan souks, but if you want knock-offs, then Vietnam is where it’s at.

Friendliest People: That would be a tie between Japan and Ghana—kindness was just about everywhere we found ourselves in these two countries.

I finished finals today, friends. It was brutal, I’m not gonna lie.

But only TWO MORE DAYS—and so close to home!

Love. Anna