Wanderlust.

The Beaches in Normandy.

I recently read Thomas Mann's novella "A Death in Venice".  It has been on my reading list for sometime, but consistently was overshadowed by newer, flashier books that I simply had to read at the time.  All I can say is I shouldn't have waited as long as I did to read Mann's short story.  It portrays an Austrian man who had taken up residence in Venice right before a cholera outbreak.  Keeping in mind my love for public health, and the fact that stories romanticizing Cholera have always interested me ( Love in the Time of Cholera, The Painted Veil, etc.), I cannot believe it took me this long.

Nile River.

St. Peter's in Rome.

Westminister Abbey in London.

In the novella, Mann explores the particularly german idea of "wanderlust", and how the main character flits from place to place until he finds an environment completely different his own.  The idea of traversing the globe, or being an expat has always appealed do me.  Sometimes I fall into the habit of not leaving my comfort zone becoming too engrossed in my daily routine, and I don't like it.  I want to step foot on every continent (2 to go!).  I want to expand my horizons.  This blog has followed me traveling quite a bit actually, but all I can say is I want to do more.  I have been toying with the idea of deferring real life for a year after graduating, and applying for jobs in other countries.  Who knows if I will actually have the courage to do this when the time comes, but all I can say now is I know want to experience new people, places, and things.

Paris.