Hi my name is Sarah.

I’m a twenty something lady from Virginia with a passion for all things international. For which I blame all the Rick Steves and Samantha Brown I watched on PBS. (Yeah. That’s right Steve. You have only yourself to blame! You were a gateway drug.)

I’ve had the extraordinary opportunity to travel both in high school and in college (for work and to study). My experiences traveling opened me up to the world and led me (in one way or another) to discover much of what I will share on this blog.

Right now I’m still finding my place in the world. And of course I’m planning my next big adventure!

Two Truths and a Lie

If you haven’t played this game before its a great icebreaker. This is how it goes. Someone offers three statements, two of them are true and one is a lie. Your goal as the player is to guess which one is the lie. Pretty easy right? The answers (and the lies) will be revealed by highlighting the text. You ready? Get. Set. GO!

When I was little I wanted to be these things when I grew up

1. a firefighter (LIE I tend to create fires…like at my 6th grade birthday party…)
2. a ballerina (TRUE then I found out pointe shoes hurt)
3. an ornithologist (TRUE due to my avian devotion I memorized all the birds native to VA)

All of the following have been my nicknames at one point in time

1. the stoat (TRUE the only animal to attack something twice its size, or so I’m told)
2. the encyclopedia (TRUE apparently I like sharing facts)
3. SET (LIE my initials are hard to make a nickname, but they did help name the blog)

My superpowers include

1. getting free food (TRUE and it annoys my brother tremendously…mwahaha)
2. always catching the bus (LIE though this would be awesome)
3. destroying anything and everything (TRUE shoes, internet, clothes etc. nothing is safe!)

I have had a close encounter with these animals

1. a black bear (LIE while statistically more probable for me to encounter I haven’t yet)
2. a great white shark (TRUE there was an expected shark when I exited the cage…)
3. a cheetah (TRUE I got to pet one!)

While traveling I have

1. crossed 0,0(TRUE I’m an Emerald Shellback, which makes me feel like a Pokémon)
2. set foot on Antarctica (LIE I’d need some serious winter wear first but someday!)
3. passed through every time zone (TRUE as a result I had little sleep and two Sept 29s)

Foods I have eaten include

1. emu steak (LIE but there’s still time)
2. durian chocolate (TRUE never again. You should totally try it though.)
3. deep fried crickets (TRUE the breakfast of champions)

Skills and talents that serve me well at cocktail parties

1. knowing the entire Digimon theme song (TRUE and somehow I still have friends)
2. the amateur ability to beatbox. (LIE oh how I wish it was true. I can dream)
3. a talent for duck calls (TRUE this is like beatboxing…right…right? Guys?)

Favorite TV shows (besides Rick Steves) of my childhood included

1. Sabrina the Teenage Witch (TRUE so great Salem taught me the meaning of sarcasm)
2. Xena warrior princess (TRUE much to my parents chagrin I rock that war cry)
3. Fighting Foodons (LIE even though they possibly have the best/worst theme song ever)

So now that you know that I’m a nomad who loves birds, had a run in with a shark, and answers to the name The Stoat. You’ll want to stick around because I can entertain you with duck calls, trivia, the Digimon theme song, and free food.

Hey those are some serious perks. Don’t worry about the fire bit though I’m past that. I promise.

Help me get to know you! Tell me about yourself, your travel stories, what your next adventure will be. Include anything from the outrageous to the mundane. I’d love to hear them all.