Now that I’m home from our amazing journey to Africa etc., I’ve been reflecting on other travels and the meanings of those experiences.

One major experience was in the summer when I was nineteen. I took a trip around the world. Really!  My big brother, Jerry, and his family were living in Hong Kong. He was working as a journalist in Vietnam and around Asia. The previous summer, when he was home for a visit, he said, “While I’m still in Asia, you should come—it will be an experience for you.”

Jerry wanted me to understand something of the world. Traveling to Asia would be an education—something well beyond what I could learn in school.

I had an around-the-world ticket, with a flexible itinerary. On my way to Hong Kong, I stopped in Japan. My sister-in-law, Kay, had worked at the American Embassy in Tokyo. She arranged for me to spend time with her Japanese friends there.

In Hong Kong, my brother hired a tutor for lessons in Chinese painting and culture. He set up volunteer activities for me with the International Rescue Committee. All of this was to enhance my education

I went with him to Vietnam where I stayed with my brother’s “family” in Saigon. He had a Vietnamese “blood brother”—Huan—they were so close, they considered themselves family.

From there, I went on to Cambodia.  Jerry and Kay insisted that I visit the marvelous temples at Angkor Wat.

I had a classmate at college from Thailand. When she found out that I was going to Asia, she arranged for me to stay with her uncle and aunt in Bangkok. It turned out that my host (my classmate’s uncle) had a high position in the Thai government.

I went to India and stayed with a family in New Delhi that had a daughter my age. This happened because, on the plane to Japan, I had met two peace marchers from India. They said, “You need to go to India.” And they made connections for me.

Then to Tel Aviv to visit my aunt and cousin, Holocaust survivors.  Then to England to meet with more cousins. Then home—after three months.

Those three months were a turning point for me. I saw and learned so much. I was young, naïve and wide-eyed. That trip changed me.

For one, I developed a taste for travel—for seeing, experiencing, and learning. Over the years, I’ve traveled a lot.

The volunteer work I did with the International Rescue Committee, along with other experiences in Asia, opened my eyes. I met people living on rooftops and on the streets. I could never again take my own privileged life for granted.

I learned about generosity. Everywhere I went, strangers invited me into their homes. Even in a small village in India, a poor family shared their food.

Hospitality has become my core value—inviting people into our home, breaking bread with them…

Travel is a gift that leaves an imprint. I’ve been lucky.

I’m old now. I don’t know how many more trips I’ll be able to make. But I’m not giving up—not yet.