The Wandering Wonderer

Hola amigos! When I was hanging out on the beach with my friend Sebastian the other day, the conversation naturally turned to a discussion about our different cultural upbringings. Sebastian is from Colombia, and he is a fellow international student that I met during my time studying abroad here in Australia. Although the conversation began with other discussions about his home country, one of us eventually asked how Colombia got it's name- since neither of us really knew, I of course ended up Googling it. So, I figured I'd share a little history of how Colombia got its name! Why is Colombia called Colombia? Well, the Republic of Colombia I should say! Of course, initial reactions are that it is likely named after Christopher Columbus as a result of his explorations in the Americas- and it is. However, while the Spanish first came to Colombia in 1499, it was Alonso de Ojeda (one of Columbus' sailing companions on his second voyage to the Americas) who first set foot on...

Hello all! Early last summer I had the opportunity to speak on the phone with Sonia Hunt, an inspiring woman who, in the bio of her blog, refers to herself as an "entrepreneur, a world traveler, a seasoned digital media technologist, an athlete, a musician, a gadget geek, an adventurer, an engineer, mama to my doggie, a humanitarian, an innovator, an enthusiast of all things spicy and most importantly…out to drive change." This conversation was a result of a video I submitted to Mitch Matthew's Big Dream Boost scholarship back in May- I didn't win, but I was put in contact with Sonia as a mentor and a resource for pushing my dream forward. At the time, I wanted to open a Zero Waste store in the Greater Chicago Area. Being a successful entrepreneur who started her own company, Sonia was very helpful in giving me some perspective on what it takes to start a business and the mindset you need to have to be successful. However, one of the most important pieces of advice ...