This week I am recounting the beginnings of my travel obsession. The story begins here.

On Monday, June 5, 1989 “the adventure of my life” began. That’s what I called it in my little blue and white journal. I’d never been good at keeping a journal before, but the characters in my favorite books all kept journals, so I knew it was time to try it. My daily life may not have been journal-worthy, but my trip to Europe was going to be!

Our first stop: Finland where the long summer days and sunny summer nights were so lovely. I was served alcohol, but I didn’t drink it (I am very clear about that in my journal – over and over again). I saw Gone with the Wind in a Finnish bookstore and was delighted to see that the Finns enjoyed my favorite novel, too. The Oulu Library was showing “The Wizard of Oz” that week. The pervasiveness of American pop culture made me feel a little more comfortable as I settled in to a country where the sun just never set.
To read more, visit my blog Just Go!
http://aknickerson.blogspot.com/2008/06/fifteen-year-old-and-terrorist-p...