“I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.”

I’m currently totally smitten by travel, and I feel super fortunate to be able to do the things I’ve done and see the places I’ve wanted to see so far. But there are close to 200 countries in the world, and I want to see as many of them as I can. In the spirit of traveling and setting life goals, I’ve decided to create a bucket list. Since there are hundreds of things I’d love to do, I’m limiting this list to items that fit in the travel category.

These are in no particular order.

1. Visit the Salar de Uyuni (3rd time’s the charm, right?)

2. Climb Mount Kilimanjaro

3. Visit Ushuaia

4. Ice pick a glacier

5. Run a half marathon in Antarctica (So, it’s booked up through 2014. I’ll really have to mail out my $300 deposit and stick to it. Now there’s a commitment!)

6. Scuba dive, preferably here in Egypt

7. Try kite surfing

8. See the Northern Lights (and the Aurora Australis while we’re at it)

9. Go on an African safari

10. Visit the Okavango Delta, where The Last Lions was filmed

11. Go to Victoria Falls (and sit in the pools at the top)

12. Visit the apartheid museum in Johannesburg, South Africa

13. Cage dive with sharks in Capetown

14. Snowboard in the Alps

15. Attend the World Cup in 2014 in Brazil

16. Attend a rugby match

17. Hike a waterfall

18. Bungee jump off of a bridge or a redwood in California

19. Camp at the Grand Canyon

20. Visit New Orleans for Mardi Gras

21. Participate in the Indian festival of Holi

22. Build a well/donate significant funds to a water project at charitywater.org

23. Hang out with elephants in Chang Mai

24. Spend time working at an animal refuge in Africa, preferably Kenya

25. Learn more Arabic

26. Visit Erta Ale in Ethiopia

27. Go to the Wailing Wall

28. See Christ’s tomb in Israel

29. Spend time in Ireland

30. Camp in the desert

31. Visit Tel Aviv

32. Snowboard in Dubai

33. Bartend on a Greek island in the summer

34. Continue to teach and live abroad

35. See as many of the Seven Wonders of the World as possible

36. Write for or be published in a travel magazine/blog

37. Do volunteer work for children’s homes/orphanages/schools/environmental protection agencies

38. Hike the Incan Trail

39. Climb a volcano

40. Get involved in a Habitat for Humanity global program and build houses/shelters/ etc for people in need

Countries I Want to Visit ASAP:

1. South Africa

2. Zimbabwe

3. Botswana

4. Israel

5. UAE

6. Kenya

7. Tanzania

8. Thailand

9. Ethiopia

10. Jordan

Other Things I’m Looking Forward To:

1.Spending time with my family this summer

2. Hiking the AT

3. Getting a novel published

4. Improving my rugby skills/playing in a tournament in Sweden

5. Teaching abroad again (Have I mentioned that already? Yes? Are you getting the point?)

6. Writing my children’s books