May I See Your Papers?
I just mailed in my first passport for renewal. I’m naturally sad to lose my little collection of passport stamps. What kind of memories do they hold? Now might be a good time to review my international travels.
My first stamp, and the reason for my obtaining a passport ten years ago, was a very enjoyable June 2000 trip to Barbados with several coworkers from the Staples project at Sapient.
I received my second stamp upon entering the UK at Heathrow in 2002, on the way to an amazing and unforgettable 12-day DargonZine writers’ summit and tour of Scotland.
Next came my fateful but memorable solo business trip to Seoul in January of 2006. Interesting and revelatory, but very challenging and nowhere near as pleasant as my previous trips!
2008 was the first time I garnered two passport stamps in one year, both from the Caribbean. In February I had a relatively quiet vacation on Grand Cayman island with Inna, and in March I took a nice little day cruise around the British Virgin Islands with my Optaros coworkers during our unspeakably surreal five-month assignment in the US Virgin Islands.
Sadly, I didn’t get any stamps from the USVI or Puerto Rico, since they are both American territories. Nor did I get stamped during my 2009 trip out to visit my brother in Victoria Canada, nor my quick plane change at Narita on the way to Seoul.
Looking back, all my international trips have been among the most memorable and noteworthy events of my life, which surprises me, since I’m no travel enthusiast. Now, as I wait for my new passport to arrive, I wonder what destinations the next ten years hold for me…