Prisoner of Hopes

Author: Roxanna Mechem

  • The Currency of Currency: Travel Goals Argentina

    The Currency of Currency: Travel Goals Argentina

    Currency: the quality of being generally accepted or in use. The U.S. dollar (and also the Euro), as we were to find out, is the ultimate currency, at least in South America. After arrival in any country, one of first stops we make is a bank or currency exchange. In recent years it has become…

  • Unexpected Encounters: Travel Goals Uruguay

    Unexpected Encounters: Travel Goals Uruguay

    When I was a teenager, I went to the science center IMAX. There, on the giant screen, I experienced scenes from the Andes and a plane crash that left people stranded for 72 days. Through footage of the wreckage, I imagined the horrors of trying to survive on the side of a mountain in temperatures…

  • Cruise culture: Travel Goals Argentina

    Cruise culture: Travel Goals Argentina

    We said we would never cruise, and yet I found myself on a Holland America ship for thirty five days in order to sail around South America. My hesitation for cruise travel had nothing to do with the ship, the sea, the time, or the money. I dreaded the people. I didn’t want to feel…

  • Excess: Travel Goals

    Excess: Travel Goals

    I just saw an article on women overpacking when they travel. The piece also suggested that packing deterred some people from traveling. I will admit that trying to decide what to pack for a trip is an exercise in self control. But I pride myself in being able to pack for a two week international…

  • Dreaming of a Spring Awakening: Travel Goals

    Dreaming of a Spring Awakening: Travel Goals

    This winter has been sluggish. I always struggle in the grey, dark days to find meaning and purpose. I get up and read. Slowly going through the motions of the day, I long to be outside and for sunshine. It is hard to be motivated when hibernation seems the best option. And so I dream.…

  • Relationships and the Common Good: Educating For Sanity

    Relationships and the Common Good: Educating For Sanity

    To be human is to be in relationship. All that we are, all that we think, all that we do has been shaped by our interactions with other people. Neuroscience confirms that the pathways in our brain are wired by interactions with others. Happiness is linked to personal interactions that produce endorphins. It is no…

  • Hibernation

    Hibernation

    The cold fingers of winter creep up on you. Wrapped in the post holiday glow, you don’t notice it at first. Still full and warm, you snuggle into a comfortable lull. At first it seems cozy. Contentment radiates, until one day you decide to pack away the decorations. The house looks clean and bright. You…

  • Confessions of an Extroverted Introvert

    Confessions of an Extroverted Introvert

    Sometimes it just seems too “peoply” out there. Don’t get me wrong, I love people. I enjoy extended time with friends and families. I love going to work and encountering new individuals of all ages. But I am an extroverted introvert. There is something in me that screams for alone time. If I am in…

  • Decoration Day

    Decoration Day

    My grandma always called Memorial Day by its old name…decoration day. It was a day set aside to decorate the graves of soldiers with flowers and to honor their memories. Eventually, decoration day became Memorial Day. She was adamant about honoring family with artificial flowers. My decoration day celebration, however, is always the 48 hours…

  • Thanksgiving

    Thanksgiving

    The leaves have turned. The air has turned colder. The days are shorter. There is an urgency to make the most of any weather that permits outdoor living. Winter is coming. It is the time of year that family negotiations begin. Where shall we meet? How many will come? Who will bring food? The coordination…