Michael Jackson "Concert" In Jerusalem, Israel, 1984

The more that I travel the world, the more different types of people I encounter. Yet the more people I meet, the more I can acknowledge how much we have in common. I realized this at an early age when I spent part of my summer in Israel. I was 10 at the time and had already been to Europe, but Israel was much more exciting to me -- way more exotic. The people dressed differently, the food seemed unique, the music wasn't the same as it was at home -- even the buildings looked different. I'd never seen a mosque before until we visited The Dome Of The Rock in Jerusalem, and I was blown away by its beauty and intricate designs. My parents and I also walked the Old Walls Of Jerusalem, which were built in the 1530s. It was quite an experience to walk these walls which were so ancient and had so much history. As we made our way around the old city, I tried to imagine who'd walked the walls before me and what kinds of things those people had seen. What we saw were some incredible views of the city and glimpses of the different neighborhoods. What I remember the most, though, is when we passed by the Arab quarter. I'd been to extremely poor neighborhoods before; when I traveled cross country with my parents in 1982, we visited some of the Native American communities and their living conditions were pretty deplorable. But this poverty was at a new level. The people barely lived in what you could call a home; it was more like scraps of tin fastened together to form a hut-like dwelling. Out front, women wearing head-to-toe black fished through garbage cans searching for scraps of food. Yet as we passed this, we heard a sound from below. Music! And as we got closer, I realized that someone was blaring Michael Jackson's Thriller album. I couldn't believe it. This was 1984, the height of Thriller-mania. At home, my friends and I listened to this cassette tape almost every day, and knew the words to every song. Never did I expect to hear "Beat It" or "Billie Jean" in Israel, let alone in this neighborhood where the people barely seemed to have food. I never did learn how they managed to get a hold of a tape recorder and Thriller cassette -- I'm thinking that maybe there was one for the neighborhood and they all shared? -- but it blew my 10-year-old mind to think that I was listening to the same music as people who lived across the world in such a different environment from my own. I unfortunately ruined my own Thriller cassette when I attempted to play it backwards (rumor had it that if you did, you'd hear Michael whispering secret messages), but hearing his music in Jerusalem changed my perceptions of just how small our world really is.

Welcome To Naomi The Traveler!

The title for this blog is pretty simple -- my name is Naomi and I'm an avid traveler. I guess you can say that I come from a family full of wanderlust. My childhood wasn't like most kids'; since both of my parents were teachers, they had summers off and would take me all over the place. So by the time I was 15, I'd been to China, Japan, Israel, Egypt, Russia, Mexico, and all over Europe and the United States. The other kids thought I was a little weird ... but I always had interesting slide shows for projects. Now that my parents are retired, they travel more than ever. They've been pretty much everywhere you can think of: India, Malaysia, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea... okay, they haven't yet been to Australia or New Zealand, or most of the Pacific, actually, but still, they've so far been to an impressive 90-something countries. Meantime, I've gotten my husband into traveling. In the 12 years we've been married, we've visited Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, England, France, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Mexico, Canada, Greece, Hawaii, Puerto Rico -- and just returned from a trip to the Netherlands/Nigeria. So we're doing pretty well! My goal is to set foot on every continent before my parents. They're missing Australia and Antarctica. I'm still missing South America and Antarctica. So it's anybody's game at this point, though we could fly from the tip of Chile to Antarctica. You go via a military plane and stay there for about three hours, but hey -- it's Antarctica! There are ice caps! Penguins! What more can you want? I kid, but in all seriousness, I think it's important to see the world and learn about the people and places with whom your share your Earth. We're fortunate because we live in New York City, which is a very international place, but while I love eating Chinese food, there's nothing quite like actually going to the real country. So welcome aboard my blog as we take a trip around the world! I'll be sharing travel stories from when I was a child and an adult, as well as travel tips and recommendations. And if you have any stories or tips of your own, feel free to add to the comments. To whet your appetite, here are some photos from last year's trip to Greece:

Safe journeys, Naomi